Animal Ordinances in St. Louis County, MO (2026)
13 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in St. Louis County, Missouri.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
St. Louis County's R-1 residential zoning district allows farming and domestic animals as a permitted use, with private stables allowed as an accessory use to a home.
Farm Animals in Residential Zoning
Some RestrictionsSLCRO Section 1003.111
Permitted land uses and developments...(6) Farming, including the cultivation and sale of any plant crops and domestic animals....Accessory uses include the following...(6) Private stables....Conditional land use and development permits...(19) Riding stables and kennels.
Dog Leash Laws
St. Louis County requires every dog, cat, or other pet to be leashed, caged, or confined on its owner's property at all times; Section 611.200 defines "at large" as anything off-property that is not attached to a leash a capable handler controls, and violations bring escalating fines from Animal Care and Control that double for animals that have not been sexually neutered.
Dogs & Cats At-Large Law (St. Louis County)
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code §611.200
Every person responsible for a dog, cat or other animal shall keep it from being at large as defined in subsection 2 of this section. 2. a. A dog, puppy, cat, or kitten is at large when it is outside a cage or building from which it cannot escape unless: i. It is attached to a leash held by a person that is capable of and is in fact controlling the dog, puppy, cat, or kitten in question. i...
Breed Restrictions
St. Louis County declares dogs, cats, or other animals dangerous by behavior, not breed, then locks in fencing, signage, and chip mandates.
Dangerous Animal Declaration Rules
Significant RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code § 611.190
Every person responsible for a dangerous animal shall: a. Confine such animal to a securely locked fenced enclosure of such height, strength and construction so as to prevent the animal confined from jumping or climbing over, climbing through or crawling under such fence. (The use of a system which produces an electric shock to confine the animal does not meet the requirements of this section);...
Exotic Pets
Lions, primates, bears, wolves, coyotes, foxes and venomous reptiles are legal in St. Louis County only under a Director-issued nondomestic animal license, not as free-roaming pets.
St. Louis County Nondomestic Animal License
Significant RestrictionsSection 629.040
It shall be unlawful for any person to bring into, receive into, buy, sell or possess in St. Louis County a nondomestic animal as defined herein without first applying for and obtaining a license from the Director. No license shall be required for the uninterrupted transportation of nondomestic animals through St. Louis County.
Wildlife Feeding
SLCRO §611.210 declares any animal that defaces public property, causes unsanitary conditions, or attracts pests a public nuisance. Stagnant water collecting on private property is itself a §602.050 nuisance because of mosquito breeding.
Stray & Wildlife Nuisance Provisions
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code §611.210
Sec. 611.210. … Tips, rummages through, or damages a refuse container … Impedes refuse collection, mail delivery, meter reading or other public service activities by annoying persons responsible for such activities …
Pet Limits
St. Louis County prosecutes animal hoarding as cruelty to animals: failing to give every animal sanitary conditions, food, water, or shelter violates Section 611.180 regardless of how many animals are kept.
Animal Hoarding. St. Louis County
Significant RestrictionsSt. Louis County Revised Ordinances § 611.180
No person responsible for an animal shall: a. Fail to provide adequate food, water and shelter for the animal for a period of more than twenty-four (24) hours. ... c. Fail to provide the animal with sanitary living conditions including shelter proper for the species and sufficient to protect the animal from extreme temperatures, wind, rain, snow and sun;
Cat Rules
St. Louis County requires every cat over four months old to be vaccinated for rabies and registered with a tag through the Department of Health, with registration fees running $8 to $40 depending on term and spay/neuter status. Ear-tipped community cats are exempt from impoundment hearings and fees, and unclaimed ear-tipped cats go to a registered community cat caregiver instead of the shelter.
St. Louis County Cat Registration & Feral Colony Rules
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Rev. Ordinances §§ 611.050, 611.090.1, 611.090.3
Every person responsible for any puppy or kitten shall have such puppy or kitten vaccinated for rabies and registered as provided in this section on or before the puppy or kitten reaches four (4) months of age, but not earlier than three (3) months of age... Every person responsible for any dog or cat shall have the dog or cat vaccinated as indicated by the Compendium... For purposes of section...
Mandatory Spay/Neuter
Every dog, cat, puppy, and kitten leaving the St. Louis County Animal Shelter through adoption must be spayed or neutered first, with a health/age exception for animals a vet certifies unfit for the procedure.
