Animal Ordinances in Maryland (2026)

Frederick bans livestock citywide outside limited exceptions, but allows licensed backyard chickens on single-family or…

Keeping chickens or other poultry and livestock in the R-1 District of unincorporated Allegany County requires a lot of…

Annapolis caps backyard flocks at five chickens per property, bars roosters and all other livestock, and requires…

Anne Arundel County ties livestock and fowl to lot size: 40,000 sq ft minimum for horses, cattle, sheep, goats, swine…

Baltimore County Code 12-2-402 lets a person keep hens on an owner-occupied lot under one acre only with a license from…

Bowie's own Animal Control chapter does not set numeric limits on backyard chickens or livestock; instead, § 4-4 sends…

In Calvert County outside Chesapeake Beach and North Beach, Chapter 7 of the county code lets residents keep poultry…

Carroll County zoning caps backyard fowl by lot size and bans roosters at every tier under § 158.075.02(A)(8): six…

Charles County's zoning ordinance lets residents keep horses, poultry and rabbits as pets on any lot without a special…

Gaithersburg lets residents keep chickens and other domestic fowl at home, but City Code § 4-7 caps a residential lot…

Homestead chickens are allowed on unincorporated Harford County lots under § 267-27D(13) of the zoning code, but only…

Howard County has no numeric permit for backyard chickens in its general code; instead, unclean facilities for domestic…

Montgomery County's animal control law requires livestock stay on the owner's property and bars keeping any animal…

Prince George's County Code § 3-133 requires anyone keeping fowl or livestock, commercial or backyard, to keep the…

In unincorporated Queen Anne's County, poultry houses and their associated structures must sit at least 100 feet from…

Rockville allows up to five hens per single-family home with a police-issued permit: no roosters, no multifamily coops…

Washington County's zoning ordinance lets a homeowner keep up to two domestic animals as pets in an accessory 'Private…

Unincorporated Wicomico County residents may keep poultry for personal use as long as any structural enclosure stays…

In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, § ZS 1-349 sorts poultry farms into small, medium and large operations by…

Every dog in unincorporated Allegany County must carry a current license and stay under restraint, meaning leashed, in…

Annapolis has no separate leash ordinance. City Code § 8.04.020 adopts Anne Arundel County's Animal Control Article 12…

Dogs and other domesticated animals may not be at large anywhere off their owner's property in Anne Arundel County…

Baltimore County Code § 12-3-110 flatly bars owners from letting any animal run at large. The code defines "at large"…

Bowie prohibits any owner from letting a dog or other animal run loose within the City: § 4-6 of the Animal Control…

In Calvert County, an owner may not let a dog, other domesticated animal or agricultural livestock roam loose off the…

Carroll County requires every dog to be under restraint or effective control at all times, caps outdoor tethering at 12…

Cecil County requires every dog to be kept under restraint or effective control at all times, unless it is engaged in…

Charles County bars any animal, dogs included, from running at large: off the owner's property without a leash or…

Frederick requires dogs to stay on the owner's property or under immediate physical control by chain or leash. An…

A dog off its owner's property in Gaithersburg must be on a leash and under a capable handler's effective control…

Howard County governs every resident, including unincorporated Columbia and Ellicott City. A domesticated animal must…

County law bans letting a dog run at large, meaning off the owner's property and off-leash, except in designated…

Prince George's County Code § 3-135 bans letting any dog run at large off its owner's property, and § 3-135(h) caps…

In unincorporated Queen Anne's County, animals at large are prohibited. A domestic animal off its owner's property must…

A Rockville dog or other animal off its owner's property must be leashed or physically restrained. Sec. 3-21(1) makes…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, § 133-14 makes it unlawful to let any animal run at large, meaning unleashed on…

In Worcester County, Maryland, § PS 2-101(i) makes it unlawful to permit a dog, cat or other animal to run at large…

Allegany County has no breed ban; instead § 225-13 targets any individual dog that is fierce, dangerous or vicious…

Anne Arundel County has no breed-specific ban. Animal Control designates individual dogs potentially dangerous…

Baltimore County has no breed-specific ban. Instead, the Health Officer can declare any individual animal "dangerous"…

Bowie has no breed-specific ban; instead § 4-1 defines a vicious animal by conduct, any dog or other animal that has…

Calvert County has no breed-specific ban. Chapter 7 instead classifies a 'potentially dangerous' or 'dangerous' animal…

Carroll County has no breed ban; instead it lets the Animal Care and Control Authority declare any animal "vicious" or…

