Animal Ordinances in Iowa (2026)

Iowa Code Chapter 459 governs animal feeding operations and substantially preempts local control over confinement…

Davenport allows up to six hens (no roosters) on single-family lots with a permit and a completed chicken-keeping…

Council Bluffs requires a farm animal permit before keeping chickens or other farm animals, caps chickens at ten per…

Dubuque bans selling baby chicks or ducklings as pets or novelties and restricts commercial livestock pens to…

Keeping chickens in Iowa City requires an urban chicken permit from the Police Chief, good for three years and…

Sioux City, Iowa requires an inspection-services permit to keep chickens or other fowl in residential zones, capping…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, cattle, horses, mules, swine, sheep, goats, geese, ducks, turkeys, chickens and other…

In the City of West Des Moines, keeping chickens or other livestock on a residential lot needs a Permitted Conditional…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, City Code section 55.05 bans keeping livestock inside the city, but carves out backyard…

In the county's Agricultural-Residential district, backyard poultry counts as a "small animal" capped at one animal…

Cedar Rapids allows up to six permitted hens per lot, no roosters, under Chapter 23A, with a required Animal Control…

Des Moines lets residents keep chickens, ducks and other small fowl in coops set back 25 feet from a neighbor's house…

Johnson County caps backyard poultry and livestock by animal unit under UDO Section 8:1.24(A), converting each species…

Unincorporated Linn County caps livestock and poultry by lot size in residential-zoned districts: one large animal per…

Outside the A-1 and A-2 agricultural districts, unincorporated Story County caps small animals like poultry, fowl and…

Iowa City bans letting any animal run at large at any time under City Code section 8-4-6(D). A leash under section…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 3.103 of the Ames Municipal Code requires every dog owner to keep the animal from…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, City Code section 55.06 makes it unlawful for any dog owner to let the animal run at large…

Cedar Rapids makes it unlawful for any dog to run at large under Section 23.05(d). Section 23.01 defines "at large" as…

In the City of Council Bluffs, every animal owner must restrain their animal at all times to keep it from running at…

Davenport requires a dog off the owner's property to be on a leash no longer than six feet under the control of a…

Off your property, Des Moines requires dogs on a leash, cord or chain no longer than six feet and under a handler's…

Dubuque bans letting a dog run at large under City Code 7-6B-7, and 7-6B-1 spells out the only ways a dog counts as…

Iowa City, Coralville, and unincorporated Johnson County require dogs to be leashed or controlled off the owner's…

Linn County bans letting any animal run at-large in the unincorporated county, with impoundment and rising civil…

Sioux City, Iowa requires owners to restrain animals from running at large, and dogs off-premises must be on a leash no…

Unincorporated Story County requires every animal owner to keep the animal "under control at all times" and makes it…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, a dog or cat off its owner's property is legally "at large" unless it is on a leash…

In the City of West Des Moines, dogs and other animals cannot run at large. A licensed animal avoids being "at large"…

In Adair County's county parks and recreation areas only, pets shall not be allowed to run at large, and owners are…

Council Bluffs bans pit bulls outright. CBMC 4.20.112 makes it unlawful to own, possess, keep, harbor, transport or…

Iowa City has no banned-breed list. City Code section 8-4-7 instead declares an animal 'dangerous' based only on…

Linn County has no breed-specific dog ban; instead it declares any animal that bites or attacks without provocation…

The City of Ames, Iowa does not ban any dog breed by name. Instead, Sec. 3.202 of the Ames Municipal Code lets the City…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, the city does not ban any dog breed by name; instead Chapter 57 lets the City declare an…

Cedar Rapids has no citywide breed ban. Instead, the Animal Control Manager can declare any dog potentially dangerous…

Des Moines classifies pit bulls, American Staffordshire terriers, and Staffordshire terriers as 'high risk dogs,'…

Dubuque does not ban any dog breed by name; instead City Code § 7-6E lets the City Manager declare an individual dog…

Story County does not restrict dogs by breed. Instead, Code of Ordinances §45.09 bans harboring or keeping a "vicious…

Waterloo has no breed list; instead animal control classifies any dog as potentially dangerous, dangerous or vicious…

The City of West Des Moines regulates dangerous dogs by conduct, not by breed. A "vicious animal" is defined by biting…

Davenport has no breed-specific ban; pit bulls and other breeds are legal. The city regulates individual dogs by…

Anyone moving honeybee colonies, packages, or used equipment with combs into Iowa must apply to the state apiarist for…

Sioux City only allows apiaries as a conditional use in the Agriculture (AG) zoning district, with 5-foot hive…

