6 rules for unincorporated Hampshire County, Massachusetts.
Verified from official government sources
Backyard chickens are allowed subject to each town's zoning bylaw. MGL c.40A §3 bars towns from zoning out commercial agriculture on parcels of five acres, or two acres earning $1,000 per acre, protecting the working farms of the Connecticut River valley.
MGL c.40A §3
all such activities may be limited to parcels of 5 acres or more or to parcels 2 acres or more if the sale of products produced from the agriculture, aquaculture, silviculture, horticulture, floriculture or viticulture use on the parcel annually generates at least $1,000 per acre
Leash rules are set by each Hampshire County town under authority of MGL c.140 §173. Statewide, MGL c.140 §155 makes a dog's owner strictly liable for any damage the dog does, regardless of whether it ever bit before.
MGL c.140 §155
If any dog shall do any damage to either the body or property of any person, the owner or keeper, or if the owner or keeper be a minor, the parent or guardian of such minor, shall be liable for such damage, unless such damage shall have been occasioned to the body or property of a person who, at the time such damage was sustained, was committing a trespass or other tort, or was teasing, torment...
Breed-specific bans are illegal in Massachusetts. MGL c.140 §157 bars every Hampshire County town from regulating dogs by breed. No town may ban pit bulls; a dog is regulated only for its own dangerous behavior.
MGL c.140 §157
No city or town shall regulate dogs in a manner that is specific to breed.
Beekeeping is allowed across Hampshire County. Massachusetts registers hives through the state, and MGL c.128 §32 caps the registration fee at five dollars. Towns may add setback rules, but no county permit exists.
MGL c.128 §32
for this public purpose may require by regulation the registration of all bee colonies kept within the commonwealth and their location by the owners or caretakers thereof, the fee for which shall be determined by the secretary of administration and finance, which in no case shall exceed five dollars per registrant
Massachusetts bans keeping most wild and exotic animals without a state license. Under MGL c.131 §23, propagating or maintaining wild mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians requires a state permit. No Hampshire County town can license these on its own.
MGL c.131 §23
Except as otherwise provided by this section or any rule or regulation made under the authority thereof, a person shall not engage in the propagation, cultivation, or maintenance of, or the dealing in, fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, or amphibians, or parts thereof, as provided in section twenty-four, twenty-five or forty-seven, without first having obtained a propagator's license or dealer's l...
No county rule governs feeding wildlife, but state regulation bars feeding that draws problem animals, and MassWildlife prohibits feeding black bears. Some Hampshire County towns add local anti-feeding bylaws for deer and waterfowl.
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