Animal Ordinances in Bloomington, IN (2026)
12 verified animal ordinances for Bloomington, Indiana, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
In the City of Bloomington, keeping backyard chickens requires a flock permit from Animal Care and Control, a flock capped at five hens with no roosters, and a location in an estate residential, single-dwelling residential or residential core zoning district. Each coop and run must provide twelve square feet per bird and sit well back from neighboring homes and lot lines.
Bloomington Backyard Chicken Flock Permit Rules
Some RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code § 7.01.010; § 7.21.057
"Chicken flock" means one chicken or a group of two or more chickens which: (a)Contains no more than five hens and no roosters; and ... (5)Provide both a chicken coop and attached chicken run that afford a combined twelve square feet per chicken; and ... (2)Be located at least twenty feet from any building not owned or occupied by the harborer, that is used or capable of being used for human ha...
Dog Leash Laws
In the City of Bloomington, every animal except spayed or neutered cats wearing identification or ear-tipped feral cats must be kept under restraint at all times, meaning on a leash or lead or confined within the owner's property. Even an altered cat that roams free still isn't immune: it remains subject to the city's public nuisance rules.
Bloomington's Leash and Restraint Law for Pets
Some RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code § 7.01.010; § 7.24.010
"Restraint" means the securing of an animal by a leash or lead or confining it within the real property limits of property owned, lawfully occupied or controlled by its owner/guardian or keeper. ... All animals, except cats which have been neutered or spayed and are wearing identification or are ear-tipped or tattooed in the case of feral cats, shall be kept under restraint. However, altered ca...
Exotic Pets
In the City of Bloomington, no one may keep a wild or exotic animal on their property for any purpose, and a list of specific reptiles, including venomous snakes, large pythons, monitor lizards, and all crocodilians, is banned outright too. Zoos, circuses, licensed wildlife rehabilitators, and permitted educators are exempt.
Bloomington Bans Wild and Exotic Animals as Pets
Heavy RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code § 7.40.010
No person shall keep or permit to be kept on their premises any wild or exotic animal for any purpose. This section shall not be construed to apply to zoological parks, circuses, animal exhibitions, research laboratories, licensed wildlife rehabilitators, or a wildlife educator who is in possession of all necessary federal or state licenses, permits, and/or approvals.
Wildlife Feeding
Feeding deer on purpose is illegal anywhere in the City of Bloomington. Bloomington Municipal Code Section 7.40.030 makes it an offense to intentionally feed deer or leave food where deer can get it, on private or public property, with a $50.00 fine for a first violation that doubles for repeats within a year.
Bloomington Deer Feeding Ban
Significant RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code §§ 7.40.030, 7.56.030(b)
(a)Deer Feeding Prohibited. Except as provided in subsection (d) below, a person commits an offense if the person intentionally feeds deer or makes food available for consumption by deer on private or public property within the corporate boundaries of the City of Bloomington. ... (f)Violations.(1)Any animal control officer may issue to any person in violation of this section a notice of ordinan...
Pet Limits
In the City of Bloomington, no one may own or harbor more than a total of nineteen cats and dogs over twelve months old without a kennel permit. Service dogs don't count toward the cap. Anyone already over the limit when the ordinance took effect may keep those animals but cannot replace one that dies until the household drops to nineteen or fewer.
Bloomington Caps Households at 19 Cats and Dogs
Some RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code § 7.21.005
(a)No person shall own or harbor more than a total of nineteen cats and/or dogs over the age of twelve months. This provision does not apply to commercial kennels. ... (b)Service dogs shall not be counted towards the nineteen (19) maximum noted in the above subsection (a).
Cat Rules
Bloomington doesn't require a general cat license, but anyone feeding or sheltering a colony of feral cats in the City of Bloomington must register with Animal Care and Control and follow trap-neuter-return practices. A colony caretaker who lets a cat become a public nuisance, or who has an animal cruelty conviction, can be barred from the program.
Bloomington Feral Cat Colony Registration Rules
Light RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code § 7.23.010; § 7.23.020
(b)Any person who provides food, water or shelter to a colony of feral cats shall be registered with the City of Bloomington Animal Care and Control Department or its designee. ... (a)The city of Bloomington animal care and control department or its designee, in order to encourage the stabilization and reduction of the feral cat population in the city of Bloomington, may:(1)Trap any feral cat i...
Mandatory Spay/Neuter
Every dog, cat, rabbit or ferret adopted out of the City of Bloomington Animal Shelter must be spayed or neutered before it goes home, at the city's expense, under Bloomington Municipal Code Section 7.48.010. The mandate extends to repeat strays too: an animal picked up loose a second time in a year must also be microchipped and altered under Section 7.56.040(e).
