10 rules for unincorporated Prince William County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Keeping chickens and other domestic fowl in Prince William County is regulated by the Domestic Fowl Overlay District (Zoning Ordinance Ch. 32, Part 508). Fowl are allowed by 'bird units' scaled to lot size, generally requiring at least one acre.
Prince William County Code Sec. 4-23 makes it unlawful to allow a dog to run at large. A dog is 'at large' when off its owner's property and not attached to a person by a leash, cord, or chain.
PWC Code Sec. 4-23
It is unlawful for a dog owner/custodian to allow their dog to run at large within the county. 'At large' means that the dog is off the property of its owner/custodian and not attached to that person by a leash.
Prince William County has no breed-specific ban. Virginia Code Sec. 3.2-6540 prohibits localities from adopting breed-specific dangerous-dog laws, so pit bulls and other breeds are legal; regulation is based on an individual dog's behavior, not its breed.
Prince William County permits up to four beehives as an accessory use on any residential lot. Additional hives require extra lot area, plus an on-site water source and a flight-path barrier where hives sit close to a lot line (Zoning Sec. 32-300.02).
PWC Zoning Ordinance Sec. 32-300.02
The keeping of honeybees in four beehives or less shall be permitted as an accessory use to a residential principal use on any lot. On any lot of 10,000 square feet in size or larger, more than four beehives may be kept, provided there is an additional lot area of 2,500 square feet for each hive.
Prince William County Code Ch. 4, Article VI regulates wild and exotic animals, and the county follows Virginia's ban on possessing dangerous nonnative and native wildlife. Exotic reptiles and other listed wild animals cannot be kept as household pets.
Prince William County has no blanket ordinance banning backyard bird or wildlife feeding, but feeding that attracts nuisance animals, creates a trespass (Code Sec. 4-4), or feeds deer/bear runs into Virginia state wildlife rules enforced by the Department of Wildlife Resources.
Livestock such as cattle are governed by Prince William County's Zoning Ordinance (Ch. 32). Cattle are allowed on parcels of at least two acres within the Domestic Fowl Overlay District, at a rate of one head per acre after the first acre.
Prince William County enforces Virginia's animal-cruelty law (VA Code Sec. 3.2-6570) against hoarding-type neglect - depriving animals of food, water, shelter, or emergency care. Adequate-care violations can lead to seizure of the animals and criminal charges.
Prince William County sets no hard cap on ordinary household dogs and cats, but keeping five or more dogs triggers Virginia's 'kennel' definition, requiring a county kennel license and zoning approval under PWC Code Sec. 4-28.
Prince William County requires cats over four months old to have a current rabies vaccination (Code Sec. 4-62). There is no cat leash law, but owners cannot let a cat repeatedly trespass on a neighbor's property after being asked to stop (Sec. 4-4).
PWC Code Sec. 4-62
It is unlawful for any person to own, keep or hold or harbor any dog or domesticated cat over the age of four months that do not have a current rabies vaccination administered by a veterinarian.
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