Animal Ordinances in Minneapolis, MN (2026)
12 verified animal ordinances for Minneapolis, Minnesota, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Minneapolis requires a tiered MACC permit to keep chickens or other fowl, caps residential flocks, bans roosters without special permit, and prohibits hoofed livestock like horses, cows, sheep and pigs anywhere in the city.
Backyard Chickens and Livestock in Minneapolis
Significant RestrictionsMinneapolis Code of Ordinances § 63.90
No person shall keep, harbor, or maintain care, custody, or control over any fowl such as a chicken, turkey, duck, or pigeon, without obtaining a permit. ... Permits shall be classified into three (3) tiers, with Tier I consisting of one (1) to six (6) hens, Tier II of seven (7) to fifteen (15) hens, and Tier III of sixteen (16) to thirty (30) hens, with associated fees as established in the li...
Dog Leash Laws
Minneapolis dogs must be leashed or fenced everywhere except designated off-leash areas, under Code of Ordinances § 64.80.
Minneapolis Dog Leash and Restraint Law
Some RestrictionsMinneapolis Code of Ordinances § 64.80(a)
No person having the custody or control of any dog or animal of the dog kind shall permit the dog to be on any unfenced area or lot abutting upon a street, alley, public park, public place, or upon any private land without being effectively restrained from moving beyond such unfenced area or lot; nor shall any person having the custody or control of any dog or animal of the dog kind permit the ...
Breed Restrictions
Minneapolis has no breed-specific dog ordinance; MACC designates animals "potentially dangerous" or "dangerous" based solely on documented bite or attack behavior under Minneapolis Code § 66.10, regardless of breed.
Minneapolis Dangerous Dog Rules: No Breed Restrictions
Few RestrictionsMinneapolis Code of Ordinances § 66.10
Potentially dangerous animal shall mean any animal, except an animal assisting a peace officer engaged in law enforcement duties and/or animals trained by a recognized program within an established curriculum for training animals for services such as rescue and recovery, which demonstrates any of the following behavior:
Beekeeping
Keeping honeybees anywhere in Minneapolis requires an MACC permit, neighbor notification, and compliance with colony limits tied to lot size, from two colonies on a half-acre lot up to eight on a full acre.
Minneapolis Honeybee Hive Permit Rules
Some RestrictionsMinneapolis Code of Ordinances, Title 4 (Animal Care and Control), § 63.100
No person shall keep, maintain, or allow to be kept any hive or other facility for the housing of honeybees on or in any property in the City of Minneapolis without a permit. ... No person is permitted to keep more than the following numbers of colonies on any lot within the city, based upon the size or configuration of the apiary lot: a. One-half (½) acre or smaller lot: Two (2) colonies; b. L...
Exotic Pets
Minneapolis bars keeping any wild, exotic, dangerous, or non-domestic animal or reptile citywide without a permit from Animal Care and Control, with certain species like venomous snakes and crocodilians prohibited outright.
Minneapolis Wild and Exotic Animal Ban
Significant RestrictionsMinneapolis Code of Ordinances § 63.130(a)
No person shall, anywhere in the city, keep, harbor, or maintain care, custody, or control over any exotic or wild animal unless otherwise permitted by this title. Unless otherwise permitted, no person shall keep or allow to be kept... any place in the city any wild, exotic, dangerous, or non-domestic animal or reptile unless duly licensed and approved by MACC.
Wildlife Feeding
Minneapolis bans leaving food, garbage or rubbish anywhere it could feed rats, and requires wild bird feeders to sit at least 48 inches off the ground so rats can't reach them, under the city's pest-control code.
Minneapolis Restricts Bird Feeding to Curb Rats
Some RestrictionsMinneapolis Code of Ordinances § 229.60
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, leave, dump, or allow to accumulate any animal, fruit or vegetable matter, garbage, rubbish or trash in any building or on any premises, improved or vacant, or on any open lot or alley within the city so that the same shall or may provide food or harborage for rats. ... It shall be unlawful to feed wild birds except where feed is placed in feeders o...
