Animal Ordinances in Alabama (2026)

Alabama's Right to Farm Act protects agricultural operations from nuisance suits and limits municipal restrictions on…

Bessemer requires a county health department permit to keep fowl, chickens or rabbits within 30 feet of a dwelling or…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, no one can keep livestock within the city except where the zoning ordinance permits…

Backyard chickens are not automatically legal on a Dothan house lot. City Code § 114-131.1 lists 'Poultry (As Accessory…

Tuscaloosa lets residents keep chickens, rabbits or other fowl only if the pen sits at least 300 feet from any church…

Auburn allows backyard chickens on single-family lots of at least 10,000 square feet with strict enclosure, spacing and…

Birmingham's zoning ordinance allows a backyard chicken coop as an accessory use to a single-family home in D-1, D-2…

Hoover requires a minimum five-acre lot to house or raise livestock beyond the animals already allowed in residential…

Huntsville lets residents keep chickens and other fowl or livestock, but any corral, stable or pen must sit at least…

Unincorporated Jefferson County allows backyard hens but bans roosters outright. Zoning Resolution Section 1209 caps…

Keeping livestock inside Madison city limits requires a lot of at least three acres. Corrals need minimum square…

Mobile sets minimum corral space for livestock and keeps pens at least 150 feet from a neighbor's dwelling under City…

Lee County's Zoning Regulations classify backyard chickens, poultry and livestock keeping as a "Hobby or recreational…

Alabama law requires dogs over three months to be vaccinated against rabies and prohibits dogs from running at large in…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, every dog owner or person in charge must keep the dog under effective restraint, on or…

Auburn requires dog owners to keep their dog under restraint at all times, and a dog off its owner's property, on…

Bessemer requires every dog on a street, sidewalk or public place to be on a leash held by its owner, under City Code…

It is unlawful for a Birmingham owner to let a dog or cat run at large, meaning off-leash and not confined by a wall…

In the City of Dothan a dog owner must keep the dog under restraint at all times, and it is unlawful to let a dog run…

Hoover requires every dog to be on a leash in the owner's hand whenever it's off the owner's own property, under Code…

Huntsville requires every dog owner to keep the animal under effective restraint at all times within city limits, on or…

Madison requires dogs to be kept under restraint. Any dog on a street, sidewalk, park, or other public space must be…

In unincorporated Madison County a dog or cat only escapes the county's licensing and impoundment scheme while it is on…

Mobile requires every dog owner to keep the animal on a leash or other effective restraint at all times, on or off…

Montgomery, Alabama bans letting a dog run at large: a dog off its owner's property must be fenced in, enclosed in a…

Tuscaloosa requires every dog off its owner's property to be restrained on a leash, rope or chain no longer than 10…

A Vestavia Hills dog must be on a leash held by its owner whenever it is off the owner's own property. Loose dogs on…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, the dangerous animal rules in Chapter 4, Article II turn on conduct, not breed. The…

Mobile County's dangerous and nuisance dog law applies only in the unincorporated area and judges every dog by its…

Tuscaloosa classifies a dog as vicious or dangerous by its behavior, not its breed: habitual aggression, an unprovoked…

Vestavia Hills makes it unlawful to own, keep, or harbor a vicious animal within city limits. The city's animal code…

Bessemer doesn't restrict dogs by breed; instead, City Code Section 14-57 requires any dog classified as vicious to be…

Madison has no breed-specific ban. Instead, City Code § 6-15 regulates any "vicious or dangerous dog" by behavior, and…

Mobile has no breed-specific ban; instead § 7-24 lets the animal services director impound any animal that bites or…

Montgomery, Alabama has no breed-specific ban: City Code Sec. 4-121 defines a vicious animal by its conduct and…

Birmingham does not impose a breed-specific ban. Alabama's dangerous-dog law (Emily's Law) is expressly breed-neutral…

Huntsville's dangerous-animal law applies to any animal regardless of species or breed: the city bans no specific breed…

Alabama Code Title 2, Chapter 14 requires all beekeepers to register colonies with the Department of Agriculture and…

Keeping bees in the City of Dothan requires a special exception from the board of zoning adjustment in every…

Birmingham's Zoning Ordinance lets a homeowner keep up to ten beehives as an accessory use to a residential structure…

Keeping honey bees in Tuscaloosa is unlawful unless the hive meets four conditions in City Code Sec. 4-11: it must sit…

Lee County's Zoning Regulations do not treat beekeeping as its own use category; apiaries fall under "Commercial farm,"…

Montgomery, Alabama bans keeping or possessing any wild animal or wild bird within city limits unless state or federal…

Vestavia Hills bans keeping any wild or exotic animal on residential property, along with venomous reptiles and any…

Auburn prohibits breeding or maintaining any wild animal or reptile that the Environmental Services Director judges to…