In the City of Council Bluffs, keeping bees is legal but capped: residential lots under an acre get two hives, larger…

City Code Section 9-10-4.A.19 caps backyard beekeeping in West Des Moines at two hives on lots of one acre or less and…

Des Moines exempts hives from the acreage-lot and setback rules that apply to livestock and fowl, so backyard…

Iowa Code Chapter 717F universally prohibits private ownership of dangerous wild animals including big cats, bears, and…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 3.304 of the Ames Municipal Code bans keeping bears, large cats and wolves outright…

Cedar Rapids bans owning, keeping or harboring any wild, exotic or dangerous animal within city limits under Section…

Council Bluffs bans keeping wild and dangerous animals as pets. CBMC 4.20.090 makes it unlawful to keep any animal…

Davenport bans keeping wild, exotic, or dangerous animals, including venomous snakes, large cats, primates, bears…

Des Moines and Iowa law restrict ownership of dangerous wild animals. Iowa Code Chapter 717F prohibits keeping large…

In the City of Dubuque, keeping a lion, tiger, wolf, bear, alligator, venomous snake, Gila monster, or any of thirteen…

Iowa City addresses exotic and dangerous animals through Title 8 (animal services) nuisance and dangerous-animal…

Sioux City Municipal Code Title 7 addresses dangerous and wild animals through general restraint and nuisance…

Waterloo bans keeping big cats, bears, wild canids, primates, crocodilians, venomous snakes and reptiles, venomous…

Keeping wolves, big cats, bears, primates, venomous snakes and dozens of other wild species in unincorporated Linn…

Unincorporated Story County requires an annual Animal Control Department license before anyone may own, possess, or…

Iowa sets no statewide ban on backyard wildlife feeding, but Natural Resource Commission rule 571, 106.7(6) makes it…

Feeding deer or waterfowl anywhere in Des Moines, public or private land, is prohibited. Backyard bird feeding is still…

Dubuque's wildlife-feeding rule is scoped specifically to bears: City Code § 7-6G-2, adopted by Ordinance 15-25 in…

Feeding deer or Eastern wild turkeys anywhere in Sioux City, Iowa, public or private land, is banned outright, with…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, it is unlawful to place salt, grain, fruit, vegetable material or similar feed outdoors…

Cedar Rapids bars feeding or baiting any wild animal or waterfowl on city-owned public property, from deer and geese to…

In the City of West Des Moines, feeding a community cat within two hundred feet of City property or school district…

Iowa Code Chapter 717B universally criminalizes animal neglect and cruelty, providing the legal framework prosecutors…

Des Moines limits the total number of dogs and cats per household and authorizes Animal Control to seize animals from…

Sioux City addresses animal hoarding through two overlapping frameworks: (1) Title 7 of the Sioux City Municipal Code…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, City Code section 55.11 caps ownership at four dogs, four cats, or a combined four dogs…

Unincorporated Black Hawk County does not cap the number of dogs a household may keep, but four or more dogs on one…

Cedar Rapids makes it unlawful to harbor or maintain animals in conditions that create unhealthful or unsanitary…

Council Bluffs caps ordinary households at four cats or four dogs, or a combination of no more than six animals over…

Iowa City households can keep up to three dogs or five cats over four months old before City Code section 8-4-1…

In unincorporated Story County, there is no flat cap of two dogs or three cats per household. The line is drawn at…

In the City of West Des Moines, an owner may harbor no more than four dogs, four cats, or a combination totaling four…

Dubuque does not cap the number of dogs or cats a household may keep. City Code § 6-4-3(N) instead makes it a public…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, every cat owner must get the animal a rabies vaccination between three and four months of…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, City Code section 55.17 sets up a trap-neuter-return program for community cats: property…

Cedar Rapids requires every cat over four months old to wear a current rabies tag with owner ID whenever it is off the…

Council Bluffs requires every cat six months or older to carry a current city license and rabies tag under CBMC…

Des Moines requires an annual cat license for cats six months and older, and allows sterilized, vaccinated, ear-tipped…

Dubuque requires every cat to be licensed by the City Manager, with the license expiring one year after purchase and…

Every cat over six months old in Sioux City, Iowa needs an annual city license, cheaper for neutered cats, plus a…

Waterloo requires every cat six months or older to carry an annual city license, bans letting a cat run at large, and…

The City of West Des Moines exempts managed community cats from its at-large ban and returns trapped cats to where they…

Iowa City lets an unowned, sterilized, vaccinated, and ear-tipped cat roam freely as a legally recognized community cat…

