6 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 2 cities in Williamson County, Texas.
Verified from official government sources
Unincorporated Williamson County sets no hen limit and allows backyard chickens and livestock. The county has adopted a stock law, so owners must fence livestock in; letting animals roam a state or U.S. highway is an offense under Texas law.
Tex. Agriculture Code §143.102
A person who owns or has responsibility for the control of a horse, mule, donkey, cow, bull, steer, hog, sheep, or goat may not knowingly permit the animal to traverse or roam at large, unattended, on the right-of-way of a highway.
Unincorporated Williamson County has no countywide leash law for ordinary dogs, but a declared dangerous dog must be leashed or kept in a secure enclosure at all times under Texas law, and county parks require a leash no longer than six feet.
Tex. Health & Safety Code §822.042
Not later than the 30th day after a person learns that the person is the owner of a dangerous dog, the person shall: (1) register the dangerous dog with the animal control authority for the area in which the dog is kept; (2) restrain the dangerous dog at all times on a leash in the immediate control of a person or in a secure enclosure;
Breed-specific bans are illegal in Texas. Williamson County and its cities cannot outlaw pit bulls or any other breed; state law bars breed-specific dog regulation. Rules must target a dog's dangerous behavior, not its breed.
Tex. Health & Safety Code §822.047
A county or municipality may place additional requirements or restrictions on dangerous dogs if the requirements or restrictions: (1) are not specific to one breed or several breeds of dogs; and (2) are more stringent than restrictions provided by this subchapter.
Unincorporated Williamson County does not regulate beekeeping. Backyard hives are allowed with no county permit or hive limit. Bees are agriculture in Texas, and keeping them can even qualify land for an agricultural valuation. HOA deed restrictions are the main limit.
Owning a dangerous wild animal, a lion, tiger, bear, cougar, and similar species, requires a state certificate of registration in Texas. Without it, possession is illegal. Williamson County, through its animal registration agency, controls whether these animals can be kept.
Tex. Health & Safety Code §822.103
A person may not own, harbor, or have custody or control of a dangerous wild animal for any purpose unless the person holds a certificate of registration for that animal issued by an animal registration agency.
Unincorporated Williamson County does not prohibit feeding wildlife. Feeding deer is legal and common in Central Texas. There is no county ordinance against it, though feeding that draws a nuisance or a rabies-vector animal can create liability.
2 cities in Williamson County have their own animal ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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Williamson County Ordinance Hub →