Animal Ordinances in Columbia, SC (2026)
10 verified animal ordinances for Columbia, South Carolina, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Columbia allows up to four hens per lot under Section 4-35, but bans roosters, hog-raising, and any other livestock or fowl within city limits. Keeping chickens requires a zoning accessory-structure permit plus an animal control certificate of inspection with a $5.00 per-bird annual fee.
Columbia Limits Backyard Chickens to Four Hens
Significant RestrictionsColumbia, SC Code of Ordinances § 4-35
No more than four hens shall be kept or maintained on a single premise. No roosters shall be allowed. Such hens must be confined in a coop not less than 18 inches in height and with a minimum square feet of floor area of two square feet per hen over four months of age, connected to a run of not less than nine square feet for one bird; 12 square feet for two birds; 16 square feet for three birds...
Dog Leash Laws
Every dog in Columbia must be on a leash, in an enclosure, or contained by an approved invisible fence system under Section 4-64; anything else counts as running at large. Tethering is capped at nine hours in any 24-hour period, and the tether must be at least ten feet long.
Columbia Requires Dogs Leashed or Confined at All Times
Some RestrictionsColumbia, SC Code of Ordinances § 4-64(a)-(b)
All dogs must be kept under restraint or confinement within the city limits. Restraint or confinement means (1) on a leash held by a person of sufficient judgment and physical strength to control the dog and to prevent the dog from attacking, threatening or annoying other people or other animals; (2) confinement in an enclosure; or (3) confinement to the property or specific areas of the proper...
Breed Restrictions
Columbia's Code doesn't ban any dog breed outright, but Section 4-61 lists 'its breed' as one of several factors animal control weighs when declaring a dog a dangerous animal. Once so declared, owners face mandatory confinement, muzzling, $50,000 liability insurance and posted warning signage under Sections 4-92 through 4-96.
Columbia Weighs Breed in Dangerous Dog Rulings
Significant RestrictionsColumbia, SC Code of Ordinances § 4-61
Dangerous animal means: a. Any animal which the owner knows or reasonably should know has a propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or pets for which an adequate enclosure, confinement, restraint, muzzling or training would not or does not protect the public or other animals from harm or the threat of harm by ...
Exotic Pets
Columbia bans residents from owning, keeping or exhibiting an extensive list of wild and exotic animals inside the city, from nondomestic cats and wolf-dog hybrids to venomous snakes, alligators and primates. Sec. 4-91 makes possession itself the offense, not just a bite or an escape, and pairs the ban with jail-eligible penalties enforced by Columbia Animal Services.
Columbia Bans Owning Exotic and Wild Animals
Heavy RestrictionsColumbia, SC Code of Ordinances § 4-91
(a)Except as provided in subsection 4-91(d), it shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, harbor or act as custodian of a:(1)Dangerous animal as defined by this article; this section does not apply to guard dogs or attack dogs;(2)a.Nondomestic member of the family felidae;b.Wolf-dog hybrid containing any percentage of wolf;c.Badger, wolverine, weasel, skunk and mink;d.Raccoon;e.Bear;f.Nonh...
Pet Limits
Columbia doesn't cap pets outright, but Section 4-63 requires anyone who keeps four or more dogs on one property to first get an animal control certificate of inspection, the same certification a commercial kennel needs, with a $100.00 annual fee. Keep three dogs or fewer and no kennel permit is required.
Columbia Requires a Permit for Four-Plus Dogs
Some RestrictionsColumbia, SC Code of Ordinances §§ 4-61, 4-63(a)
Kennel means the premises of any person engaged in the business of breeding, buying, selling or boarding dogs or who keeps four or more dogs on the premises. ... No person shall own or operate a dog kennel or keep four or more dogs on his premises within the city without first obtaining a certificate of inspection from the animal control division, issued pursuant to this section, for which an a...
Cat Rules
Columbia exempts feral and free-roaming cats from ordinary licensing through its Community Cat Diversion Program under Section 4-74, so long as each cat is vet-assessed healthy, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and ear-tipped, then returned to where it was trapped on the third day after intake, or as soon as practicable.
Columbia Allows Managed Feral Cat Colonies
Light RestrictionsColumbia, SC Code of Ordinances § 4-74
(a)Feral or free roaming cats may be allowed in the City of Columbia as long as all of the following requirements are met:(1)Cat must be assessed by a veterinarian and deemed healthy.(2)Cat must be spayed or neutered.(3)Cat must be vaccinated for rabies, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia.(4)Cat must be ear tipped.(b)A feral or free roaming cat shall be scheduled for s...
Microchipping
Columbia doesn't mandate microchipping for every pet at home, but Section 4-67(a)(2) bars releasing any animal from the city shelter, whether redeemed by its owner or adopted, without an implanted microchip. Owners of unaltered pets also pay a $20.00 microchipping fee on top of licensing and rabies costs.
Columbia Requires Microchips to Reclaim Shelter Pets
Some RestrictionsColumbia, SC Code of Ordinances § 4-67(a)(2)
For other pets the fee shall be $10.00 plus the appropriate license fee, the charge for rabies inoculation, a $20.00 microchipping fee, and the cost of spaying or neutering the animal. No fertile animal shall be redeemed or adopted from the shelter. No animal will be released from the shelter without proof of inoculation and without an implanted microchip.
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Columbia's zoning code regulates veterinary hospitals and clinics as an Animal Care Use under Sec. 17-4.2(c)(3)a.2. Boarding areas must be fully enclosed and animals kept indoors between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., a lot next to a residential district needs a 30-foot side yard and 40-foot rear yard, and outdoor exercise runs must sit at least 35 feet from any lot line and be screened from view.
Columbia Veterinary Clinic Zoning Standards
Some RestrictionsColumbia, SC Unified Development Ordinance § 17-4.2(c)(3)a.2
2. Veterinary Hospital or Clinic Veterinary hospitals and clinics shall comply with the following standards: (i) Areas in which animals are boarded shall be fully enclosed within a structure and sufficiently insulated so no unreasonable noise or odor can be detected off the premises. All boarded animals shall be kept within such a boarding area between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.; (ii...
Bird Protection
Columbia's Code of Ordinances makes it unlawful to kill, maim or otherwise annoy with firearms, air rifles, slingshots or any other manner the birds and squirrels within city limits or in any city park or playground, and bars disturbing their nests. The only way around the ban is a nuisance-trapping permit from the Animal Services Division.
Columbia Bans Killing or Disturbing Wild Birds
Heavy RestrictionsColumbia, SC Code of Ordinances § 4-1
It shall be unlawful for any person to kill, maim or otherwise annoy with firearms, air rifles or slingshots, or in any other manner, the squirrels and birds within the limits of the city or within the limits of any park or playground owned by the city, or to disturb the nests of such birds and squirrels; provided that any owner, authorized agent, lessee or tenant of real estate in the city fre...
Wildlife Rescue Permits
Columbia's citywide ban on keeping wild and feral animals carves out one permit path: a wildlife rescue organization holding appropriate state or local permits may lawfully keep prohibited species. Sec. 4-91(d)(4) is the route around the section's ownership ban for rescues, alongside separate carve-outs for zoos, circuses and licensed veterinary hospitals.
Columbia Wildlife Rescue Permit Exemption
Some RestrictionsColumbia, SC Code of Ordinances § 4-91(d)(4)
(d)The prohibition contained in subsections (a), (b) and (c) above, shall not apply to the keeping of wild or feral animals in the following circumstances:(1)The keeping of wild or feral animals in a public zoo, bona fide education or medical institution, humane society, or museum where they are kept as live specimens for the public to view, or for the purpose of instruction, research or study....
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