Animal Ordinances in Idaho (2026)

In the City of Pocatello, keeping chickens, ducks, rabbits, pigeons or other "small livestock" requires a special…

In the City of Twin Falls, Idaho, roosters, pigs and hogs are banned outright under City Code § 6-3-1. Keeping more…

In the Residential Suburban district of unincorporated Bannock County, livestock is a permitted use only on lots of one…

Boise requires at least one acre to keep horses, cows, or other livestock at a home, with tighter rules for poultry and…

In unincorporated Bonner County, Idaho, the Agriculture row of the Resource Based Use Table attaches the chicken and…

Where animals and fowl are allowed on a lot, Bonneville County requires any barn, coop or pen to sit at least 100 feet…

Caldwell allows residents to keep fowl, guineas and poultry only if the birds stay on the owner's own premises inside a…

Unincorporated Canyon County requires livestock owners to keep animals off public roads and other people's property…

In the City of Coeur d'Alene, section 6.15.010 lets a person keep up to twelve (12) chickens, excluding roosters, and…

Idaho Falls allows up to 12 chickens, quail, ducks, or geese per lot depending on lot size, with coops set back 25 feet…

Idaho's Right To Farm Act shields Kootenai County chicken and livestock keepers from nuisance lawsuits: once an…

Nampa allows up to 10 pet chickens (no roosters) on single-family lots in residential zones, capped at three animal…

Meridian lets residents keep chickens and other livestock citywide, but requires stock-tight fencing, weekly manure…

Idaho Code Section 25-2810 sets uniform statewide standards for declaring dogs dangerous or at-risk and imposes…

In unincorporated Ada County it is an infraction to let a dog run at large. "At large" means off the owner's premises…

Boise requires dogs to be leashed in public and bans letting a dog run at large on city streets, alleys, or private…

In unincorporated Bonner County, Idaho, dog owners must at all times prevent their dogs from being at large. A leash is…

Bonneville County Code § 92.06 makes it unlawful for a dog to run at large in unincorporated areas: off the owner's…

Caldwell bans letting any animal, canine or livestock run at large on city streets, alleys or public places, or on…

Unincorporated Canyon County makes it unlawful for a dog to be off its owner's property and out of the owner's control…

In the City of Coeur d'Alene, section 6.15.080 makes it unlawful for the owner or custodian of any animal, except…

Idaho Falls bans dogs at large on streets, sidewalks, parks, and private property without permission: owners face an…

Kootenai County requires dogs off their owner's property to be on a leash no longer than five feet and under control of…

Meridian requires dogs in any public place to be controlled by a leash no longer than six feet, with escalating fines…

Nampa requires dogs in public to be leashed and controllable at all times; a dog found loose on streets, alleys, or…

City Code Section 6.04.040(A) makes it unlawful in the City of Pocatello to let a dog run at large on streets, public…

In the City of Twin Falls, Idaho, City Code § 6-4-1 defines a dog at large as one not confined in a fenced or…

County Code section 5-6-4.A bans letting a dog run at large on unincorporated Twin Falls County streets, alleys, or…

Title 10 of the Bonner County Revised Code contains no breed-specific ban. It regulates a vicious animal, defined by…

Idaho Falls has no breed-specific dog ban. Instead, City Code § 5-6-14 classifies individual dogs as 'dangerous' by…

Kootenai County doesn't restrict dog breeds; instead it regulates individual dogs the sheriff declares "dangerous" or…

Meridian does not ban dog breeds; instead animal control officers designate individual dogs as "dangerous" or "at-risk"…

In the City of Twin Falls, Idaho, Twin Falls City Code § 6-4-14(I) makes it unlawful to own, have custody of or control…

Twin Falls County has no breed-specific dog ban. Instead, County Code section 5-6-1 defines a 'vicious dog' by…

Ada County does not ban any dog breed. Instead of breed labels, county code regulates individual dogs by behavior…

Boise regulates dogs by behavior, not breed: there is no breed-specific ban. A dog is declared dangerous or potentially…

Pocatello does not ban or single out any dog breed by name. City Code Section 6.04.050 declares an animal dangerous…

Caldwell does not ban any dog breed by name. Its dangerous-animal definition lists breed as one of several factors…

Idaho requires commercial beekeepers to register apiaries annually with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, and…

