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…

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 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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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,'…

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

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…

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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

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

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…

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…

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…

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

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

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

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…

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

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

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…

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…

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

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

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…

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

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

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…