10 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Allen County, Indiana.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Allen County, chickens, goats, and similar livestock are permitted by right in the A1 Agricultural and A3 Estates districts (livestock on 2+ acres in A3). In residential districts they are not a right; keeping small animals requires a Board of Zoning Appeals special-use permit.
ACC 3-2-4-2 (A3 Estates); 3-2-3-2 (A1)
production/keeping of cattle, goats, horses, pigs, sheep, and/or similar livestock, on properties of two (2) acres or more in size (excluding high intensity livestock operations).
In unincorporated Allen County, Indiana, dogs may not run at large. ACC 8-33-3-5 requires every owner to keep an animal enclosed, tethered, or on a leash under a competent person's direct control on public property. Fines escalate from $50 to $500.
ACC 8-33-3-5
(A) No owner or possessor of any animal may allow such animal to run at large, whether wearing a collar and tag or not. (D) A person violating this section may be fined up to $50.00 for a first occurrence; up to $100 for a second occurrence; and up to $500.00 for third and subsequent occurrences.
Allen County's Animal Control Ordinance imposes no breed-specific ban. It regulates dogs by behavior: ACC 8-33-3-4 prohibits harboring a 'vicious animal,' defined by bite history, not breed. Indiana's dog-bite statute (IC 15-20-1) is likewise behavior-based.
ACC 8-33-3-4
No person shall harbor or own a vicious animal as defined in this ordinance. A person whose animal is deemed a vicious animal violates this section and may be fined up to $2,500.00 per occurrence of any act or condition within the definition of Vicious Animal.
Beekeeping is permitted in unincorporated Allen County's agricultural zones. The Zoning Ordinance defines 'Apiculture' as the raising and care of bees, and lists it as a permitted agricultural use in the A1 Agricultural and A3 Estates districts. The Animal Control Ordinance sets no bee rule.
ACC 3-2 (Apiculture definition; A1/A3 permitted uses)
Apiculture: The raising and care of bees (beekeeping); this definition shall also include the on-site sale of honey.
Allen County's Animal Control Ordinance regulates 'domestic animals,' not exotic species. It sets no specific county-wide exotic-pet permit. Exotic and wild animals are instead governed by Indiana law and the state Department of Natural Resources; incorporated cities may add their own bans.
ACC 8-33-2-3
Domestic Animals means animals that are accustomed to live in or about the habitation of and are owned or cared for by humans including, but not limited to, cats, cattle, dogs, fowl/birds, goats, horses, swine, and various strains of laboratory/pet animals such as mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, and rabbits.
Allen County's Animal Control Ordinance regulates domestic animals and does not specifically prohibit feeding wildlife, deer, or feral animals. Feeding that harbors or creates a public nuisance can still be reached under nuisance rules, and Indiana DNR regulates deer and certain wildlife feeding.
ACC 8-33-2-4
Harborer/caregiver means any person who for three or more consecutive days performs acts of providing care, shelter, protection, restraint, refuge, food, or nourishment for an animal at or within his or her home, place of business, enclosure, yard, or any premises which such person controls or at which such person resides.
Livestock keeping in unincorporated Allen County is set by the Zoning Ordinance, not the animal ordinance. Cattle, goats, horses, pigs, and sheep are permitted by right in A1 Agricultural, and in A3 Estates on lots of two acres or more. Large confined feeding operations face extra standards.
ACC 3-2-3-2 (A1 Agricultural)
dairy, livestock, and poultry farming, including grassland and range pastures; excluding Confined Feeding Operations (CFOs); also excluding fertilizer works, slaughter houses, and plants for the processing of animal skins or hides.
Allen County has no ordinance using the word 'hoarding,' but its public-nuisance-animal and forfeiture provisions plus Indiana's cruelty statute (IC 35-46-3) reach hoarding situations. A court may bar an owner from keeping any animal in Allen County for up to three years.
ACC 8-33-5-1
Repeated violations of this ordinance may subject the owner or possessor of an animal to forfeiture of the animal(s) and said owner or possessor may be prohibited by a Court from owning or keeping any animal within Allen County for a period of time not to exceed three (3) years.
The Allen County Animal Control Ordinance sets no fixed cap on the number of dogs or cats a household may keep. Instead it controls animals through nuisance, stray, and restraint rules. Excessive animals become citable when they create a public nuisance under ACC 8-33-3-3.
ACC 8-33-3-3
No person shall harbor or own a public nuisance animal as defined in this ordinance. A person whose animal is deemed a public nuisance animal violates this section and may be fined up to $1,500.00 per occurrence of any act or condition within the definition of Public Nuisance Animal.
Cats are 'domestic animals' under Allen County's ordinance and are bound by the stray and nuisance rules. ACC 8-33-3-1 bars letting a cat stray beyond the premises, but exempts community cats that are sterilized, vaccinated, ear-tipped, and microchipped through an approved TNR program.
ACC 8-33-3-1
No Owner or Harborer/caregiver shall allow any animal to stray beyond their premises... Exceptions will be made only for cats that have been sterilized, vaccinated, ear-tipped, and microchipped through a community-based program approved by the Allen County Sheriff's Department. A person violating this section may be fined up to $500.00 per occurrence.
1 cities in Allen County have their own animal ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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