Animal Ordinances in Delaware (2026)

Delaware makes it unlawful to let livestock, poultry, swine, cattle, equine and more, run at large on public highways…

Wilmington outlaws keeping chickens, goats, pigs, horses, and other farm animals anywhere in city limits, with only…

New Castle County bans keeping cattle, poultry, sheep, goats, pigs, and similar livestock on residentially zoned…

Kent County allows poultry, pigeons, ducks and similar animals only on lots of at least 15,000 square feet, capped at…

In Sussex County's AR-1 and AR-2 districts, keeping horses, ponies, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs or poultry for personal…

Delaware Code Title 16 Section 3048F prohibits dogs from running at large statewide and requires owners to physically…

Wilmington requires every dog to be kept under restraint at all times and, whenever off the owner's property in public…

New Castle County requires every dog to be kept under restraint at all times: on a leash or lead no longer than 20…

Delaware Code Title 16 Subchapter V prohibits classifying any dog as dangerous or potentially dangerous based solely on…

Wilmington judges a dog dangerous by its conduct, not its breed: the Justice of the Peace Court declares status case by…

New Castle County has no pit bull or other breed ban: dogs are declared "vicious" based on documented behavior, not…

Delaware Code Title 3 Chapter 75 requires every beekeeper to annually register all colonies and apiary locations with…

Sussex County lets residents keep bees, birds, rabbits and other small animals for personal enjoyment as a permitted…

Kent County Code § 205-35 makes it unlawful to possess any dangerous animal, including animals exotic to Delaware…

Wilmington bans keeping any wild animal, including monkeys, big cats, and poisonous snakes, within city limits as pets.

New Castle County bars keeping exotic animals, wild animals, and livestock like cattle, goats, and poultry on…

Kent County Code § 205-36 caps every household in the unincorporated county at four domestic pets over six months old…

Sussex County lets a household keep dogs individually licensed up to four; anyone keeping more than four dogs for show…

New Castle County doesn't license or leash cats, that's a dogs-only rule, but owners must stop excreta from piling up…

Wilmington doesn't license or leash cats, but a cat counts as a public nuisance animal if found at large more than four…

New Castle County lets a licensed dog wear a microchip or tattoo instead of a metal tag, as long as proof of the…

Sussex County does not mandate microchipping, but its dog licensing law accepts a microchip as an alternative to the…

New Castle County does not ban retail pet sales or require adoption-only stores. It licenses "retail dog outlets" for…

Kent County zones dog grooming, training and day-care establishments as a conditional use in the Agricultural…

Wilmington's C-1-A neighborhood commercial zoning excludes stores or offices for the care, keeping, or grooming of…

The zoning code classifies pet grooming with veterinary services as one commercial use and requires 3.5 off-street…

Kent County zones veterinary offices and animal hospitals under its 'commercial kennel' use category, which needs…

New Castle County treats veterinary offices and clinics as a special use requiring Board of Adjustment approval outside…

In unincorporated Sussex County, veterinary clinics and animal hospitals are a permitted use, not a discretionary one…

In County parks it's illegal to trap, shoot, poison, injure or disturb any wild bird or destroy its nest, though the…

Wilmington bans selling baby chicks, ducklings or rabbits in lots under six, dyeing them for novelty, or using them as…