10 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 3 cities in Kent County, Michigan.
Verified from official government sources
Kent County does not zone backyard chickens or livestock. Whether you may keep them is decided by your city, village, or township under Michigan's Zoning Enabling Act. The county only bars livestock from running at large.
Kent County's Animal Control Ordinance requires every dog off the owner's property to be restrained on a lead or leash no longer than six feet, and prohibits owners from letting a dog run at large countywide.
Kent County Animal Control Ordinance, Section 11(a)-(b)
An Owner or Custodian shall, at any time the dog is off that Person's property, restrain the dog with a lead or leash no greater than six (6) feet in length... An Owner or Custodian shall not permit or enable his/her dog or Animal to Run at Large.
Kent County's Animal Control Ordinance is breed-neutral; it targets a dog's behavior, not its breed. Michigan has no statewide breed ban either. Any breed-specific rule would come from an individual city or township.
Kent County Animal Control Ordinance, Section 11(c)
An Owner or Custodian shall not intentionally, or by failure to exercise due care, allow his/her dog or Animal to menace, attack or bite a person or other Animal in a place where the person or other Animal is legally entitled to be.
Kent County does not regulate backyard beekeeping. Whether you may keep hives is decided by your city or township zoning code under Michigan's Zoning Enabling Act. The state protects registered apiaries from local bans on beekeeping itself.
Michigan law bans keeping large carnivores (big cats, bears) and wolf-dog hybrids as pets, with narrow grandfathered exceptions. Kent County adds no separate exotic-pet ordinance, so the statewide bans control.
MCL 287.1103
A person shall not do any of the following: (a) Own or possess a large carnivore except in compliance with this act.
Kent County's Animal Control Ordinance does not address feeding wild animals. Deer and elk baiting and feeding are regulated statewide by the Michigan DNR, which bans deer feeding across most of the Lower Peninsula for disease control.
Kent County does not zone livestock. Whether you may keep horses, cattle, goats, or sheep is set by your city or township under Michigan's Zoning Enabling Act. The county only requires owners to keep livestock from running at large.
Kent County Animal Control Ordinance, Section 11(f)
Stray Livestock. The Owner or Custodian of livestock or poultry shall prevent such animals from running at large on public or private property without consent of the property owner provided, however that this section shall not prohibit leading or driving livestock, under the Owner or Custodian's supervision, along a public highway.
Kent County has no ordinance using the word 'hoarding,' but its adequate-care, sanitary-condition, and cruelty provisions let Animal Control seize animals kept in overcrowded or unhealthy conditions. Michigan's cruelty law backs it up statewide.
Kent County Animal Control Ordinance, Section 6(o)
"Sanitary Conditions" means space free from health hazards including excessive Animal waste, overcrowding of Animals, or other conditions that endanger the Animal's health.
Kent County sets no general household pet cap, but any establishment keeping three or more dogs for sale, boarding, breeding, or training for pay is a 'kennel' requiring a county kennel license. Ordinary pet-number limits come from your city or township.
Kent County Animal Control Ordinance, Section 6(j)
"Kennel" means an establishment wherein or whereon 3 or more dogs are confined and kept for sale, boarding, breeding or training purposes, for remuneration.
Kent County requires licensing and leashing only for dogs, not cats. Cats are still covered by the ordinance's adequate-care and cruelty provisions, and by Michigan's animal-cruelty law. Any cat-specific rule comes from your city or township.
3 cities in Kent County have their own animal ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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Kent County Ordinance Hub →