10 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Verified from official government sources
Lancaster County sets no rule on backyard chickens or livestock — that is municipal zoning. In this heavily agricultural county, rural townships broadly permit poultry and farm animals, while Lancaster City prohibits fowl and livestock in residential zones.
Lancaster County has no countywide leash law. Statewide, the Pennsylvania Dog Law requires every dog be confined to the owner's premises, secured, or under a person's reasonable control at all times. Each municipality (60 of them) may add stricter leash rules.
3 P.S. §459-305(a)
It shall be unlawful for the owner or keeper of any dog to fail to keep at all times the dog in any of the following manners: (1) confined within the premises of the owner; (2) firmly secured by means of a collar and chain or other device so that it cannot stray beyond the premises on which it is secured; or (3) under the reasonable control of some person.
Pennsylvania bans breed-specific legislation, so no Lancaster County municipality may outlaw pit bulls or any breed. Dogs are instead regulated individually under the state's dangerous-dog law based on behavior, not breed.
3 P.S. §459-502-A
Proper enclosure means the secure confinement of a dangerous dog either indoors or in a securely enclosed and locked pen or structure, suitable to prevent the entry of young children and domestic animals and designed to prevent the dangerous dog from escaping.
Lancaster County sets no beekeeping rule. Statewide, Pennsylvania's Bee Law requires every apiary to register with the PA Department of Agriculture. Where hives may be placed on a residential lot is decided by your municipality's zoning code.
You cannot own exotic wildlife in Lancaster County without a state permit. The PA Game Commission (34 Pa.C.S. §2963) requires a possession permit for exotic wildlife, and it is unlawful to keep such animals without one.
34 Pa.C.S. §2963
It is unlawful for any person to possess, purchase or receive exotic wildlife, without first securing a permit to possess exotic wildlife issued under this section or regulations pertaining to this section.
Feeding bears and elk is always illegal in Pennsylvania, and deer feeding is banned in Lancaster County, which sits in a Chronic Wasting Disease management area. These Game Commission rules are statewide; municipalities may add feeding restrictions.
PA Game Commission wildlife-feeding regulations (34 Pa.C.S. / 58 Pa. Code)
It's illegal to feed deer in areas with targeted feeding restrictions and always illegal to feed bear and elk.
Lancaster County imposes no livestock rule — it is municipal zoning. As the nation's leading farmland-preservation county, its agricultural townships broadly permit cattle, horses, goats, and swine, while incorporated boroughs and Lancaster City restrict farm animals in residential districts.
Lancaster County has no hoarding ordinance, but Pennsylvania's animal-cruelty law reaches hoarding through the neglect statute (18 Pa.C.S. §5532), which requires basic care for every animal. The Pennsylvania SPCA and humane officers investigate hoarding cases here.
18 Pa.C.S. §5532(a)
A person commits an offense if the person fails to provide for the basic needs of each animal to which the person has a duty of care, including necessary sustenance and potable water, access to clean and sanitary shelter and protection from the weather, and necessary veterinary care.
Lancaster County sets no limit on how many pets you may own. Any cap on the number of dogs or cats per household is set by your individual municipality's zoning or animal ordinance, so limits differ between the city, boroughs, and townships.
Pennsylvania's Dog Law does not cover cats, and Lancaster County has no cat ordinance. Cat rules — licensing (rare), free-roaming/at-large limits, and feral-cat/TNR programs — are set entirely by individual municipalities. Statewide cruelty and neglect law still protects cats.
1 cities in Lancaster County have their own animal ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
See every category we cover for Lancaster County — parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
Lancaster County Ordinance Hub →