Pet Limits
Minneapolis treats animal hoarding as cruelty and unsanitary keeping of animals under Title 5 and Minnesota Statute Chapter 343. Animal Care and Control may seize animals, condemn premises with Hennepin County Public Health, and pursue criminal charges.
Animal Hoarding and Cruelty Enforcement
Heavy RestrictionsMinn. Stat. § 343.21, Subd. 1-9 (Overworking or Mistreating Animals)
343.21 OVERWORKING OR MISTREATING ANIMALS; PENALTY. Subdivision 1. Torture. No person shall overdrive, overload, torture, cruelly beat, neglect, or unjustifiably injure, maim, mutilate, or kill any animal, or cruelly work any animal when it is unfit for labor, whether it belongs to that person or to another person. Subd. 2. Nourishment; shelter. No person shall deprive any animal over which the...
Cat Rules
Minneapolis requires every cat over four months old to carry a MACC license and rabies tag, but the city also authorizes registered caretakers to maintain outdoor feral cat colonies under a formal sponsor program.
Minneapolis Cat Licensing and Feral Colony Rules
Some RestrictionsMinneapolis Code of Ordinances § 63.20
No person shall keep, harbor, maintain, care for, or have custody or control over any dog, cat, or ferret over four (4) months of age, for a period in excess of five (5) days, without first having obtained a license from MACC. All other domestic animals do not require a license unless they result in an owner exceeding the maximum number of animals allowed in a residential unit pursuant to this ...
Microchipping
Minneapolis does not require microchipping for a standard pet license, but the city's lifetime dog or cat license can only be issued once MACC confirms the animal is sterilized and microchipped, with rabies vaccination on file.
Minneapolis Lifetime Pet License Needs Microchip
Light RestrictionsMinneapolis Code of Ordinances § 63.70(a), (c)
(a) ... (5) Lifetime (sterilized and microchipped only); ... (c) A lifetime license requires that the animal be currently vaccinated by a license veterinarian, sterilized, and microchipped. The owner shall cause to be maintained a current rabies vaccination on file with MACC at all times.
Pet Groomer Rules
Minneapolis requires anyone who grooms animals for a fee to obtain a license from Animal Care and Control before opening, and the business premises stay open to MACC inspection at any reasonable time.
Minneapolis Pet Groomer Business Licensing Rule
Some RestrictionsMinneapolis Code of Ordinances § 63.140(a)
No person shall keep or maintain any place for the sale, grooming, breeding, treating, exhibition, or any other form of care for hire of any animal, reptile, fish, or bird without first having applied for and obtained a license therefor.
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Minneapolis lets veterinary clinics operate by right in most zoning districts, but the zoning code requires all clinic activity to stay inside a completely enclosed, soundproofed, odor-controlled building and bans outdoor kennels outright.
Minneapolis Veterinary Clinic Zoning Rules
Some RestrictionsMinneapolis Code of Ordinances, Title 20 (Zoning Code), § 545.210(f)(11)
Veterinary clinic. All activity shall be within a completely enclosed building with soundproofing and odor control. Outdoor kennels shall be prohibited.
Bird Protection
Minneapolis parks and parkways ban killing, capturing, or injuring wild birds and destroying their nests, plus any trapping of birds or wildlife, under Park Board Code §§ PB2-8 and PB2-9.
Minneapolis Park Bird and Wildlife Protection
Heavy RestrictionsMinneapolis Park Board Code § PB2-8
No person shall rob, injure or destroy any bird's nest within the limits of any park or parkway, nor air or discharge any air gun, sling-shot, or other weapon, or throw any stone or other missile at any bird or bird's nest or wild creature within any park or parkway, nor in any manner capture or kill any bird or wild creature therein. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 1010.120) PB2-9. - Trapping. No...
Looking for Hennepin County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Minneapolis city rules.
Animal Ordinances in Hennepin County →