Boise allows accessory beekeeping on any residential lot with no minimum parcel size, capped at three colonies per…

Bonneville County allows hobbyist beehives as an accessory residential use in every zoning district, but caps density…

Idaho Falls allows residential beekeeping in side or rear yards only, with hive counts tied to lot size, seven-foot…

Nampa allows beehives only in the AG, RA, RS, IL and IH zones, capping hive counts by lot size and requiring a 25-foot…

Idaho prohibits private possession of designated deleterious exotic animals such as big cats, primates, and Russian…

Boise bans keeping wild and exotic animals as pets under Boise City Code section 5-1-12, listing dozens of species by…

Caldwell bans keeping most wild mammals, dangerous reptiles and agricultural pest insects as pets, including wolves…

The City of Coeur d'Alene makes it unlawful to own, keep, maintain, display or offer for sale any exotic or hybrid…

Idaho Falls prohibits keeping big cats, bears, wolves, venomous reptiles, primates, and other wild animals or hybrids…

Keeping a lion, bear, wolf hybrid or other dangerous exotic animal as a pet in unincorporated Bannock County requires a…

Nampa bans keeping wild animals within city limits unless the animal is registered or licensed by Idaho Fish and Game…

In the City of Twin Falls, Idaho, City Code § 6-3-4 requires a permit from the Code Enforcement Coordinator to keep any…

Ada County Code 5-7-4 makes it unlawful to keep a long list of exotic and wild animals - including big cats, wild…

Kootenai County doesn't license or specifically regulate exotic pets itself. Code 5.1.108 instead requires owners of…

Idaho Fish and Game rule IDAPA 13.01.18.200 makes it unlawful to purposely or knowingly provide supplemental feed to…

In the City of Pocatello, it is unlawful to intentionally feed or attract wild or habituated wildlife such as deer…

Feeding wildlife is unlawful in the City of Coeur d'Alene. Section 6.15.040 bars feeding or providing food or other…

Ada County's animal chapter does not set a blanket wildlife-feeding ban, but harboring or feeding an animal for 24…

Boise bans feeding wildlife and birds in city parks, including animals confined at Zoo Boise, under the park conduct…

Idaho Code Section 25-3504 criminalizes animal cruelty statewide, and conduct typical of animal hoarding such as…

Ada County sets minimum standards of care and lets Animal Control act against neglect and hoarding. Beyond the…

Bannock County does not cap household pets with a simple number, but its zoning code defines a 'kennel' as any place…

Boise households may keep up to four dogs or five cats without a permit; more requires a noncommercial kennel license…

In unincorporated Bonner County, Idaho, more than six adult dogs, more than six adult cats, or any combination…

Bonneville County caps how many licensed dogs a property can keep without a commercial kennel license. Code §…

Unincorporated Canyon County, Idaho limits an ordinary household to three canines over three months old under Canyon…

In the City of Coeur d'Alene, a household that keeps more than four dogs over six months of age is a noncommercial…

Idaho Falls caps dogs at two per dwelling or business property, though owners may apply for an annual permit allowing…

No more than five dogs may be kept on a single Kootenai County parcel without a county kennel license (Code…

Meridian bans owning, keeping, or harboring more than three dogs at a single residence or property, with a narrow…

Nampa caps unlicensed dog ownership at two dogs over six months per dwelling unit; a third dog requires a kennel…

In the City of Pocatello, a household may keep up to two dogs or five cats without any special permit. Adding a third…

In the City of Twin Falls, Idaho, Twin Falls City Code § 6-4-9(B)2 says no person shall harbor or possess more than…

Ada County counts cats toward the four-animal household limit and requires rabies vaccination. An unaltered cat allowed…

Boise bans unspayed cats over 4 months from roaming and lets the Animal Shelter spay, neuter, and release seized feral…

Caldwell caps most households at five pet cats under the zoning code's animal regulations, and a household keeping cats…

Idaho Falls requires cat owners to license and rabies-vaccinate their cats and bars cat nuisances like habitual…

In the City of Pocatello, City Code Section 6.04.155 requires any cat three months or older to be licensed annually…

In unincorporated Bonner County, Idaho, cats are covered by the impound and multiple-animal rules of Title 10. An…

Unincorporated Canyon County, Idaho does not restrict cats from roaming: county code exempts felines, domestic or…

