Animal Ordinances in Arizona (2026)

Arizona generally leaves chicken and livestock keeping to municipal zoning, but state law protects agricultural…

Goodyear bans keeping horses, cattle, goats, swine, pigeons or poultry within city limits unless a zoning permit allows…

Mesa bars livestock and similar large animals on any parcel smaller than 35,000 square feet under Mesa City Code §…

Avondale lets a single-family homeowner keep up to six backyard fowl, but bans roosters outright and demands a 20-foot…

Buckeye allows up to six backyard fowl (hens) per single-family detached home under its Development Code, with no…

Chandler bars keeping any animal or fowl, livestock included, within 200 feet of a neighboring residence unless that…

Backyard poultry and livestock are ordinary on Coconino County's large rural lots, where the zoning ordinance sets what…

Gilbert regulates farm animals on residential lots through the town code. The number and type of animals depends on…

Glendale allows up to six fowl per single-family lot under Sec. 25-27, but bans roosters citywide, requires a rear- or…

Commercial livestock needs a 10-acre site and 200-foot setback from residential zones; horses require at least a 1-acre…

Unincorporated Maricopa County lets R1-35 lots keep up to six chicken hens under MCZO § 603.1, with no cap at all in…

Peoria regulates backyard livestock and poultry through Chapter 16's animal code rather than a stand-alone chicken…

Phoenix allows backyard poultry but no poultry or rodents may be kept in an enclosure within 80 feet of any residence…

In Pima County's GR-1 Rural Residential zone, outside Tucson and the county's other cities, Code § 18.14.020(A)(9) caps…

In the CR-1 Single Residence zone, Pinal County allows any number of poultry, rabbits and similar small animals…

Queen Creek scales chicken counts to lot size: up to six chickens under 10,000 square feet and up to ten on lots…

Sahuarita allows chickens, rabbits, and other small animals as a noncommercial accessory home use under Town Code…

Scottsdale's Code of Ordinances § 4-17 lets residents keep cattle, horses, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, birds and fowl…

Sedona allows up to six hens, no roosters, and two beehives per lot as a permitted accessory use under Land Development…

Surprise lets residents on lots over a half-acre keep up to 25 fowl or rodents, while smaller lots of a half-acre or…

Tempe's Zoning and Development Code Section 3-404(I) caps hens at six per single-family lot with roosters banned…

Tucson bars horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, goats and other large animals from running loose or grazing in the city, and…

Unincorporated Yavapai County lets homeowners keep up to eight chickens per lot as an accessory use under the R1L…

Yuma limits backyard chicken and rodent keeping to six birds on a half-acre lot or less, bans keeping poultry in front…

Arizona requires all dogs to be on a leash no longer than six feet whenever off the owner's property, and enforces…

Avondale's Police Animal Control Division enforces leashing under Arizona law. A.R.S. 11-1012 requires dogs to be…

Buckeye City Code section 6-1-11 prohibits dogs from running at large on public or private property. A dog is not 'at…

Chandler makes it a violation for a dog to be at large on any public street, park or property. A dog is not considered…

Arizona law bars vicious or in-season female dogs from running at large and requires a license tag on any dog over…

Gilbert prohibits dogs from running at large under Code of Gilbert § 6-60: every dog must stay confined to the owner's…

Glendale requires every dog off its owner's property to stay under actual restraint. City Code Section 6-6 treats a dog…

Goodyear requires every dog off its owner's property to be on a leash, chain, rope or cord no longer than six feet, or…

Maricopa dogs cannot be at large at any time, and city parks and school grounds require a leash, secure cage, or a…

Unincorporated Maricopa County ordinance P-13 prohibits dogs at large: every dog must stay confined to the owner's…

Mesa requires any dog off its owner's property to be restrained by a leash, chain, rope, or cord no more than six feet…

Arizona law bars vicious or in-season female dogs from running at large and requires a license tag on any dog over…