Bessemer requires anyone keeping a poisonous reptile or wild animal to register it with the police chief and the county…

Huntsville requires owners to register any wild or exotic animal with Huntsville Animal Services within 30 days of…

Birmingham does not list which exotic species are banned outright; instead it requires that any wild or vicious animal…

Madison bans keeping animals deemed inherently dangerous to humans, including bears, big cats, wolves, primates…

Alabama Department of Conservation regulations restrict baiting and feeding of deer and other game animals statewide…

Vestavia Hills prohibits knowingly feeding or offering food to a feral cat on private or public property when the…

Alabama Code Sections 13A-11-14 and 13A-11-241 criminalize animal cruelty and neglect statewide, capturing hoarding…

Mobile bans keeping pets in numbers too great to properly house or care for, with confiscation and criminal penalties…

Auburn's Zoning Ordinance limits any residential dwelling unit to three dogs six months or older, with the cap lifted…

Huntsville bars owning, harboring or keeping more than three dogs or cats, four months or older, that are frequently…

Madison sets no simple cap on household pets, but any premises keeping five or more dogs or cats is treated as a…

Tuscaloosa caps the number of cats any household can keep at three under City Code Sec. 4-13, though kittens under…

No Birmingham-specific ordinance sets a fixed maximum number of household dogs or cats; Alabama state law does not…

Tuscaloosa authorizes a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program for feral cat colonies under City Code Sec. 4-14: caretakers…

Birmingham makes it unlawful to keep any cat over three months old without a current rabies inoculation and tag issued…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a cat found running at large off its owner's premises can be captured by the…

Huntsville requires an annual $10-$50 cat license and bans letting cats become a nuisance or run at large, though…

Madison licenses cats over three months of age like dogs, and it is unlawful to let a cat known to habitually damage a…

Mobile does not require a city license for cats, but owners must keep cats from roaming at large and must have them…

Montgomery, Alabama requires every cat over three months old to be vaccinated against rabies annually and to wear a…

Vestavia Hills lets the city humanely trap and impound feral, stray or abandoned cats and hold them at least seven days…

Hoover exempts cats from its leash law, but a cat caught running at large can still be impounded under Section 4-21(a)…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, every dog and cat adopted from the animal shelter must be surgically altered before it…

Huntsville doesn't mandate spay or neuter, but Sec. 5-41 sets the annual dog/cat license fee at $10 for altered pets…

In the City of Dothan there is no general law forcing every dog or cat owner to spay or neuter a pet; the requirement…

Huntsville Animal Services must microchip every dog or cat it impounds, and owners get 30 days to update the chip's…

Any dog sold, gifted, or transferred at a Mobile pet store, swap meet, or by a pet trader must be implanted with an…

Montgomery, Alabama requires every dog or cat over nine months old to be microchipped and registered with a national…

Huntsville pet shops can only sell dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens sourced from Huntsville Animal Services, a shelter…

Tuscaloosa pet shops can't sell or display a dog, cat, puppy or kitten unless it came from the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal…

Mobile lets stores sell dogs, but only with a health certificate, fecal test, microchip, and a minimum age of nine…

Huntsville's zoning code requires any animal grooming salon to provide at least one off-street parking space per 400…

Pet grooming shops in Tuscaloosa are a permitted-by-right use in the GC, NC, HC, IL, and IG zoning districts under the…

A veterinary office with an indoor kennel in Auburn cannot keep outdoor pens or cages, must keep exercise yards at…

Mobile requires a veterinary clinic to get a board of adjustment special exception before opening, not just a zoning…

Birmingham's Zoning Ordinance permits veterinary clinics, kennels, dog training, and boarding facilities as a listed…

Dothan's zoning code splits animal medical uses into a veterinarian, which offers outpatient care only, and an animal…

Huntsville's zoning code treats a veterinary clinic as a highway-commercial use, not a neighborhood one. Section 24.1.1…

In unincorporated Jefferson County, veterinary establishments may operate in a C-1 Commercial District, but only as an…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance requires veterinary clinics to manage medical and biohazardous waste under federal, state…

Vestavia Hills zoning keeps veterinary hospitals, animal shelters and kennels away from neighbors: indoor and outdoor…

Birmingham flatly bans maiming or killing any wild or migratory bird within city limits, no exceptions written into the…

Huntsville has declared its entire city limits a bird sanctuary and bans killing or capturing songbirds year-round.

Mobile has declared its entire corporate limits a bird sanctuary, making it unlawful to pursue, injure, capture, kill…

Montgomery, Alabama has declared its entire corporate territory a bird sanctuary. City Code Sec. 4-12 makes it unlawful…

Tuscaloosa makes it unlawful under City Code Sec. 4-6 to catch, kill or possess any wild bird or animal, or to let your…