Charles County does not single out any dog breed. Instead, Chapter 230 lets the Animal Matters Hearing Board declare an…

Frederick enforces Frederick County's dangerous and potentially dangerous dog rules as its own law. A dog that injures…

Gaithersburg does not name or restrict any dog breed. Instead, City Code § 4-5 lets the city manager declare an…

Montgomery County has no breed-specific ban. County Code § 5-202 declares an animal "dangerous" or "potentially…

Prince George's County Code § 3-146.01 makes anyone owning, keeping, or harboring a Pit Bull Terrier get an annual…

Chapter 9 of the Queen Anne's County Code defines a dangerous animal by conduct, not breed. Section 9-20 covers…

Rockville doesn't restrict dog breeds: it regulates individual dogs through a Level 1/Level 2 potentially-dangerous…

Wicomico County has no breed-specific ban; instead § 133-8 lets the county declare any dog 'dangerous' or 'potentially…

Howard County does not ban any dog breed. Maryland repealed its pit-bull-specific liability rule in 2014, and dog…

Worcester County, Maryland, defines a vicious dog in § PS 2-101 by conduct: vicious tendencies shown by demonstrated…

Cecil County has no breed-specific dog ordinance. Section 142-12 of the County Code adopts Maryland's dangerous-dog…

Maryland law requires every beekeeper to register their apiary with the Maryland Department of Agriculture and…

Baltimore County allows backyard beehives but bans keeping one unless it is enclosed. Any hive within 200 feet of a…

Beekeeping in Gaithersburg is permitted under Maryland Agriculture Article 5-501, which requires every beekeeper to…

Baltimore permits residential beekeeping under TransForm zoning rules. Up to two colonies are allowed per typical lot…

Montgomery County permits beekeeping on residential lots under Maryland Agriculture Article Sec 5-501 et seq. State…

Prince George's County's Zoning Ordinance permits beekeeping by right as an accessory use in every Rural, Agricultural…

Maryland Criminal Law Section 10-621 prohibits possession, sale, breeding, or transfer of specified dangerous wild…

Anne Arundel County prohibits keeping any wild, exotic, or vicious animal as a pet or for display, and separately makes…

Carroll County bans private citizens from possessing or harboring a potentially dangerous or vicious wild animal…

Cecil County Code § 142-37 makes it illegal for any private citizen to possess or harbor a dangerous or vicious wild…

Charles County adopts Maryland's statewide ban on keeping dangerous wild animals as pets: foxes, skunks, raccoons…

Gaithersburg bans keeping wild and exotic animals as pets outright. City Code § 4-101 makes it unlawful to sell, keep…

Montgomery County bans importing, selling, breeding, or keeping any wild animal as a pet, with narrow exceptions for…

Prince George's County bars residents from keeping most wild, exotic, poisonous, or native wildlife species as pets…

Rockville flatly bans keeping foxes, bears, non-domestic cats or dogs, primates, and specified venomous snakes as pets…

Unincorporated Wicomico County adopts Maryland's exotic-pet ban directly into its own code. Section 133-6.A makes it…

Calvert County Code Chapter 7 singles out wild and exotic animals for special handling: an animal control officer may…

Under § 9-25 of the Queen Anne's County Code, no one can keep a wild animal in the County unless the Maryland…

Baltimore County Code 12-7-101 bars keeping a wild animal on your premises for any purpose without the Health Officer's…

Wild or exotic animals may not be kept as pets in Howard County, and Maryland law separately bans possessing dangerous…

Feeding or otherwise attracting wild animals and rabies-vector species like raccoons, foxes, skunks, deer and…

Maryland Criminal Law Sections 10-604 through 10-606 prohibit aggravated and general animal cruelty statewide…

Prince George's County limits large accumulations of animals through the hobby-permit cap and prohibits animal cruelty…

Anne Arundel County's zoning code caps how many pets, livestock, and fowl a household may keep, scaling the limit to…

Baltimore County has no ordinance named 'hoarding,' but Article 12's cruelty, care, and sanitation rules cover it…

Carroll County doesn't cap ordinary pets outright, but keeping more than three adult dogs for sale purposes…

Cecil County sets no flat cap on the number of dogs or cats a household may keep, but once a household owns or houses…

Charles County sets no flat cap on dogs or cats in an ordinary household, but keeping more than 10 adult animals of any…

Howard County sets no flat cap on how many pets a household can own, but keeping more than four dogs or cats over four…