Peoria dogs may never run at large: City Code Sec. 16-34 requires every dog to stay inside a fenced enclosure on the…

Phoenix dogs must stay on the owner's property, in a secure enclosure, or on a leash no longer than six feet whenever…

In unincorporated Pima County, letting a dog run loose on streets, sidewalks or private property (yours or someone…

Queen Creek Town Code Section 6-2-9 bans letting a dog run at large anywhere in town: every dog must stay confined on…

Sahuarita requires every dog on public streets, sidewalks, alleys or parks to be on a leash, chain, rope or cord. On…

Scottsdale's Code of Ordinances § 4-39 bans letting any dog run at large: each dog must stay confined to the owner's…

All dogs in Sedona "shall be kept under restraint" under SCC § 6.05.040(A), meaning on a leash under a handler's…

Surprise prohibits letting a dog run at large, meaning off the owner's property and not on a leash of no more than six…

Tempe City Code Sec. 6-30 bars dogs from running at large anywhere in the City, requiring a leash, chain, rope or cord…

Tucson requires dogs on public streets, sidewalks, alleys or parks to be on a leash, chain, rope or cord no more than…

Yuma prohibits letting any animal run at-large. A dog avoids that classification only if it is on a leash, chain, rope…

Avondale has no breed-specific dog ban. Instead, any animal of the carnivore order with a propensity to bite people…

Chandler has no breed-specific ban; instead it uses a behavior-based hearing process. Anyone, including a County Animal…

Glendale has no breed ban; instead, Chapter 6, Article II lets the city court declare any animal "vicious" based on its…

Mesa doesn't ban dog breeds, but its Police Chief can formally declare any individual dog "vicious" after a due-process…

Peoria has no breed list: vicious-animal status turns entirely on behavior. Section 16-1 defines a vicious animal as…

Queen Creek does not ban dog breeds, but Town Code Section 6-2-11 lets a bite victim, Maricopa County Animal Control or…

Sahuarita has no breed-specific ban; it regulates by behavior instead. Chapter 6.35 STC makes it unlawful to keep any…

Scottsdale does not ban dogs by breed. Instead, § 4-31 of the Code of Ordinances defines a vicious animal as any…

Surprise regulates animals by behavior, not breed: an animal is declared 'vicious' through a city magistrate hearing…

Tucson has no breed ban or breed-specific list. Section 4-13(a) defines a dangerous animal purely by behavior, prior…

Maricopa has no breed-specific ban. Instead it adopts Pinal County's ordinance, which lets a Justice of the Peace…

Sedona regulates dangerous animals by behavior, not breed. SCC § 6.05.020 defines a "vicious animal" as one that…

Arizona preempts breed-specific dog laws statewide. Since SB 1248 (2016), no Arizona city or county may regulate dogs…

Arizona preempts breed-specific dog laws statewide. Since SB 1248 (2016), no Arizona city or county may regulate dogs…

Phoenix has no breed-specific dog ban. Arizona state law, A.R.S. Sec. 9-499.04(C), prohibits any city or town from…

Arizona requires every beekeeper to register apiaries with the State Department of Agriculture, regardless of city…

Avondale only allows residential beehives in two zoning districts. Section 28-33(c) requires hives to sit at least 200…

Glendale requires a minimum 6,000-square-foot lot to keep bees, caps colonies at one hive per 1,700 square feet, and…

Mesa confines beekeeping to two zoning districts: agricultural (AG) and single-family estate (R1-43) parcels. Mesa City…

Sedona allows backyard beekeeping as an accessory use but caps every lot at two hives, requires a five-foot setback…

Coconino County allows at least one beehive on any residential lot regardless of size, adds a hive for every additional…

Gilbert's Land Development Code lets residents keep apiaries in any residential zoning district by right, with one…

Backyard beekeeping is allowed citywide, but the zoning code sets a placement rule: apiary hives must sit at least 75…

