Animal Ordinances in Fayetteville, NC (2026)
4 verified animal ordinances for Fayetteville, North Carolina, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Fayetteville repealed its own animal chapter in 2012 and adopted Cumberland County Code Chapter 3 instead. Inside city limits you can keep ten hens or rabbits per dwelling lot, and roosters are banned.
Ten hens, no roosters, no swine in city limits
Some RestrictionsCumberland County Code of Ordinances § 3-75(c)
No roosters, and no more than ten female chickens (hens) or rabbits shall be kept, housed, or penned at a dwelling or on the lot on which such dwelling is located within the corporate limits of any municipality in which this chapter is applied.
Breed Restrictions
Fayetteville does not enforce breed-specific legislation. North Carolina regulates dogs based on behavior under the Dangerous Dog Law (NCGS Chapter 67, Article 1A). Dogs are evaluated individually.
Fayetteville Dog Breed Restrictions
Few RestrictionsN.C. Gen. Stat. § 67-4.1(a), § 67-4.5
"Dangerous dog" means a. A dog that: 1. Without provocation has killed or inflicted severe injury on a person; or 2. Is determined by the person or Board designated by the county or municipal authority responsible for animal control to be potentially dangerous because the dog has engaged in one or more of the behaviors listed in subdivision (2) of this subsection. b. Any dog owned or harbored p...
Wildlife Feeding
Fayetteville has no ordinance against feeding wildlife or stray animals. Cumberland County Chapter 3 governs animals inside the city and defines harboring as regular feeding, which turns a feeder into the animal's keeper.
No feeding ban; feeding makes you the keeper
Few RestrictionsCumberland County Code of Ordinances § 3-10
Harboring means regularly feeding, sheltering, or caring for an animal.
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Fayetteville's citywide use table shuts veterinary clinics out of every residential district, from single-family SF-15 down to manufactured-home MH and multi-family MR-5. A clinic needs a Special Use Permit in the Agricultural Residential (AR) district, but is permitted by right in the OI, NC, LC, CC, MU, DT-1 and DT-2 commercial and mixed-use districts, per UDO Table 30-4.A.2.
Fayetteville Bars Vet Clinics From Residential Zoning
Some RestrictionsFayetteville, N.C., Unified Development Ordinance Table 30-4.A.2 (Use Table, Veterinary Clinic)
P = Permitted Use S = Special Use MP = Allowed Subject to a Planned Development Master Plan "/" = Prohibited Use [1]. ZONING DISTRICTS: CD AR SF-15 SF-10 SF-6 MR-5 MH OI NC [3] LC CC MAC MU DT-1 DT-2 UC BP4 LI HI PD-R PD-EC PD-TN. Animal Care: Veterinary clinic / S / / / / / P P P P / P P P / / / / / MP /
Looking for Cumberland County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Fayetteville city rules.
Animal Ordinances in Cumberland County →