In the City of Twin Falls, Idaho, domestic cats are excluded from the at-large rule in City Code § 6-3-13, and the…

In unincorporated Twin Falls County, taking temporary custody of a stray, feral, or abandoned cat to have it spayed or…

Canyon County doesn't require spaying or neutering up front, but an unsterilized dog impounded a third time must be…

Pocatello does not require spaying or neutering pets citywide, but City Code Section 6.04.030(E) forces the issue once…

Boise makes it illegal to let a cat four months or older roam the streets or alleys unless it has been spayed or…

Bonneville County does not require every dog to be fixed, but Code § 92.07(B)(4) forces it after two impounds in one…

Idaho Falls requires dogs and cats adopted from the Animal Control Shelter to be spayed or neutered within 30 days, and…

Meridian has no general spay or neuter law; the mandate applies only to dogs the city has formally designated dangerous…

Pocatello does not require every pet to be microchipped, but City Code Section 6.04.060(D) forces it after a…

Ada County does not microchip every dog. Chipping only becomes mandatory once an Animal Control Officer formally…

Bannock County requires every dangerous animal kept under a county permit, from big cats to wolf hybrids, to be…

Boise doesn't require microchips for all pets, but any dog ruled dangerous or potentially dangerous must be permanently…

Bonneville County requires an impounded dog to be microchipped before it can be redeemed. Under Code § 92.07(B)(3), the…

In the City of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the owner or custodian of a dog declared dangerous must have it sterilized…

Caldwell does not require microchipping outright, but its collar-and-tag law lets a canine skip the required collar and…

Canyon County requires every dog kept in unincorporated territory to wear a durable collar with ownership information…

In the City of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, no one can operate a pet shop or kennel without a city license, and chapter 6.30…

Idaho Falls bars pet stores and other retail businesses from selling live dogs or cats, permitting sales only of…

Kootenai County does not ban retail pet sales or require adoption-only stores. Instead, any pet shop that regularly…

Pocatello does not ban retail sale of dogs and cats. City Code Section 6.04.150(A) and Section 6.04.155(A) let a…

Boise's zoning code classifies pet grooming shops under the "Animal Daycare or Kennel" land use, which is allowed only…

In unincorporated Ada County, pet grooming is regulated as an accessory use tied to a licensed commercial kennel, not…

In the City of Pocatello, any pet groomer runs a "commercial animal establishment" under City Code and must hold an…

In unincorporated Canyon County, Idaho, an "animal hospital" needs a conditional use permit in the Agricultural and…

In the City of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, zoning splits veterinary use into two activity types. A Veterinary Office treats…

Veterinary hospitals and clinics need a conditional use permit in unincorporated Kootenai County and are allowed only…

Ada County's zoning Use Table treats veterinary clinics and animal hospitals as a conditional use in the county's rural…

Boise's Development Code treats animal hospitals and veterinary clinics as a distinct land use, permitted outright in…

Bonneville County allows veterinary hospitals as a permitted use in the C-2 General Commercial Zone. No conditional use…

Caldwell zoning splits veterinary uses into a large-animal clinic/hospital category, which needs a Special Use Permit…

Pocatello's zoning code does not treat veterinary clinics as a standalone use; City Code section 17.01.160.B.3.g folds…

In unincorporated Twin Falls County, outside the cities' areas of impact, veterinary clinics and dog kennels are a…

Canyon County declares its parks and waterways wildlife sanctuaries. County Code Section 04-01-11(2) makes it strictly…

City Code section 12.36.100(C) bars anyone in a Pocatello municipal park from hunting, molesting, harming, trapping, or…

On the Boise River and surrounding Ada County parks and waterways property, it is unlawful to hunt, harm, or molest any…

Bannock County has codified the California Fish and Game wild-animal manual into its own animal control chapter…

Boise bans hunting, harming, feeding, or taking eggs or nests of any bird in city parks, greenbelt, and Zoo Boise…

In the City of Twin Falls, Idaho, section 8-3-3(D) bars anyone in a city park, without the director's authorization…

Caldwell's ban on keeping prohibited wild animals does not apply to a rehabilitator, breeder or exhibitor who holds a…

In the City of Pocatello, the citywide ban on feeding or attracting wildlife does not apply to zoos, rehab facilities…