Unincorporated Pima County allows beehives in every zone if you meet colony density limits, a 30-foot setback, and a…

Queen Creek requires a town-issued license before anyone keeps a hive, colony or apiary within town limits under Town…

Sahuarita allows backyard beekeeping in every zoning district under STC § 18.07.030(E), but caps colony density at one…

Backyard beekeeping is allowed in Surprise, but the hives can't sit just anywhere. Land Development Ordinance Sec…

Tucson Code § 11-3 caps backyard beekeeping density at one hive, stand, or box per 2,500 square feet of lot area in…

Pinal County lists apiaries as a permitted commercial agricultural use, not a separately licensed activity. In the GR…

Arizona Game and Fish Commission rules apply uniformly statewide and prohibit private possession of restricted live…

Chandler makes it unlawful to keep any poisonous reptile or poisonous snake anywhere in the city, with no permit path…

SCC § 6.05.080 makes it unlawful to keep or harbor any wild animal within Sedona city limits "except as provided by…

Surprise flatly bans keeping any poisonous reptiles, alligators or crocodiles within city limits, no permit or…

Avondale bars any dangerous or vicious animal from running at large and requires a chief-of-police permit before any…

Unincorporated Coconino County requires a Conditional Use Permit before anyone may keep a wild, non-domesticated, or…

Goodyear City Code Section 7-1-4 limits keepable pets to dogs, cats, potbellied pigs and service animals, which…

Keeping wild or exotic animals privately in unincorporated Maricopa County is zoned as commercial "Outdoor…

Keeping an exotic or dangerous animal in Peoria is a registration requirement, not an outright ban: Sec. 16-9(a) makes…

Phoenix requires anyone keeping poisonous reptiles or dangerous carnivorous wild animals to register them with the…

Keeping a canine-wild animal hybrid, a wolf-dog or coyote-dog cross, in unincorporated Pima County for more than 30…

Tucson doesn't ban wild animals outright, but Section 4-25 makes it a misdemeanor to keep any naturally dangerous or…

Yuma requires anyone keeping a poisonous reptile or a dangerous, carnivorous wild animal to register it with the Chief…

Arizona makes it unlawful to intentionally feed or attract wildlife, except birds and tree squirrels, in Maricopa…

It is illegal to feed wildlife in Avondale under Arizona state law. A.R.S. 13-2927 makes feeding, attracting, or…

Feeding wildlife in a Peoria park, along with touching, chasing, or otherwise harassing any animal, reptile, or bird…

SCC § 6.15.020 makes it unlawful to "intentionally, knowingly or recklessly feed wildlife or to attract wildlife"…

Feeding, harassing, or collecting wildlife is prohibited in every Buckeye city park under the parks ordinance, and…

Yavapai County Ordinance No. 2025-14 makes it a civil violation to intentionally, knowingly or recklessly feed, attract…

Gilbert bans feeding wild or feral animals on town-owned property or in the public right-of-way. Code of Gilbert § 6-7…

Queen Creek makes it unlawful to feed or touch any wild animal, fish, bird or reptile, including eggs or nests, on Town…

Surprise bans feeding animals, wild or domestic, on any city-owned property, including all parks and recreation…

Mesa treats deliberately feeding pigeons as a public nuisance. Section 8-6-3(AB) makes it unlawful to knowingly provide…

Peoria limits dogs/cats to a combined total typically allowed in residential zones and treats hoarding under AZ…

Tempe enforces AZ §13-2910 animal cruelty for hoarding. Tempe City Code Ch. 8 limits number of dogs/cats in residential…

Animal hoarding in Tucson is treated as both a welfare issue under Pima County Title 6 and a potential cruelty case…

Chandler makes animal hoarding a crime: owning, keeping or harboring animals in numbers or conditions injurious to…

Coconino County caps household cats and dogs at four each, age four months and up, on lots up to one acre, with…

