Animal Ordinances in Erie, PA (2026)
8 verified animal ordinances for Erie, Pennsylvania, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Erie's Codified Ordinances regulate animals in Article 505 (Animals and Fowl) of the General Offenses Code, and Erie's Zoning Ordinance does not list keeping of chickens, fowl, or livestock as a permitted use in residential districts. The practical effect is that backyard chickens and other agricultural animals are not allowed by right inside Erie city limits; keeping such animals invites both Article 505 enforcement and zoning citations from the Department of Code Enforcement. Pennsylvania does not preempt local livestock-keeping rules.
Erie PA Chickens, Fowl and Livestock Rules
Heavy RestrictionsDog Leash Laws
Erie's Codified Ordinances Article 505 (Animals and Fowl) prohibits dogs from running at large within the City of Erie — dogs off the owner's property must be on a leash and under control. State-level licensing is administered by the Erie County Treasurer under the Pennsylvania Dog Law at 3 P.S. Section 459-101 et seq., which requires every dog three months or older to be licensed annually. Erie's contracted animal-control authority responds to off-leash and at-large complaints.
Erie PA Dog Leash and Confinement Rules
Some RestrictionsBreed Restrictions
Erie does not have a breed-specific ordinance and cannot enact one. Pennsylvania's Dog Law at 3 P.S. Section 459-507-A(c) preempts local breed bans: a local ordinance otherwise dealing with dogs may not prohibit or otherwise limit a specific breed of dog. Erie regulates dangerous behavior on an individual-dog basis through its Article 505 nuisance and vicious-animal provisions, aligned with the state dangerous-dog statute at 3 P.S. Section 459-502-A enforced through the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County.
Erie PA Breed-Specific Legislation (Preempted by State Law)
Few RestrictionsBeekeeping
Erie's Codified Ordinances do not contain an express urban-beekeeping framework, and bees are not listed as a permitted accessory use in residential zones under the Erie Zoning Ordinance. The practical effect is that any hive proposed within City limits sits in regulatory gray space and would draw nuisance review under Article 505 if it triggered complaints. Statewide, the Pennsylvania Bee Law at 3 Pa.C.S. Section 2101 et seq. requires every beekeeper to register all apiaries with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry.
Erie PA Beekeeping Rules
Heavy RestrictionsExotic Pets
Erie's Codified Ordinances Article 505 addresses dangerous and wild animals through general nuisance and restraint provisions, and the Zoning Ordinance does not list exotic species as a customary residential accessory use. Statewide, the Pennsylvania Game and Wildlife Code at 34 Pa.C.S. Section 2961 et seq. and the Pennsylvania Game Commission's permit regulations at 58 Pa. Code Chapter 147 separately require an Exotic Wildlife Possession Permit for big cats, primates, bears, wolves, and venomous reptiles native to non-PA jurisdictions.
Erie PA Exotic Pets
Heavy RestrictionsWildlife Feeding
Erie's local wildlife-feeding enforcement runs through Article 505 nuisance provisions of the Codified Ordinances and property-maintenance rules against accumulations attracting vermin. Statewide rules add specific bans: 58 Pa. Code Section 137.33 prohibits feeding bears and elk anywhere in Pennsylvania, and 58 Pa. Code Section 137.34 prohibits feeding wild deer within designated Disease Management Areas. As of 2025 Erie County is not within a DMA, so general deer feeding in Erie is not prohibited solely by 137.34 — bird-feeder rules still apply, and a DMA designation could change this.
Erie PA Wildlife Feeding Rules
Some RestrictionsAnimal Hoarding
Erie addresses animal hoarding through two overlapping frameworks: (1) Article 505 of the Codified Ordinances, which prohibits keeping animals that constitute a public nuisance or menace to public health or safety; and (2) the Pennsylvania cruelty statutes at 18 Pa.C.S. Sections 5532 (neglect), 5533 (cruelty), and 5534 (aggravated cruelty), as enacted by Libre's Law in 2017. The Pennsylvania SPCA and humane society officers, working with the Erie Humane Society, enforce the criminal statutes alongside Erie Bureau of Animal Enforcement.
Erie PA Animal Hoarding
Heavy RestrictionsPet Limits
Erie's Codified Ordinances Article 505 does not impose a single fixed numerical cap on household dogs and cats but uses nuisance and dangerous-animal provisions to control over-capacity homes. The state Dog Law continues to require each dog three months or older to be licensed annually through the Erie County Treasurer, and any person breeding, boarding, or selling dogs commercially must hold a separate state kennel license under 3 P.S. Section 459-206. Conditions sufficient to constitute neglect or hoarding escalate to criminal charges under 18 Pa.C.S. Sections 5532-5534.