Shelter Adoption Spay/Neuter Mandate
Some RestrictionsSLCRO Section 611.090.5
The County Shelter shall provide rabies vaccination and certification, implant an electronic identification chip and enter registration in the appropriate electronic database, and spay or neuter dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens prior to adoption. a. A person that adopts a dog, cat, puppy, or kitten from the County Shelter shall pay a fee of eighty dollars ($80) to the County Shelter. A person...
Microchipping
St. Louis County does not require pet owners countywide to microchip their animals, but its Animal Control Code puts a chip-check duty on the County Shelter itself: every dog, cat, puppy, or kitten that gets impounded, for any reason, must be scanned for an electronic identification chip the moment it arrives, and a detected chip triggers a defined chain of contact before the animal can be treated as a stray.
St. Louis County Animal Microchip Scanning Rule
Light RestrictionsSt. Louis County Rev. Ordinances § 611.090.2
Dogs, cats or other animals impounded pursuant to this section shall be impounded in the County Shelter or elsewhere under supervision of and in a manner satisfactory to the Director. Dogs, cats, puppies and kittens impounded pursuant to this section shall be scanned for an electronic identification chip. When an electronic identification chip is detected, the person registered shall be contact...
Pet Groomer Rules
Grooming, boarding, or kenneling four or more dogs, cats, or other household pets in unincorporated St. Louis County makes the site a "pet care facility" or "pet day care facility" under the Zoning Ordinance, and whether it needs a Conditional Use Permit turns on whether any animal stays overnight.
St. Louis County Pet Grooming Zoning Rule
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code § 1003.020(126)-(127); § 1003.133
(126)Pet care facility: A building, structure, or portion thereof designed or used for the training, care, grooming, or kenneling of four (4) or more dogs, cats, or other household domestic animals for any part of a twenty-four (24) hour day. Such facilities shall be designed and constructed to prevent the sound of such animals being heard from beyond the property boundaries when the boarded an...
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
A veterinary clinic is a permitted, by-right use in St. Louis County's "C-2" and "C-3" Shopping Districts, but sits on the Conditional Use Permit list alongside riding stables and kennels in the "NU" Non-Urban District, and every clinic may board up to three animals overnight without triggering the county's boarding-facility rules.
St. Louis County Veterinary Clinic Zoning Rule
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code § 1003.020(190); § 1003.107
(190)Veterinary clinic: A facility for the practice of veterinary medicine. The overnight boarding of no more than three household, domestic animals is incidental and permitted...3.Conditional land use and development permits issued by the Commission. The following land uses and developments may be permitted under conditions and requirements specified in section 1003.181, "Conditional Use Permi...
Bird Protection
Inside any St. Louis County park, parkway, or recreational area, it's illegal to molest a bird or bird's nest, or to pursue, catch, kill, feed, touch, tease, or otherwise disturb any wildlife or its nesting and breeding activity. The rule is park-specific: it doesn't reach birds or wildlife on private property or public land outside the county park system.
Bird & Wildlife Protection in County Parks
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Rev. Ordinances §§ 616.030, 616.040
It shall be unlawful for any person to disfigure, damage, or in any way injure or destroy either in whole or in part, or carry away any tree, shrub, plant, flower, stone, or stone work, bench, chair, seat, stand, structure, fence or property, or thing whatsoever in any park; or molest any bird, bird's nest, fish, or animal or anything belonging to or kept therein... No person shall pursue, catc...
Wildlife Rescue Permits
St. Louis County will not license a wildlife rehabilitator, breeder, or collector under its Nondomestic Animal Code until the applicant first produces a valid Missouri wildlife permit. Section 629.070 of the county code requires proof of the state credential before the Department of Community Health and Medical Care issues or amends the county license needed to keep any nondomestic animal.
Wildlife Rescue Permit Rules in St. Louis County
Significant RestrictionsSLCRO § 629.070.2
Prior to the granting of a license or amendment the applicant shall be required to present to the Director, for his inspection, a State of Missouri wildlife breeder permit, wildlife collector's permit, wildlife rehabilitation permit, or a wildlife hobby permit, if the keeping of such animal in this state requires any such permit.
Animal Ordinances by City in St. Louis County
1 cities in St. Louis County have their own animal ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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