Maricopa caps unpermitted dog ownership at four dogs per address; a fifth or more requires a Pinal County Animal Care…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, keeping five or more dogs on one property makes it a 'kennel' under Ordinance P-13…

Mesa doesn't cap dogs by a bare household number, but keeping five or more dogs in a controlled enclosure meets the…

Pinal County requires a kennel permit for any residence housing five or more dogs. A Class I Non-Commercial permit…

Scottsdale addresses animal hoarding through Scottsdale Revised Code Chapter 4 keeping limits and Maricopa County…

Sedona sets no blanket household pet cap, but SCC § 6.05.020 legally reclassifies any premises keeping five or more…

Yuma treats keeping any animal on a lot under 10,000 square feet as a nuisance unless the household falls under one of…

Phoenix sets no flat per-household cap on cats or dogs, but defines a 'kennel' as five or more dogs kept under…

Releasing a cat into Yuma is unlawful unless it goes through the city's registered Trap-Neuter-Release program. TNR…

Chandler impounds stray cats the same as stray dogs and holds them at the pound at least 72 hours before disposal…

Glendale does not license cats or restrict them from roaming loose, but any stray cat animal control takes in must stay…

Goodyear does not license cats the way it licenses dogs, but any impounded cat must be held at the pound at least 72…

Mesa's animal-control chapter treats stray cats the same as stray dogs: any stray cat must be impounded and held a…

Queen Creek does not license cats the way it licenses dogs, but Town Code Section 6-2-10 still governs them: any stray…

Sedona's animal-control chapter treats cats differently from dogs: SCC § 6.05.030 requires a license only for dogs, so…

Tempe City Code Sec. 6-26 requires any cat that bites a person to be confined and quarantined for at least seven days…

Gilbert's animal code does not require stray cats to be picked up the way stray dogs are, but any cat that is impounded…

Maricopa's animal code, adopted from Pinal County, does not require cat licensing or at-large restraint like it does…

Peoria treats cats differently from dogs: City Code Sec. 16-41(a) exempts cats outright from the citywide…

Pima County has no license requirement or at-large law aimed at cats specifically; those rules in Title 6 target dogs…

Sahuarita does not license cats the way it licenses dogs, and free-roaming or feral cats are excluded from the town's…

Tucson allows healthy, free-roaming cats picked up by the city to be released back to where they were found through a…

Maricopa County's animal control ordinance requires dog licenses and bans dogs from running at large, but sets no…

Phoenix requires no cat license and has no leash or at-large law for cats: only dogs are covered. The city's animal…

Tucson doesn't require every pet to be fixed, but once a magistrate finds an animal vicious or destructive under…

Peoria does not require every pet to be sterilized, but it does require it before a stray dog or cat leaves the pound…

Pima County does not require residents to spay or neuter pets they already own. Its mandatory sterilization rule…

Queen Creek does not require every dog or cat in town to be sterilized, but Town Code Section 6-2-19 bars a county or…

Yuma's pound and animal shelters cannot adopt out a dog or cat until it has been surgically spayed or neutered. The…

Chandler has no citywide law requiring pet owners to spay or neuter their animals. The only spay/neuter mandate in the…

Phoenix does not require pet owners to spay or neuter animals. The only spay/neuter mandate in the City Code is a court…

Maricopa County does not require pet owners in unincorporated areas to spay or neuter their dogs. Instead, the county's…

Tucson doesn't microchip pets citywide, but once the city enforcement agent formally declares an animal dangerous…

Sahuarita does not require pet owners to microchip their animals, but the town enforcement agent may implant a…

Yuma does not require pets to be microchipped, but City Code lets cat owners skip the mandatory collar and license tag…

Maricopa's adopted animal control ordinance does not require dogs to be microchipped; owners must instead attach a…

Tucson doesn't run a coyote cull or hazing program, but its Unified Development Code does regulate one…

Phoenix bans pet shops and pet dealers from selling dogs or cats unless the animal comes from an animal shelter, a…