Story County has no stand-alone cat license, but Code of Ordinances §45.06(1) requires every companion cat over four…

A Cedar Rapids dog or cat that is cited a third time for running at large while unaltered must be spayed or neutered at…

Iowa City has no blanket spay or neuter law for pets, but once the Chief of Police or a court formally labels an animal…

Sioux City, Iowa doesn't mandate spay/neuter for pets generally, but owners of animals designated 'high risk' under the…

Ames does not require every dog or cat to be spayed or neutered, but Sec. 3.206(a) of the Ames Municipal Code lets the…

Des Moines requires surgical sterilization for every dog and cat adopted from the city animal shelter, and for cats…

Waterloo requires spaying or neutering in two situations: any dog or cat picked up at large for the third time in a…

Council Bluffs has no citywide spay or neuter mandate for pet owners. The only mandatory sterilization requirement in…

Iowa City does not make microchipping mandatory for pets generally, but once an animal is declared dangerous, the owner…

Ames does not require every pet to be microchipped, but Sec. 3.206(b) of the Ames Municipal Code lets the Animal…

Cedar Rapids requires a microchip to be implanted in every animal picked up running at large or impounded, except…

Des Moines requires every impounded dog to receive a microchip before release, with the owner paying an installation…

Dubuque does not require microchipping of pets generally, but City Code § 7-6E-2 lets the City Manager order microchip…

Waterloo requires permanent identification for dogs picked up running at large and for any dog registered as…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, there is no citywide microchip mandate for pets; the only chip requirement in the Code…

Council Bluffs does not require microchipping pets citywide, but CBMC 4.20.060 mandates a microchip be inserted in…

Des Moines Municipal Code § 18-217 makes it illegal to feed deer or waterfowl anywhere in the city, on public or…

Iowa City bans putting out grain, salt licks, produce, hay, or other food within five feet of the ground where it could…

Waterloo bans discharging air rifles, pellet guns and similar devices citywide, but carves out a licensed bow hunting…

In the City of Council Bluffs, retail pet shops may sell dogs and cats, but every animal must be vaccinated against…

Iowa City requires a permit for any pet shop, defined in City Code section 8-4-1 as a commercial establishment buying…

Dubuque defines animal grooming as a business that bathes, clips or combs animals for a fee under City Code section…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, animal grooming salons are classified as a Retail Sales and Services -- General use under…

Anyone who cuts, trims, brushes, or bathes dogs or cats for payment in Iowa City, from a storefront groomer to a mobile…

West Des Moines' commercial zoning use matrix, Table 6.1 under City Code Section 9-6-6, lists indoor pet grooming with…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, veterinarian offices are classified as a Retail Sales and Services -- General use under Ames…

In the City of Dubuque, an animal hospital or clinic is a conditional use limited to the C-2 and C-2A commercial…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, animal hospitals, veterinary clinics, and kennels are permitted uses in the C-2 General…

Unincorporated Black Hawk County allows veterinary clinics as a permitted use in the Agricultural-Limited and…

Iowa City classifies veterinary clinics as a "General" Animal Related Commercial use under the zoning code. In the…

In unincorporated Johnson County, a veterinary office is zoned as an Animal Service under UDO Section 8:1.4(21) and is…

Animal hospitals, veterinary clinics, animal shelters and boarding kennels in unincorporated Polk County must keep…

Animal hospitals and veterinary clinics are a principal permitted use in Story County's A-2 Agribusiness District, the…

City Code Section 9-10-4.A.20 requires any veterinary or animal service use, in any zoning district where the use is…

Dubuque bars anyone from killing, trapping, teasing, feeding or otherwise interfering with birds or other fowl, or…

Iowa City bans new pigeon and dove lofts outright under City Code section 8-4-6(C). Anyone who owned or operated a loft…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, hunting and trapping are banned in every public park, and the ban expressly reaches…

Sioux City bans hunting, molesting, or capturing wild birds and their eggs or nests in any city park or trail area.

In any West Des Moines city park or parks and recreation facility, no one may deface, injure or remove a growing tree…

Cedar Rapids requires a free city rehabilitator permit before anyone treats or houses injured wildlife, layered on top…

Iowa City bans keeping prohibited or restricted wild species like raccoons, foxes, or bats, but City Code section 8-4-6…

Dubuque's citywide ban on keeping dangerous wild animals under City Code § 7-6D-3 does not apply to a wildlife rescue…

The City of West Des Moines otherwise bans keeping dangerous animals such as wolves, coyotes, bears, or venomous…