Worcester County, Maryland, prints thresholds rather than a flat household cap in § PS 2-101. More than five dogs or…

Calvert County does not cap how many dogs or cats a household may own, but Chapter 7 of the county code requires an…

Anne Arundel County bans owned cats from roaming at large but exempts eartipped community cats, and lets registered…

Baltimore County requires cats over four months to be licensed and vaccinated against rabies (12-5-102). Cats count…

Bowie's Animal Control chapter names cats directly in three places: § 4-7 requires every cat over four months old to…

In Calvert County, every cat over four months old must carry a current rabies vaccination and a County license from…

Every cat four months or older in Charles County must carry a current county license, proof of rabies vaccination and a…

Harford County requires anyone who keeps a cat outside or in an unheated enclosure to provide a moisture-proof shelter…

Howard County requires cats, like dogs, to be licensed annually and kept currently vaccinated against rabies from four…

The County requires cat licenses on the same terms as dogs, but exempts altered (spayed/neutered) cats from the general…

In unincorporated Queen Anne's County, Maryland, a person cannot own, keep, or harbor a cat four months old or older…

Unincorporated Wicomico County regulates cats mainly through its trap-neuter-return and nuisance provisions rather than…

In Worcester County, Maryland, § PS 2-102 requires a license for any cat over four months of age, issued after proof of…

Cats don't need a license or tag the way dogs do in unincorporated Allegany County, but § 225-20 still requires every…

Carroll County exempts cats from the leash/restraint and licensing rules that bind dogs, but its code still defines a…

Cecil County exempts cats from the leash and restraint law that governs dogs: §142-20 requires owners to prevent "any…

Prince George's County Code § 3-122(h) protects free-roaming, ear-tipped cats from being impounded just for being…

Rockville lets residents run feral cat trap-neuter-return colonies without becoming the cats' legal 'owner'. Sec. 3-28…

Calvert County does not require every dog or cat to be spayed or neutered, but Chapter 7 does mandate it for any animal…

Allegany County does not force every pet owner to spay or neuter, but any dog or cat adopted from the county animal…

Anne Arundel County requires owners to have a dog or cat spayed or neutered at their own expense before redeeming it…

Carroll County does not mandate spay/neuter for every pet owner, but § 90.13 requires any unclaimed dog or cat released…

Charles County will not release an unclaimed dog or cat from the Tri-County Animal Shelter for adoption unless it is…

Gaithersburg has no citywide spay/neuter mandate for pets, but City Code § 4-5(b)(5) and (e)(6) require a dog declared…

Prince George's County Code § 3-128(c) requires every impounded dog, cat, or ferret to be spayed or neutered before the…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, a dog or cat that has not been spayed or neutered does not go home a third time…

Frederick does not require every pet to be spayed or neutered, but it will not issue a multiple domestic animal…

Anne Arundel County's Department of Animal Services must microchip an impounded animal at the owner's expense before…

Once the Animal Matters Hearing Board designates an animal dangerous, vicious or potentially dangerous, it can order…

Montgomery County requires microchips only for dangerous or potentially dangerous animals, impounded strays, and…

Under Prince George's County Code § 3-128(c), any impounded animal that isn't already microchipped must be chipped, at…

In unincorporated Queen Anne's County, an animal must have an implanted microchip before the county issues its…

Dogs, cats and ferrets over four months must wear a Rockville license tag and collar whenever off the owner's premises…

Unincorporated Wicomico County does not require every pet to be microchipped, but it mandates microchipping for animals…

Calvert County does not require every pet to be microchipped, but the Board of County Commissioners may run public…

Carroll County doesn't require microchips for every pet, but once the Animal Care and Control Authority declares an…

Cecil County does not require microchips for pets in general, but once the Animal Care and Control Authority declares a…

Howard County still requires every licensed dog and cat to wear its license tag, but Section 17.301 exempts an animal…

Baltimore County does not require microchipping, but the Animal Services Division may implant a chip free of charge…

Hunting and trapping wildlife in Baltimore County parks is banned, but the Department of Recreation and Parks may…

In Worcester County, Maryland, § PS 2-104 gives the Animal Control Warden or Sheriff responsibility to seize, destroy…

Rockville authorizes a City-managed deer culling program in its parks, with narrow carve-outs from the wild-animal…

Retail pet stores in Montgomery County cannot sell dogs or cats at all unless the animal came from a shelter or…

Gaithersburg does not ban pet shops or commercial kennels from selling dogs, cats or other animals, but City Code §…