Tempe City Code Sec. 6-54 bars pet shops and pet dealers from obtaining or selling a dog or cat from anyone unlicensed…

Tucson doesn't ban pet stores from selling dogs and cats outright, but it bans sourcing them from unlicensed or…

Yuma does not ban pet stores from selling dogs or cats. The city's animal-sale ordinance targets curbside, sidewalk and…

Yuma's home occupation rules exclude non-mobile veterinary offices and animal grooming services from residential zoning…

In unincorporated Pinal County's RU rural zoning districts, RU-10 down through RU-C, and in the R-43 district, a pet…

Maricopa treats pet grooming as a commercial "Animal Sales and Grooming" use, permitted by right in most commercial…

Pet groomers and pet shops in unincorporated Maricopa County are Non-Food Environmental Health Operating Permit holders…

Peoria zones pet grooming as part of a "Pet Shop" use under City Code Sec. 21-505(B)(2). Grooming has to stay inside an…

Pet grooming businesses need a Type 2 conditional use permit in Sahuarita's Neighborhood Commercial (NC) and Mixed-Use…

Tempe treats every animal grooming shop as a cross-connection hazard on the municipal water system. Under the city's…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, veterinary hospitals and clinics are classified as a Commercial-Medical use…

A veterinary hospital or kennel is a conditional permitted use, not a by-right use, across Pinal County's rural zones…

Opening a veterinary clinic or animal hospital on agriculturally zoned land in Yuma requires a conditional use permit…

Chandler's zoning table allows a veterinarian hospital or clinic by right only in the C-2 and C-3 commercial districts…

Glendale's Unified Development Code treats veterinary clinics and emergency veterinary hospitals as conditioned…

Goodyear confines veterinary clinics and emergency animal hospitals to fully enclosed, soundproof buildings and keeps…

Maricopa's zoning code makes veterinary services a defined commercial use, permitted by right in General Commercial…

Mesa allows veterinary clinics as a permitted, by-right "Veterinary Services" use in the NC, LC, GC, OC and MX…

A veterinary clinic in Peoria is a distinct Animal Related Use under the Zoning Ordinance, regulated more tightly than…

In Phoenix's S-1 suburban district, veterinary hospitals must sit at least 100 feet from any residential district…

Veterinary clinics in Sahuarita's rural residential zones must sit on at least five acres and keep every animal…

Scottsdale's Planned Regional Center (PRC) zoning district allows veterinary and pet care service as a permitted use…

Veterinary hospitals and clinics are permitted by right in Sedona's M2, M3, CO and IN districts, and allowed with a…

Tucson zones veterinary clinics under the Animal Service use, and most locations only allow outpatient care: overnight…

In unincorporated Yavapai County's C2 Commercial District, veterinary clinics and hospitals are a permitted use if the…

A veterinary outpatient clinic for small animals is a by-right use in Pima County's CB-1 Local Business zone under Code…

Tempe's Zoning and Development Code lets a medical, dental or small-animal veterinary clinic operate by right in every…

Goodyear's City Code makes it unlawful to keep pigeons or poultry anywhere inside city limits unless a zoning permit…

Phoenix City Code makes it a crime to kill, harm, take, molest, or disturb any bird, or other park wildlife, inside a…

Chandler City Code § 31-5G makes it unlawful in any city park or facility to take, kill, wound, disturb or mistreat any…

It's unlawful to harass, capture or throw objects at wildlife in Sedona's parks, trails and open spaces, and disturbing…

Tempe cites keeping or feeding outdoor birds as a nuisance when frequent public defecation from the birds annoys or…

Yavapai County's Solar Facilities ordinance, Section 608(D)(4)(e), forces commercial solar projects to leave…

Unincorporated Pima County allows wildlife rehabilitation facilities in every zone with no conditional use permit, but…

Feeding birds or animals at Sedona's wastewater wetlands is unlawful unless the public works director or city manager…