Animal Ordinances in Dubuque, IA (2026)
12 verified animal ordinances for Dubuque, Iowa, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Dubuque bans selling baby chicks or ducklings as pets or novelties and restricts commercial livestock pens to concrete-floored enclosures draining to the sewer system. A separate permit path exists only for the City's controlled livestock grazing program.
Chicken and Livestock Rules in Dubuque, Iowa
Significant RestrictionsDubuque City Code §§ 7-6A-1, 7-6A-2
7-6A-1: SALE OF BABY CHICKENS AND DUCKLINGS: ... A. Sale As Pets Or Novelties: It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, or offer for sale, barter, or give away, baby chicks or ducklings or other fowl as pets or novelties. ... ... C. State License Required: No person shall engage in the business of selling baby chicks, poultry or domestic fowl within the City unless such person has been lice...
Dog Leash Laws
Dubuque bans letting a dog run at large under City Code 7-6B-7, and 7-6B-1 spells out the only ways a dog counts as restrained: a proper leash, a secured vehicle or crate, a vet hospital, or a fenced yard the dog cannot leave.
Dog Leash and At-Large Law in Dubuque, Iowa
Some RestrictionsDubuque City Code §§ 7-6B-1, 7-6B-7
AT LARGE: Any dog, cat or livestock, fowl or ferret found off the premises of the owner or keeper. A dog or cat shall not be deemed at large if the dog or cat is: A. Attached to a leash of sufficient strength and appropriate length to control the animal where such leash is held by its owner or keeper; or B. Restrained within an enclosed motor vehicle or by crate or leash of sufficient strength ...
Breed Restrictions
Dubuque does not ban any dog breed by name; instead City Code § 7-6E lets the City Manager declare an individual dog potentially vicious based on unprovoked bites, attacks, or menacing behavior, and § 7-6F adds a stricter vicious designation for repeat or serious-injury attacks, each triggering mandatory confinement and muzzling regardless of breed.
Dubuque Dangerous Dog Declaration Rules
Significant RestrictionsDubuque City Code §§ 7-6E-1, 7-6E-5
A "potentially vicious dog" is a dog that: A. When unprovoked, on two (2) separate occasions, has engaged in any behavior that has required a defensive action by any person to prevent bodily injury when the person and dog were off of the property of the owner or keeper of the dog; B. When unprovoked, has attacked or bitten a person; C. When unprovoked, has inflicted a serious injury or caused t...
Exotic Pets
In the City of Dubuque, keeping a lion, tiger, wolf, bear, alligator, venomous snake, Gila monster, or any of thirteen other animal groups listed as dangerous per se is prohibited citywide under City Code § 7-6D-3. The ban covers any wild or naturally undomesticated animal capable of killing or injuring people or pets, with only narrow exceptions for zoos, circuses, veterinary hospitals, wildlife rescues and licensed pet shops.
Dubuque Bans Keeping Dangerous Wild Animals
Heavy RestrictionsDubuque City Code §§ 7-6D-1, 7-6D-3
DANGEROUS ANIMAL: ... A. Any animal which is not naturally tame or gentle, and which is of a wild nature or disposition, and which is capable of killing, inflicting serious injury upon, or causing disease among, human beings or domestic animals and having known tendencies as a species to do so; ... ... C. The following animals which shall be deemed to be dangerous animals per se: 1. Lions, tige...
Wildlife Feeding
Dubuque's wildlife-feeding rule is scoped specifically to bears: City Code § 7-6G-2, adopted by Ordinance 15-25 in 2025, makes it unlawful to feed a bear for any purpose, negligently leave food or attractants available to bears, harass a bear, or defy law enforcement barriers protecting bears and the public. It does not separately address deer, geese, or stray animals.
Dubuque Bans Feeding Bears Citywide
Heavy RestrictionsDubuque City Code §§ 7-6G-1, 7-6G-2
ATTRACTANT: Any substance which does or could reasonably be expected to attract bears, including, but not limited to, food products, pet food, feed, garbage, compost, food scraps, grain, or salt. ... FEED: ... The act of providing food or food waste, including but not limited to leaving food, trash, or other attractants accessible to bears. ... It is unlawful for any person to: A. Feed any bear...
Pet Limits
Dubuque does not cap the number of dogs or cats a household may keep. City Code § 6-4-3(N) instead makes it a public nuisance to harbor or maintain so many dogs, cats, or other animals that the premises becomes unhealthy or unsanitary for the people or animals living there.
