Animal Ordinances in Boulder, CO (2026)
7 verified animal ordinances for Boulder, Colorado, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Boulder Revised Code § 6-1-41 bans keeping swine, hogs, or pigs anywhere in the city, and requires at least half an acre of lot area per animal for horses, goats, sheep, cows, llamas, burros, or other equine or bovine animals, plus their young under six months. The section does not restrict backyard chickens or other fowl.
Boulder's Backyard Livestock Rules
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 6-1-41(a)-(b)
(a)No person shall own or keep any swine, hogs, or pigs.(b)No person shall own or keep any horse, goat, sheep, cow, llama, burro, or other equine or bovine animal unless such person has a total lot area on the lot of one-half acre per animal plus its young under six months of age.
Dog Leash Laws
Boulder Revised Code § 6-1-16 requires every dog to stay on its guardian's premises unless it is on a leash held by a person or confined inside a vehicle without access to passers-by. Dogs must also stay leashed in wildlife-protection areas the city manager designates. Fines start at $100 and rise with repeat violations within two years.
Boulder's Dog Leash and At-Large Law
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 6-1-16(a),(b),(d)
(a)No person owning or keeping any dog shall fail to keep the dog on the premises of the guardian or keeper unless the dog is:(1)On a leash held by a person; or(2)Within a vehicle or similarly physically confined and without access to passers-by.(b)No person owning or keeping any dog shall fail to keep the dog on a leash held by a person within any area where a rule enacted by the city manager ...
Exotic Pets
Boulder Revised Code § 6-1-4 bans owning, keeping, or publicly displaying fifteen categories of wild and exotic animals, including bears, big cats, venomous reptiles, primates, elephants, marine mammals, and non-domesticated canids and ungulates. Anyone who owns an animal that requires a Colorado state wildlife license must also hold that state license on top of complying with the local ban.
Boulder Exotic and Wild Animal Ban
Heavy RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 6-1-4
(a)No person shall own or keep any animal for which a state license is required unless such person possesses the appropriate license from the Colorado Division of Wildlife.(b)No person shall place on public display, own, or keep any of the following animals:(1)Ursids (e.g., bears);(2)Felids other than ordinary domesticated house cats;(3)Mustalids other than ferrets (e.g., skunks, weasels, otter...
Wildlife Feeding
Boulder Revised Code § 6-1-4(c) makes it unlawful to feed any wild animal within city limits, defining feed broadly to include bones, salt licks and water, not just food scraps. The prohibition targets deer, coyotes, bears, and other wildlife that habituate to human food sources. The code carries one narrow defense: feeding wild squirrels, birds, or fish stays legal.
Boulder's Ban on Feeding Wild Animals
Significant RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 6-1-4(c)-(d)
(c)No person shall feed any wild animal. For the purposes of this subsection, to feed shall mean all provision of edible or drinkable material, including, without limitation:(1)Bones;(2)Salt licks; and(3)Water.(d)It is a specific defense to a charge of violating Subsection (c) of this section that a person is feeding only wild squirrels or birds or fish.
Cat Rules
Boulder Revised Code § 6-1-15(a) is the reason cats can legally roam the city: it exempts dogs and domestic cats from the general ban on animals running loose off their owner's premises. That does not make cats unregulated: Section 6-1-22 still bans letting a house cat damage another person's property, and other provisions cover bite quarantine and noise.
Boulder's Rules on Cats At Large
Light RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code §§ 6-1-15(a), 6-1-22
6-1-15(a): No person owning or keeping any animal in the city, except a dog or domestic cat, shall fail to prevent the animal from being off the premises of the guardian or keeper and beyond such person's supervision and control. 6-1-22: No person owning or keeping any domestic house cat shall fail to prevent the cat from damaging the property of another.
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Boulder's Table 6-1 use schedule bars animal hospitals and veterinary clinics from every residential district and from Public and Agricultural land, allows them by right in Business Community, Business Regional, and all Industrial districts, and requires use review approval in Mixed Use, Business Transitional, and part of Downtown.
Boulder Zoning for Animal Hospitals and Vet Clinics
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 9-6-1, Table 6-1
A = Allowed C = Conditional Use U = Use Review [ ] = Specific Use Standards Apply - = Prohibited Use Module R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 MH M1 M2 M3 M4 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 D1 D2 D3 I1 I2 I3 I4 P A Animal hospital or veterinary clinic - - - - - - - - - U U U U U U A U A - - U A A A A - -
Bird Protection
Boulder Revised Code § 6-1-35 makes it unlawful to shoot at, wound, kill, capture, ensnare, net, trap, or injure any wild bird within the city, or to damage a protected bird's eggs or nest, backed by the city's declared bird sanctuary in Section 6-1-33. Landowners who knowingly let someone else do it are equally liable.
Boulder's Wild Bird Protection Law
Significant RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 6-1-35(a)
(a)Except as authorized by provisions of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person in the city knowingly to shoot at, wound, kill, capture, ensnare, net, trap or injure any wild bird, or for any person to damage the eggs or nest of any protected bird. It shall also be unlawful for any landowner within the city knowingly to permit another to engage in any of the actions forbidden by this...
Looking for Boulder County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Boulder city rules.
Animal Ordinances in Boulder County →