Animal Ordinances in Freehold Township, NJ (2026)
11 verified animal ordinances for Freehold Township, New Jersey, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Freehold Township bans housing or storing farm animals, defined to include livestock and poultry, in any residential zone unless the property itself qualifies as a farm under the Township's Land Use code. The rule sits in Chapter 79's Animal Control article, adopted by the Township Committee in 2006, not the Board of Health's separate animal chapter.
Freehold Township Farm Animal Keeping Ban
Heavy RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 79-16
FARM ANIMALS Refers to those species of animals that are typically raised on a farm as defined in this article, such as livestock and poultry. ... § 79-16. Animals permitted on residential property. The following restrictions shall apply to all areas located in a residential zone within Freehold Township pursuant to §§ 190-125 through 190-143 of Chapter 190, Land Use: A. Housing or storing of f...
Dog Leash Laws
Freehold Township bars dogs from running loose on public streets, parks or private property without the owner's permission under § 79-8E of the Township Code, and any dog off its own property must be on a leash no longer than six feet, held by someone over 12.
Freehold Township Dog Leash Requirement
Some RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 79-8E, F
Running at large. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit it to run at large upon the public streets or in any public park, public building or other public place or private property within the Township without the permission of the owner of such property. ... Leashing of dogs. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit it to be upon the p...
Breed Restrictions
Freehold Township does not restrict dog ownership by breed. Instead, § 79-6 of the Township Code lets the Municipal Judge declare an individual dog vicious or potentially dangerous after a hearing, triggering mandatory muzzling, a locked enclosure, warning signage and a special registration.
Freehold Township Dangerous Dog Declaration
Significant RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 79-6
Complaint; investigation; report; notification. It shall be the duty of the Police Department and the Animal Control Officer to receive and investigate complaints against dogs. If they reasonably believe any dog complained of to be a vicious or potentially dangerous dog, they shall report their findings in writing to the Municipal Judge. ... The owner of a potentially dangerous dog ... who is f...
Exotic Pets
Freehold Township bars large exotic animals and potentially dangerous species from residential zones under § 79-16B of the Township Code, and anyone possessing a potentially dangerous species anywhere in the Township must first get a New Jersey DEP permit and register with the Board of Health under § 79-17.
Freehold Township Exotic Animal Restrictions
Significant RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 79-16B, § 79-17
Large exotic animals, as determined by the Freehold Township Health Department, and potentially dangerous species are not permitted in residential zones. ... No person shall possess any potentially dangerous species unless such person has first received both the required permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:25, Subchapter 4, and has reg...
Wildlife Feeding
Freehold Township Code § 79-19 bars feeding, baiting or otherwise providing food to any wild animal, bird or waterfowl anywhere in the Township, public or private land alike. The ban covers deliberate feeding and leaving out attractants, with narrow carve-outs for farm animals, confined wildlife, and licensed hunters baiting under state law.
Freehold Township Wildlife Feeding Ban
Heavy RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 79-19
§ 79-19. Wildlife feeding. A. Feeding of wild animals, birds and waterfowl prohibited. (1) No person shall purposely or knowingly, as said terms are defined in Title 2C of the New Jersey Revised Statutes, feed, bait or in any manner provide access to food to any wild animal, birds or waterfowl in Freehold Township, on lands either publicly or privately owned, except as permitted by Subsection B...
Pet Limits
Freehold Township caps ownership at five dogs or cats, in any combination, per person under § 79-2D of the Township Code, unless the animals are kept at a duly licensed kennel or pet shop or held in a pound or shelter.
Freehold Township Five-Pet Household Limit
Some RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 79-2D
Number of dogs permitted. No more than five dogs or cats, or combination thereof, shall be owned or harbored by any person except in a kennel or pet shop duly licensed or in a pound or shelter.
Cat Rules
Freehold Township requires every cat seven months or older to be licensed annually with the Board of Health, carry proof of rabies inoculation, and stay off public streets and parks. Running at large, habitual crying between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., and property damage are all separately banned under Chapter 368.
Freehold Township Cat Licensing Rules
Some RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 368-6, § 368-8
§ 368-6. Licensing provisions. A. License, when required. Licenses shall be required for the following cats of licensing age: (1) Any cat owned or kept within the Township on the first day of March of any year ... E. Fees. The person applying for a license shall pay a fee of $11 for each cat. The same fee shall be charged for the annual renewal of each license. Each person registering a cat of ...
Coyote Management
Freehold Township has no separate coyote cull or hazing ordinance. Its animal-control code addresses coyotes only by naming them in the general wild-animal definition and folding them into § 79-19's blanket feeding ban, with one narrow carve-out for Township agents working an approved deer-management plan.
Freehold Township Coyote Feeding Rules
Heavy RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 79-19(A)(4)(a); § 79-14
WILD ANIMAL Any animal, which is not human nor domesticated, including but not limited to bears, coyotes, deer, feral cats, foxes, groundhogs, opossums, raccoons, skunks, waterfowl, wolves and hybrid wolves. ... (4) Nothing in this section shall apply to: (a) Any agent of the Township authorized to implement an alternative control method set forth in any approved community-based deer management...
Pet Store Rules
Freehold Township requires every pet shop, kennel, shelter and pound to hold a Health Department license under § 79-3 of the Township Code, and pet shops must additionally disclose the breeders and brokers who supplied their animals in the prior year of operation.
Freehold Township Pet Shop Licensing Rules
Some RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 79-3
License required. Any person who keeps, operates or proposes to establish a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall apply to the Health Department for a license entitling him to keep or operate the establishment. Any person holding the license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by the licensee and kept at the establishment; licenses shall not be transferable to ...
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Freehold Township zones veterinary hospitals and offices as a permitted use only in the PUD-1 Planned Unit Development-1 Zone, grouped alongside medical offices and walk-in clinics. Wherever a veterinary use is allowed, the Township's parking table requires six parking spaces per doctor or examination room, whichever produces the larger number.
Freehold Township Veterinary Hospital Zoning
Some RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 190-140.1.A(7) and § 190-163
Permitted uses. ... (7) Medical offices, walk-in medical centers, diagnostic and testing facilities, physical therapy offices, and veterinary hospitals and offices. ... Veterinarian/veterinarian hospitals ... 6 ... Doctor or examination room, whichever is greater
Bird Protection
Freehold Township carves backyard and songbird feeding out of its general wildlife-feeding ban. Section 79-19(B) lets residents feed songbirds and other backyard birds outdoors so long as the feeding doesn't create a nuisance, an accumulation of droppings, or an attractant for rodents or other wild animals.
Freehold Township Backyard Bird Feeding Rules
Light RestrictionsFreehold Township Code § 79-19(B)
B. Feeding of songbirds and other backyard birds permitted. Feeding of songbirds and other backyard birds shall be permitted outdoors at such times and in such numbers that: (1) Such feeding does not create an unreasonable disturbance that affects the rights of surrounding property owners and renders other persons insecure in the use of their property; (2) Does not create an accumulation of dro...