7 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 2 cities in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Verified from official government sources
Hennepin County does not regulate backyard chickens or livestock countywide; rules are set by individual cities. Minneapolis allows up to 30 hens with a permit, while suburban cities like Bloomington and Edina have varying coop and setback requirements.
Hennepin County Ordinance 25 requires dogs to be leashed or under direct physical control in public areas, county parks, and unincorporated land. Three Rivers Park District trails enforce strict leash policies countywide.
Hennepin County follows Minnesota Statutes 347.50 to 347.565, which regulate dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs by behavior, not breed. Minnesota preempts most breed-specific bans, though some cities maintain pre-emption-grandfathered rules.
Hennepin County does not directly regulate beekeeping, but cities including Minneapolis, Bloomington, and Edina permit hobby beekeeping with hive caps, registration, and setback rules. The Minnesota Pollinator Plan encourages residential apiaries.
Minnesota Statutes 346.155 ban private ownership of regulated exotic animals such as big cats, bears, and most primates. Hennepin County cities add their own restrictions on venomous reptiles, large constrictors, and farm animals in residential zones.
Minn. Stat. § 346.155
346.155 POSSESSING REGULATED ANIMALS. Subdivision 1. Definitions. (e) "Regulated animal" means: (1) all members of the Felidae family including, but not limited to, lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, cheetahs, ocelots, and servals, but not including domestic cats or cats recognized as a domestic breed, registered as a domestic breed, and shown as a domestic breed by a national or international m...
Hennepin County prohibits feeding deer and bears under Minnesota DNR rules and city ordinances. Several cities, including Minnetonka and Bloomington, restrict feeding of waterfowl and wildlife near lakes to reduce nuisance and disease risks.
Hennepin County Public Health and HCSO investigate animal hoarding under Minnesota cruelty statutes 343.21 and city pet-limit ordinances. Cases often involve seizure, criminal charges, and required mental-health evaluations for owners.
Minn. Stat. § 343.21
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...
2 cities in Hennepin County have their own animal ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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