Dubuque Has No Fixed Pet-Per-Household Cap
Few RestrictionsDubuque City Code § 6-4-3(N)
N. Animals: Harboring or maintaining such number of dogs or cats or other animals, or combination thereof, as to create unhealthy or unsanitary conditions for the humans or animals occupying the premises.
Cat Rules
Dubuque requires every cat to be licensed by the City Manager, with the license expiring one year after purchase and turning delinquent 30 days past the anniversary date. An impounded, unredeemed licensed cat loses its license and is disposed of within five days.
Cat Licensing Law in Dubuque, Iowa
Some RestrictionsDubuque City Code § 7-6B-2
7-6B-2: LICENSING; ... TAGS AND FEES: ... A. License Required: No person shall keep a dog or cat in the City unless such dog or cat is licensed by the City as provided in this article. This section shall not apply to veterinary clinics and boarding facilities. ... D. Cats: ... ... 2. Expiration; Renewal; ... Delinquent Fee ... s: All cat licenses issued under this subsection shall expire one (1...
Microchipping
Dubuque does not require microchipping of pets generally, but City Code § 7-6E-2 lets the City Manager order microchip identification implanted in any dog declared potentially vicious, and § 7-6F-2 imposes the same condition on any animal declared vicious, as part of the written declaration's restrictions.
Dubuque Can Require Microchips For Vicious Dogs
Some RestrictionsDubuque City Code §§ 7-6E-2, 7-6F-2
C. Contents Of Declaration: The declaration shall state: 1. The description of the animal; ... ... 7. The penalties for a violation of such restrictions. 8. If the City Manager so determines, that the owner or keeper be required to have microchip identification implanted in the dog. ... ... 6. If the City Manager so determines, that the owner or keeper be required to have microchip identificati...
Pet Groomer Rules
Dubuque defines animal grooming as a business that bathes, clips or combs animals for a fee under City Code section 16-2-3, and zones pet daycare or grooming as a conditional use. In the C-2 and C-2A Neighborhood Shopping Center districts, section 16-8-5-10 requires Zoning Board of Adjustment approval and mandates that operations be conducted within a completely enclosed building.
Pet Grooming Businesses in Dubuque
Significant RestrictionsDubuque City Code §§ 16-2-3, 16-8-5-10
16-2-3: DEFINITIONS: ... ANIMAL GROOMING SERVICE: Any place or establishment, public or private, where animals are bathed, clipped, or combed for the purpose of enhancing their aesthetic value or health and for which a fee is charged. ... 16-8-5-10: ... LIST OF CONDITIONAL USES: ... Pet daycare or grooming. A pet daycare may be allowed in the C-2 and C-2A districts in accordance with the follow...
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
In the City of Dubuque, an animal hospital or clinic is a conditional use limited to the C-2 and C-2A commercial districts under UDC section 16-8-5-10, and the zoning board of adjustment must approve it. The code's single stated condition requires every operation and activity at the facility to be conducted and maintained entirely within a completely enclosed building, with no outdoor treatment, boarding or kenneling permitted.
Dubuque Animal Hospital Zoning Rule
Significant RestrictionsDubuque City Code § 16-8-5-10
Animal hospital/clinic. An animal hospital or clinic may be allowed in the C-2 and C-2A districts in accordance with the following conditions: A. All operations and activities shall be conducted and maintained within a completely enclosed building.
Bird Protection
Dubuque bars anyone from killing, trapping, teasing, feeding or otherwise interfering with birds or other fowl, or robbing or destroying a bird's nest, in any city park, parkway, trail or open space. The Park and Recreation Department enforces the rule, which sits alongside separate bans on throwing stones and unauthorized fishing.
Dubuque Park Bird And Nest Protection
Heavy RestrictionsDubuque City Code § 10-5B-7
No person shall kill, trap, tease, annoy, disturb, feed or interfere with any bird or other fowl, or animals in any park, parkway, trail, or open space. No person shall rob, injure or destroy the nest of any bird or any other fowl.
Wildlife Rescue Permits
Dubuque's citywide ban on keeping dangerous wild animals under City Code § 7-6D-3 does not apply to a wildlife rescue organization, provided it holds an appropriate permit from the Iowa Conservation Commission or the Iowa Department of Natural Resources under § 7-6D-4. Animals already in state DNR custody are separately exempted under the same section.
Dubuque Wildlife Rescue Exception For Dangerous Animals
Light RestrictionsDubuque City Code § 7-6D-4
D. The keeping of dangerous animals by a wildlife rescue organization, with appropriate permit from the Iowa Conservation Commission or the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. E. Any dangerous animals under the jurisdiction of and in the possession of the Iowa Conservation Commission, pursuant to chapter 717F of the Iowa Code.