Animal Ordinances in Greensboro, NC (2026)
10 verified animal ordinances for Greensboro, North Carolina, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Greensboro allows backyard chickens and bees on lots of 7,000 square feet or larger, with coops set back 25 to 50 feet from property lines depending on lot size. Horses, cows, sheep and goats are permitted only in AG and R-3 districts on lots of 10,000 to 20,000 square feet.
Greensboro Backyard Chicken and Livestock Rules
Some RestrictionsGreensboro Land Development Ordinance § 30-8-11.3
A. Livestock The keeping and raising of horses, cows, sheep, goats, and other livestock, except swine, is a permitted accessory use in the AG and R-3 districts subject Chapter 5 of the City Code and the following standards. 1. Minimum Lot Size a. Horses and Cows: The minimum lot size for the keeping of horses and cows is 20,000 square feet. b. Sheep and Goats: The minimum lot size for the keepi...
Dog Leash Laws
Greensboro requires every animal except cats to be under sufficient physical restraint, leash, fence, secure enclosure, or vehicle, whenever it is off the owner's premises, and bars any animal from running at large and creating a nuisance or danger. City Code § 5-3, re-enacted May 19, 2026, ties enforcement to the county's restraint standards.
Greensboro Leash and Animal Restraint Law
Some RestrictionsGreensboro, NC Code of Ordinances § 5-3
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person owning or controlling any animal to allow the same to create a nuisance or public danger by running at large. It shall be the duty of animal control and/or law enforcement officers to take up and deliver any domesticated animal (e.g., dog, cat), including fowl and other domestic animals, as defined in the county ordinance, found running at large to the cou...
Breed Restrictions
Greensboro follows NC dangerous dog law (N.C.G.S. 67-4.1), behavior-based not breed-based. No BSL in effect. Dangerous dogs must be leashed and muzzled off property.
Greensboro Dog Breed Restrictions & Dangerous Dogs
Some RestrictionsN.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 67-4.1, 67-4.2, 67-4.4, 67-4.5
Article 1A. Dangerous Dogs. § 67-4.1. Definitions and procedures. (a) As used in this Article, unless the context clearly requires otherwise and except as modified in subsection (b) of this section, the term: (1) "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 mu...
Beekeeping
Greensboro LDO Sec. 30-8-11.3 allows beekeeping. Hives must be 50+ ft from property lines. Max one colony per 1,500 sq ft, up to 10 colonies total.
Greensboro Beekeeping Regulations
Some RestrictionsN.C. Gen. Stat. Ch. 106, Art. 55 (Beekeeping Regulations)
seases and disorders and to provide regulatory services in the areas of pollination of plants, honeybee poisonings, thefts, bee management and marketing. (1977, c. 238, s. 1.) 106-635. Definitions. As used in this Article: (1) The term "apiary" means bees, comb, hives, appliances, or colonies, wherever they are kept, located, or found. (2) The term "bee(s)" means insects of the superfamily Apoi...
Exotic Pets
Guilford County Sec. 5-11 and 5-26 regulate exotic animals in Greensboro. Bears, lions, tigers, wolves prohibited. Other exotics need a free Animal Control permit.
Greensboro Exotic Pet & Inherently Dangerous Animal Rules
Heavy RestrictionsN.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 14-416, 14-417, 14-417.1
Article 55. Regulation of Certain Reptiles. § 14-416. Mishandling of certain reptiles declared public nuisance and criminal offense. The intentional or negligent exposure of other human beings to unsafe contact with venomous reptiles, large constricting snakes, or crocodilians is essentially dangerous and injurious and detrimental to public health, safety and welfare, and is therefore declared ...
Pet Limits
Keeping property in a condition that's offensive or dangerous to the community because of the number, type, variety, density or location of animals on it is a declared public nuisance under Greensboro City Code § 5-5(2)d: the city's hoarding standard, enforceable independent of any specific head-count limit.
Greensboro Animal Hoarding Nuisance Rule
Some RestrictionsGreensboro, NC Code of Ordinances § 5-5(2)d
(2)It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, possess or maintain an animal in such a manner as to constitute a public nuisance. By way of example and not of limitation, the following acts or actions by an owner or possessor of an animal are hereby declared to be a public nuisance and are therefore unlawful:...d.Maintaining the owner's property in a manner that is offensive, annoying or ...
Cat Rules
Greensboro's leash-and-restraint requirement in City Code Section 5-3(a)(1) applies to "any animal, excluding cats." Dog and other pet owners must keep the animal on a leash, in a cage or fenced yard, or otherwise physically restrained at all times, but cats are named out of that requirement, so an unrestrained cat is not, by itself, a violation.
Greensboro Cats Exempt From Animal Restraint Law
Light RestrictionsGreensboro City Code § 5-3(a), (a)(1)
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person owning or controlling any animal to allow the same to create a nuisance or public danger by running at large... Each person owning or controlling an animal, including fowl, shall be responsible for taking whatever measures are reasonably necessary for keeping the animal on the owner's premises or under the owner's control when off his premises.(1)Restraint...
Pet Groomer Rules
Greensboro's Land Development Ordinance classifies pet grooming as a Personal Service use within the Personal and Professional Services category, grouped with kennels and veterinary offices rather than with animal shelters. Table 8-1 sets where a grooming business may locate, and Section 30-8-10.4(R) adds one firm site standard: outdoor pens and runs are banned at every pet grooming, kennel, or veterinary establishment citywide.
Greensboro Pet Grooming Business Zoning Rules
Some RestrictionsGreensboro Land Development Ordinance §§ 30-8-8.5(A)(1)(h), 30-8-10.4(R)
h. Pet grooming ... m. Veterinary service and animal hospital ... R. Veterinary Services, Pet Grooming, Kennels Outdoor pens and runs are prohibited.
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Greensboro's Land Development Ordinance controls where veterinary clinics, pet groomers and kennels can operate, and it bans one specific site feature everywhere the use is allowed. Veterinary Services are permitted by right in the AG Agricultural district and allowed with supplemental standards in most mixed-use, commercial and industrial districts, but LDO § 30-8-10.4(R) prohibits outdoor pens and runs for every veterinary, grooming or kennel operation citywide.
Greensboro Veterinary Clinic & Kennel Zoning Rules
Some RestrictionsGreensboro Land Development Ordinance § 30-8-10.4(R)
R. Veterinary Services, Pet Grooming, Kennels Outdoor pens and runs are prohibited.
Bird Protection
Greensboro designates the land around Greensboro Country Park, the area near the Guilford Battleground, and Reedy Fork Creek down to Lake Townsend at Church Street as bird sanctuaries. Inside those boundaries it is unlawful to trap, hunt, shoot or kill any wild bird, or to damage a bird's nest or eggs, under City Code Section 5-1.
Greensboro Bird Sanctuary Protection Ordinance
Some RestrictionsGreensboro City Code § 5-1
(a)The area embraced within the corporate limits of the city, the land owned or leased by the city embracing and surrounding the Greensboro Country Park, near the Guilford Battleground, and the area along Reedy Fork Creek from below Lake Brandt down to Lake Townsend at Church Street are designated as bird sanctuaries.(b)Within a bird sanctuary it shall be unlawful:(1)To trap, hunt, shoot, or ot...
Looking for Guilford County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Greensboro city rules.
Animal Ordinances in Guilford County →