10 rules for unincorporated Butler County, Ohio.
Verified from official government sources
Butler County has no countywide chicken or livestock ordinance. In unincorporated areas your township zones agriculture under ORC Ch. 519. Townships cannot prohibit farming on lots over five acres, and only limited regulation applies on one-to-five-acre lots.
ORC 519.21(A)
Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, sections 519.02 to 519.25 of the Revised Code confer no power on any township zoning commission, board of township trustees, or board of zoning appeals to prohibit the use of any land for agricultural purposes or the construction or use of buildings or structures incident to the use for agricultural purposes of the land on which such...
Ohio law (enforced by the Butler County Dog Warden) bars dogs from running at large. Owners must keep a dog confined on their premises by a leash, tether, fence, supervision, or secure enclosure, or under a person's reasonable control.
ORC 955.22(C)
Except when a dog is lawfully engaged in hunting and accompanied by the owner, keeper, harborer, or handler of the dog, no owner, keeper, or harborer of any dog shall fail at any time to do either of the following: (1) Keep the dog physically confined or restrained upon the premises of the owner, keeper, or harborer by a leash, tether, adequate fence, supervision, or secure enclosure to prevent...
Ohio has no breed-specific state law. Since 2012 (HB 14) pit bulls are no longer automatically 'vicious'; dogs are classified as nuisance, dangerous, or vicious by behavior, not breed. Butler County imposes no breed ban.
Butler County sets no beekeeping rule, but Ohio law requires every apiary owner to register annually with the Ohio Department of Agriculture under ORC Ch. 909. Local hive placement is a township or city zoning question.
Ohio's Dangerous Wild Animal Act (ORC Ch. 935) bans private ownership of big cats, bears, primates, large constrictors, and venomous snakes statewide. Butler County adds no separate exotic-pet ordinance; the state prohibition controls.
ORC 935.02
No person shall possess a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014. ... no person shall acquire, buy, sell, trade, or transfer possession or ownership of a dangerous wild animal on or after the effective date of this section.
Butler County has no countywide wildlife-feeding ban, but Ohio Division of Wildlife rules restrict deer feeding and baiting, and it is illegal to feed dangerous wildlife. Nuisance feeding is usually handled by city ordinances.
Butler County has no countywide livestock ordinance. In unincorporated areas, township zoning (ORC Ch. 519) governs, but ORC 519.21 bars townships from prohibiting animal husbandry on parcels over five acres. Cities set their own limits.
ORC 519.21(A)
Such sections confer no power on any township zoning commission, board of township trustees, or board of zoning appeals to prohibit in a district zoned for agricultural, industrial, residential, or commercial uses, the use of any land for agriculture...
Ohio has no fixed 'hoarding' number, but keeping animals without adequate food, water, or shelter is a crime under ORC 959.13 and 959.131. Cases are prosecuted locally; the Butler County Dog Warden and humane society investigate.
ORC 959.131(D)
No person who confines or who is the custodian or caretaker of a companion animal shall negligently do any of the following: ... Deprive the companion animal of necessary sustenance, confine the companion animal without supplying it during the confinement with sufficient quantities of good, wholesome food and water, or impound or confine the companion animal without affording it, during the imp...
Butler County sets no countywide limit on how many dogs or cats you may own. Any numeric pet cap comes from your city or township zoning code. The county does require every dog over three months old to be licensed.
Ohio does not license or leash cats statewide, and Butler County has no countywide cat ordinance. Cats are protected 'companion animals' under Ohio cruelty law. Any cat-specific rule (roaming, TNR, limits) is set by your city or township.
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