7 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota.
Verified from official government sources
The 2017 Minnehaha County Revised Animal Control Ordinance defines 'Livestock and Poultry' (§ 1.06) to include horses, mules, cattle, bison, burros, llamas, alpacas, swine, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, game birds, peafowl, and ostriches, but does NOT impose a numerical cap, coop-setback rule, or permit requirement for keeping them in the unincorporated county. The four-animal cap in § 3.07(A) applies only to dogs, cats, and pot-bellied pigs in a 'Residential Development Area.' Outside that narrow zone, agricultural and acreage parcels in the unincorporated county may keep chickens and livestock subject to the underlying zoning district in the 1990 Revised Minnehaha County Zoning Ordinance and to state running-at-large law at SDCL Chapter 40-1.
The Minnehaha County Animal Control Ordinance (Ordinance MC29-02, the 2002 Animal Control Ordinance as updated in 2017) regulates dogs in the unincorporated areas of the county. The ordinance defines a 'Leash or Lead' as 'a cord, thong, or chain by which an animal is controlled' and authorizes the County Animal Control Officer, Sheriff's deputies, or other peace officers to impound any animal found running at large in violation of the ordinance. Inside Sioux Falls, Brandon, Hartford, Dell Rapids and the other incorporated cities the county ordinance does not apply — each municipality has its own leash code. Statewide, SDCL § 40-34-1 et seq. (Dog Licenses and Regulation chapter) provides the baseline civil framework, and SDCL § 40-34-13 makes the owner of a 'vicious dog' (a dog that attacks without provocation under § 40-34-14) liable for a public nuisance.
Minnehaha County does NOT have, and legally cannot enact, a breed-specific dog ordinance. South Dakota Codified Laws § 40-34-16 (enacted 2014) preempts all local breed-specific legislation: 'No local government, including a unit of local government with a home rule charter or its equivalent, may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance, policy, resolution, or other enactment that is specific as to the breed or perceived breed of a dog.' Pit bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds and every other breed are treated identically under the county Animal Control Ordinance MC29-02 and under city codes throughout the county (Sioux Falls, Brandon, Hartford, Dell Rapids). What the county and its cities CAN regulate is dangerous behavior — under the breed-neutral 'vicious dog' framework in SDCL § 40-34-13 to § 40-34-15 — applied to any individual dog regardless of breed.
Minnehaha County does NOT regulate beekeeping in its Animal Control Ordinance (MC52-17). The ordinance's definition of 'Animal' (§ 1.06) is limited to 'mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian or fish' — honey bees are NOT covered. Hive placement in unincorporated areas is governed by the 1990 Revised Minnehaha County Zoning Ordinance (agricultural and rural-residential districts permit apiaries) and by the South Dakota state apiary program at SDCL Chapter 38-18 (Apiaries), which is administered by the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Section 3.08 of the 2017 Minnehaha County Revised Animal Control Ordinance (MC52-17) FLATLY PROHIBITS exotic animals in unincorporated Minnehaha County, with grandfathering only for animals legally within the county on Nov. 14, 2017 (registered with the Animal Control Officer within 90 days of adoption). The § 1.06 definition of 'Exotic Animal' is broad and explicitly includes lions, tigers, cheetahs, panthers, leopards, cougars, mountain lions, ocelots, alligators, venomous snakes, poisonous tarantulas or other arachnoids, scorpions, poisonous reptiles, wild felines, lynx, bobcats, foxes, mink, skunks, raccoons, bears, nonhuman primates, wolves, and coyotes.
Minnehaha County has NO local ordinance prohibiting the feeding of wildlife (deer, turkeys, raccoons, songbirds, waterfowl). The 2017 Animal Control Ordinance regulates only owned/domestic animals; it does not address wildlife. Wildlife is the property of the State of South Dakota and is regulated by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) under SDCL Title 41. GFP recommends against feeding deer due to chronic wasting disease (CWD) concerns but has not enacted a statewide deer-feeding ban applicable to private landowners outside designated CWD surveillance areas.
Minnehaha County does NOT use the term 'animal hoarding' in MC52-17, but the ordinance regulates the underlying conduct through three mechanisms: (1) the four-animal cap on dogs/cats/pot-bellied pigs in Residential Development Areas under § 3.07(A); (2) the noise/welfare nuisance provisions of § 3.07(B); and (3) seizure authority under § 3.03 backed by SDCL § 40-1-2.4 (inhumane treatment / failure to provide minimum care for animals) and SDCL § 40-1-21 (cruelty to animals). South Dakota's animal-cruelty statute is the primary tool for cases that meet the clinical definition of hoarding.
1 cities in Minnehaha County have their own animal ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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