Animal Ordinances in Sunnyvale, CA (2026)
13 verified animal ordinances for Sunnyvale, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Sunnyvale bans livestock outright in residential zones and caps chickens and other small animals at six per property under Municipal Code Chapter 6.09. Roosters over four months old are prohibited citywide, and every small-animal enclosure must sit at least 20 feet from a neighbor's dwelling.
Backyard Chickens & Livestock Rules in Sunnyvale
Some RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA, Municipal Code §§ 6.09.010, 6.09.020 (Keeping of certain animals; Nearness to dwelling), Chapter 6.09 Small Animals and Livestock
(a) No person shall keep any livestock in any R district as defined in Title 19. (b) It is unlawful for any person to keep or maintain any rooster over four months of age. (c) It is unlawful for any person to keep or maintain more than six small animals. (d) It is unlawful for any person to keep or maintain any small animal except as provided in this chapter. ... It is unlawful for any person t...
Dog Leash Laws
Sunnyvale requires dogs to be confined to the owner's fenced property or kept on a leash no longer than six feet whenever they are in public, including streets, sidewalks, events, and even common areas of a planned development, under Municipal Code Section 6.04.100. Service dogs, police dogs, and dogs in posted off-leash areas are exempt.
Sunnyvale Dog Leash and Restraint Law
Some RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA Municipal Code § 6.04.100 (Restraint of dogs)
(a) The dog owner or custodian must keep the dog confined to property owned or controlled by that person. Confinement shall be accomplished by means of a substantial fence or similar enclosure of sufficient strength and height to prevent the dog from escaping, or from extending its head through the enclosure so as to constitute a threat to any person or animal in the area adjoining the enclosur...
Breed Restrictions
Sunnyvale does not impose breed-specific bans on pit bulls, Rottweilers, or other dogs. California Food and Agricultural Code 31683 preempts breed-specific licensing bans by local agencies.
Sunnyvale Dog Breed Restrictions and State Preemption
Light RestrictionsCA Food and Agricultural Code 31683
31683. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a city or county from adopting or enforcing its own program for the control of potentially dangerous or vicious dogs that may incorporate all, part, or none of this chapter, or that may punish a violation of this chapter as a misdemeanor or may impose a more restrictive program to control potentially dangerous or vicious dogs. Except ...
Beekeeping
Sunnyvale caps residential apiaries at five hives per lot under Municipal Code Chapter 6.08. Hives must sit at least 25 feet from side or rear property lines and 100 feet from any neighboring dwelling, whichever is greater, and every hive address is registered with the Santa Clara County agricultural commissioner.
Beekeeping Rules in Sunnyvale
Some RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA, Municipal Code § 6.08.010 (Maintenance of beehives), Chapter 6.08 Beekeeping Standards
No person shall keep or maintain any hive of bees in the city except under the following conditions: (a) No more than five hives shall be maintained on any one lot or parcel of land except that this condition shall not apply to any agricultural use within any zone pursuant to a use permit. The address of all such hives shall be registered with the office of the Santa Clara County agriculture co...
Exotic Pets
Sunnyvale follows California Fish and Wildlife restricted species rules. Native wildlife, large constrictors, primates, and big cats are banned. Ferrets remain illegal statewide in California.
Sunnyvale Exotic and Restricted Pet Rules
Heavy RestrictionsCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife — Restricted Species Permits (14 CCR § 671)
Restricted Species Permits are required for every person who imports, exports, transports, or possesses any restricted animal listed in Section 671(c), Title 14, of the California Code of Regulations (CCR). ... Animal Care (Detrimental Species) $652.25. Issued to any resident who has demonstrated the experience and ability to house animals designated as a detrimental species, and who legally po...
Wildlife Feeding
Sunnyvale bars feeding or attracting wild animals, including birds, citywide under Municipal Code Section 6.02.050, and also bans leaving or scattering food, seed, or other edible matter where any wild animal can reach it. Five narrow exemptions cover licensed exotic-pet owners, temporary care of injured wildlife, permitted rehabilitators, legal trapping, and properly hung bird feeders.
Sunnyvale Ban on Feeding Wild Animals
Significant RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA Municipal Code § 6.02.050 (Ban on feeding wild animals)
(a) It is unlawful for any person to feed or in any manner provide an attractant to wild animals, including birds. (b) No person may leave, store, or maintain any attractant, or scatter food, seed, or other forms of matter edible to animals in a location and manner accessible to any wild animal or bird. (c) The prohibitions in subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to: ... (5) Any person with a b...
Pet Limits
Sunnyvale caps how many dogs and cats one dwelling unit may keep under Municipal Code Section 6.02.020, allowing only five listed combinations that top out at four animals total, from four cats and no dogs up to four dogs and no cats. A separate limit restricts breeding more than one litter per premises each year unless the keeper qualifies for a specific exemption.
Sunnyvale Pet Limits: Dogs and Cats Per Home
Some RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA Municipal Code § 6.02.020 (Maximum number of dogs, cats, or litters)
(a) It is unlawful for any person to maintain, at any dwelling unit, more than any of the following combination of dogs and cats: Zero adult dogs and four adult cats; or One adult dog and three adult cats; or Two adult dogs and two adult cats; or Three adult dogs and one adult cat; or Four adult dogs and zero adult cats. (b) No person may allow the parturition and rearing of more than one litte...