Bloomington Mandatory Spay/Neuter for Shelter Adoptions
Significant RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code §§ 7.48.010, 7.56.040(e)
Any dog, cat, rabbit or ferret adopted from the city of Bloomington animal shelter shall be spayed or neutered by a veterinarian prior to being taken to his or her new home. The city of Bloomington animal care and control department shall assume the cost of the spay or neuter operation. ... any animal which is found to be a stray or at-large animal for a second time within the same twelve-month...
Microchipping
In the City of Bloomington, an animal declared potentially dangerous, dangerous, or vicious by the animal control commission must be implanted with a microchip, on top of confinement, leash, and (for dangerous or vicious animals) muzzle and warning-sign requirements. Bloomington has no general microchipping mandate for ordinary pets.
Bloomington Mandates Microchips for Dangerous Dogs
Some RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code § 7.26.030; § 7.26.050
(a)The animal, while on the owner/guardian's property, shall, at all times, be kept indoors, or in a secured enclosure from which the animal cannot escape, and into which children cannot trespass.(b)The animal must be implanted with a microchip.(c)The animal may only be off the owner/guardian's premises if it is restrained by a substantial leash, no more than six feet in length, and if it under...
Pet Store Rules
In the City of Bloomington, no pet shop may sell cats or even offer them for sale; violating that ban is a separate offense for every sale or offer under Chapter 7.56's enforcement provisions. Pet shops may still host adoption events, letting a municipal shelter or nonprofit rescue display dogs and cats, but the shop can't profit from the adoption fees.
Bloomington Pet Shops Cannot Sell Cats
Significant RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code § 7.16.070
(a)No pet shop shall sell cats or offer cats for sale.(b)Each sale or offer for sale made in violation of subsection (a) of this section shall constitute a separate violation subject to the penalties set forth under Chapter 7.56.
Pet Groomer Rules
In the City of Bloomington, 'pet grooming' is a zoning use under the Unified Development Ordinance, not a separate Title 4 business license: Section 20.07.010 defines it as a fee-based facility that trains, bathes, clips or combs animals without overnight boarding. Groomers with an attached kennel must meet Section 20.03.030(d)(4)'s kennel standards, and every site must provide 3.3 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of floor area under Table 04-9.
Pet Grooming Zoning Rules in Bloomington
Some RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code §§ 20.03.030(d)(4), 20.04.060(d), 20.07.010
(4)Pet Grooming and Veterinarian Clinic. If a pet grooming or veterinarian clinic has a kennel associated with it, then it shall comply with Section 20.03.030(d)(2) (Kennel) and the following standards:(A)In the MN, MM, and MD zoning districts, outdoor kennel facilities are not permitted.(B)In the MC zoning district, outdoor kennels shall require a Conditional Use permit pursuant to Section 20....
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
In the City of Bloomington, a veterinarian clinic that keeps an outdoor kennel cannot have one in the MN, MM, or MD zoning districts, and an outdoor kennel in the MC zoning district needs Conditional Use approval, under the Unified Development Ordinance's use-specific standard for pet grooming and veterinary clinics.
Bloomington Veterinary Clinic Zoning Rules
Some RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code § 20.03.030(d)(4)
(4)Pet Grooming and Veterinarian Clinic. If a pet grooming or veterinarian clinic has a kennel associated with it, then it shall comply with Section 20.03.030(d)(2) (Kennel) and the following standards:(A)In the MN, MM, and MD zoning districts, outdoor kennel facilities are not permitted.(B)In the MC zoning district, outdoor kennels shall require a Conditional Use permit pursuant to Section 20....
Wildlife Rescue Permits
In the City of Bloomington it is unlawful to keep any wild or exotic animal on your property under Bloomington Municipal Code Section 7.40.010, enforced by Bloomington Animal Care and Control. That same section carves out the people who actually rescue wildlife: zoological parks, circuses, research laboratories, and anyone holding the state and federal licenses a wildlife rehabilitator or wildlife educator needs. There is no separate city rescue permit; the exemption rides entirely on outside licensing.
Bloomington Wild Animal Ban and Rehabilitator Exemption
Few RestrictionsBloomington Municipal Code §§ 7.40.010, 7.56.030(b)
No person shall keep or permit to be kept on their premises any wild or exotic animal for any purpose. This section shall not be construed to apply to zoological parks, circuses, animal exhibitions, research laboratories, licensed wildlife rehabilitators, or a wildlife educator who is in possession of all necessary federal or state licenses, permits, and/or approvals. ... Wild Animal Violations...