In unincorporated Queen Anne's County, a pet shop is a commercial animal establishment and cannot operate without a…

Cecil County does not ban retail pet stores from selling dogs and cats. Section 142-28 instead lets a licensed pet shop…

Harford County does not ban retail sale of dogs or cats; instead Chapter 64, Article V requires any pet shop to hold a…

Prince George's County does not ban retail sale of dogs and cats, but the General Code's Section 3-170 sets detailed…

Rockville doesn't ban pet-store sales of dogs and cats: pet shops may sell them if City-licensed, with dogs under eight…

Wicomico County does not ban retail pet sales; it regulates them. Under County Code Section 133-26, any business…

Worcester County, Maryland, sets its sale rules in § PS 2-102(h): any breeder must have puppies and kittens examined by…

Anne Arundel County does not ban pet stores from selling dogs and cats: retailers must meet care standards under Code §…

A pet grooming business in Baltimore County is a licensed holding facility. Zoning Regulations § 421.6 makes the…

In unincorporated Harford County, pet grooming is a special exception use allowed only in the AG (Agricultural)…

In unincorporated Queen Anne's County, a grooming shop or a mobile grooming establishment is a commercial animal…

Any business that grooms dogs for pay in unincorporated Allegany County is legally a "kennel" under § 225-1, so it must…

Annapolis zoning bars overnight boarding at pet grooming facilities and requires operators to hold an Anne Arundel…

Anne Arundel County requires every pet shop and grooming parlor to keep 180°F wash water, sanitary nonporous cages…

Any grooming facility operating in Calvert County must hold an annual license from the Board of County Commissioners…

A grooming shop is a "commercial animal establishment" under Carroll County's animal code and cannot open without a…

A grooming shop in Charles County is a "commercial animal establishment" under Chapter 230 and cannot legally bathe…

Anyone charging a fee to groom pets in Montgomery County needs an annual Animal Services license, and groomers must…

Prince George's County requires anyone operating a pet grooming establishment to hold an annual grooming establishment…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, veterinary hospitals, animal grooming, kennels and stables are listed as prohibited…

Annapolis zoning permits animal hospitals and veterinarian offices outright only in the BCE Business Corridor…

In Baltimore County's residential zones, a veterinarian's office or veterinarium is allowed only as a special…

In unincorporated Harford County, veterinary clinics, hospitals, and large-animal veterinary practices are allowed as a…

A veterinary clinic cannot operate as a home-based business in unincorporated Allegany County. Section 360-88.C of the…

Animal hospitals and veterinary clinics need special exception approval in Anne Arundel County, with animal housing…

Carroll County's zoning use tables let veterinary facilities operate by-right in the Agricultural District and only by…

Charles County's zoning ordinance treats veterinary hospitals as a use permitted with conditions in most commercial and…

Montgomery County's Zoning Ordinance treats a Veterinary Office/Hospital as its own land-use category, separate from…

Prince George's County treats veterinary hospitals and clinics as an Animal Care Use under the Zoning Ordinance…

Rockville requires veterinary clinics to operate indoors, with any outdoor runs fenced and set back 100 feet from lot…

Washington County's Zoning Ordinance allows animal hospitals, veterinary clinics, and kennels without outside runways…

In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, a veterinary clinic in the A-2 Agricultural District needs a special…

In unincorporated Queen Anne's County, veterinary offices are a permitted use in the Agricultural District under §…

The City of Bowie has designated its entire corporate area a bird sanctuary under § 4-3 of the City Code. Inside that…

Carroll County bans hunting, harming, trapping, or feeding wild birds and animals on county park land under Code of…

Anne Arundel County allows bird sanctuaries as a conditional zoning use, requiring at least three acres, 100-foot…

Taking eggs, nests, or young from any bird on Calvert County park property is illegal: Calvert County Code §…

Baltimore County designated a roughly 21-acre tract around the Doncaster Village Condominium in the Ninth Election…

In unincorporated Harford County, colonial nesting water bird sites are protected habitat under the Critical Area…

Prince George's County protects young birds from exploitative sale and mistreatment under Code Section 3-183. The law…

Rockville bans catching, injuring, killing, or otherwise interfering with birds in any city park, plus taking bird eggs…

Operating a wildlife or animal rescue facility anywhere in unincorporated Anne Arundel County requires a $25 annual…

Rockville lets wildlife rehabilitators secure one continuous police permit to temporarily care for injured, sick, or…