Cat Rules
Sunnyvale has no citywide cat license or leash law, but Chapter 6.03 regulates how cats change hands: a kitten cannot be sold, adopted out, or transferred before eight weeks old, transfers require proof of vaccination, and buyers who discover a contagious disease or serious defect within days can return the animal for a refund.
Cat Sale, Age and Vaccination Rules in Sunnyvale
Some RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA Municipal Code §§ 6.03.010, 6.03.020, 6.03.030 (Sale, Immunization, Return of dog or cat)
It is unlawful for any person or establishment, other than an exempt establishment listed in California Penal Code Section 597z, as may be amended from time to time, to sell, barter, exchange, offer for adoption or otherwise transfer ownership, whether or not for compensation, any dog or cat under eight weeks of age. Proof of age of the dog or cat may be required by the administrator... No pers...
Mandatory Spay/Neuter
Sunnyvale has no citywide spay-or-neuter mandate for pet owners in Title 6. The only fixed-status requirement sits in Municipal Code Section 6.04.120(b)(5): any dog over eighteen months old must be spayed or neutered before its owner can bring it into a posted off-leash area, alongside age, rabies-vaccination and licensing conditions.
Sunnyvale Off-Leash Area Spay/Neuter Rule
Light RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA Municipal Code § 6.04.120(b)(5) (Dogs in posted off-leash areas)
(5) Any dog in a posted off-leash area must be at least four months of age, vaccinated for rabies, and currently licensed by the city or other jurisdictions. Any dog over eighteen months of age in a posted off-leash area must be spayed or neutered. All persons entering the posted off-leash area are responsible for ensuring that their dog is not sick, in heat, injured, less than four months of a...
Pet Store Rules
Sunnyvale does not ban pet stores from selling dogs and cats outright, but it requires an animal-establishment permit before anyone runs a pet shop, kennel, or grooming parlor, and it restricts where any animal may legally be sold to a permitted establishment, a private residence, or an agricultural show.
Sunnyvale Pet Store Permit and Sale Rules
Significant RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA Municipal Code § 6.03.040 (Location of sale); § 6.07.010 (Permit-Required-Fee)
§ 6.03.040. Location of sale. It is unlawful for any person to display for sale, sale, offer for sale, exchange, barter, or give away any animal except in the following locations: (a) An animal establishment operating pursuant to Chapter 6.07; (b) A private residence; or (c) Agricultural shows or agricultural exhibits. ... § 6.07.010. Permit—Required—Fee. (a) It is unlawful for any person to co...
Pet Groomer Rules
Sunnyvale requires an annual permit before anyone opens a grooming parlor, kennel, pet shop or similar animal establishment. Municipal Code Section 6.07.010 puts permitting authority with the city's animal services administrator, who sets the fee by council resolution and requires zoning clearance first. Permits expire December 31 each year and can be denied, suspended or revoked for code violations.
Sunnyvale Pet Grooming Business Permit Rules
Some RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA, Municipal Code Sec. 6.07.010 (Permit, Required, Fee), Chapter 6.07 Animal Establishments and Facilities
(a) It is unlawful for any person to conduct, operate or keep any kennel, pet shop, grooming parlor, zoo, animal menagerie or similar establishment where animals are kept for display or viewing without first obtaining a permit from the administrator. (b) The annual permit fee for an animal establishment or facility shall be established as set forth in a resolution adopted by the city council. (...
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Sunnyvale requires a discretionary use permit for any animal hospital or clinic in its four commercial zoning districts, and bars veterinary services outright from residential live/work units under the zoning code.
Veterinary Clinic Zoning Rules in Sunnyvale
Significant RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA, Municipal Code § 19.20.030, Table 19.20.030 (Commercial Zoning Districts); § 19.26.230(d)(4) (Live/Work Units, Prohibited Commercial Uses)
Table 19.20.030 sets forth those uses which are permitted, conditionally permitted, and prohibited in commercial zoning districts, and the type of permit a use requires. ... UP = Use Permit required ... COMMERCIAL ZONING DISTRICTS C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 ... J. Animal hospitals and clinics UP UP UP UP
Bird Protection
Sunnyvale bans hunting, harming, trapping, chasing or throwing objects at any bird, animal or reptile in a city park, and separately bans taking eggs, nests or young. The only carve-out lets deadly poisonous snakes be killed on sight. Feeding tobacco, alcohol or other noxious substances to a bird or animal in a park is also unlawful under Section 9.62.020.
Sunnyvale Public Park Bird Protection Rules
Light RestrictionsSunnyvale, CA Municipal Code Sec. 9.62.020(i)-(j) (Injury to or misuse of park property prohibited), Chapter 9.62 Public Parks
No person in a park shall: ... (i) Hunt, molest, harm, frighten, kill, trap, chase, tease, shoot or throw missiles at any animal, reptile or bird; nor shall he remove or have in his possession the young of any wild animal, or the eggs or nest, or young of any reptile or bird. Exception to the foregoing is made in that snakes known to be deadly poisonous, such as rattle snakes, or other deadly r...
Looking for Santa Clara County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Sunnyvale city rules.
Animal Ordinances in Santa Clara County →