Animal Ordinances in Missouri (2026)

Missouri RSMo 442.404 prohibits homeowners associations and deed covenants from banning ownership or pasturing of up to…

St. Louis bans keeping cattle, sheep, goats, hogs and roosters anywhere in the city, treating it as a public nuisance…

Florissant bans keeping chickens, turkeys, and other livestock on residential property under Section 205.350 unless the…

Unincorporated Jackson County caps backyard poultry at 25 fowl on Residential Ranchette lots (5+ acres) and bars it…

St. Charles County bans roosters on residential lots under five acres and caps hens at eight per lot, with…

On residential lots of 3 acres or less, Boone County zoning permits keeping chickens and other domesticated animals…

Columbia, Missouri allows up to six hens, no roosters, per tract of land, with enclosures set back at least 25 feet…

In unincorporated Greene County, chickens count as 'small-sized domestic animals' allotted by an acreage-based…

Independence, Missouri lets residents keep up to six chicken hens (no roosters) for non-commercial use if the coop sits…

Kansas City bans keeping horses, cattle, goats, swine and similar livestock within 200 feet of any occupied building…

Kirkwood lets residents keep poultry and livestock, but only confined to their own premises: § 4-6 bars poultry from…

Lee's Summit allows up to six hens per property with no roosters. The coop must sit at least 10 feet from any property…

Springfield, Missouri caps most residential lots at six hens, requires secure setback coops, and bans roosters…

St. Louis County's R-1 residential zoning district allows farming and domestic animals as a permitted use, with private…

Boone County Animal Control Regulations (Chapter II) require dogs to be leashed or under immediate trained-command…

Missouri has no statewide leash law, so Clay County's cities set their own; Gladstone, Liberty, and Kearney require…

In Columbia, Missouri (Boone County), a dog off its owner's premises must be held on a leash by a competent person…

Florissant requires every owner to keep dogs, cats and other animals on their own premises. Section 205.240 fines an…

Independence requires every dog owner to keep their dog under restraint at all times, whether by fenced yard, leash…

Dogs off their owner's property in unincorporated Jackson County must be on a leash or chain, or under an owner's…

Jefferson County forbids letting any dog run at large in the unincorporated county, defining at large as off the…

Kansas City bans dogs and Vietnamese potbellied pigs from running at large; off the owner's property without a leash…

Kirkwood requires dogs off their owner's property to be under restraint, defined in § 4-37 as controlled by a leash no…

Lee's Summit makes it unlawful to let any dog, cat or other animal run at large: the animal must be under restraint…

O'Fallon bans letting any dog run at large within city limits. The code defines at large as off the owner's premises…

Springfield, Missouri bans letting a dog run at large anywhere in the city, with owners facing a mandatory minimum…

Dogs off their owner's property in St. Charles County must be leashed and controlled; residential-district leashes…

St. Louis requires dogs in any public street, park, or public place to be on a secure leash no more than six feet long…

St. Louis County requires every dog, cat, or other pet to be leashed, caged, or confined on its owner's property at all…

Kirkwood doesn't restrict dogs by breed, but § 4-52 imposes a strict bite-based dangerous dog standard: a dog that has…

Springfield, Missouri outright bans owning, possessing, or harboring pit bulls citywide under City Code § 18-95…

Columbia, Missouri (Boone County) regulates dangerous or aggressive animals by behavior, not breed: any animal that…

Florissant defines "pit bull" by breed and physical traits under City Code Section 205.395 and bars anyone from…

Independence repealed its breed-specific pit bull ban in 2023 and now declares dogs 'dangerous' based on behavior…

Jefferson County does not ban breeds; instead its Animal Control Division declares an animal 'potentially dangerous' or…

Kansas City requires all pit bulls to be spayed or neutered unless the owner obtains a breeding permit, and impounds…

Lee's Summit doesn't ban dogs by breed; it declares an individual dog 'dangerous' after a bite, an unprovoked attack…

O'Fallon has no breed ban. Instead, the Chief of Police can declare any animal dangerous based on its conduct, such as…

St. Charles County does not ban dogs by breed. Instead, the Health Department declares individual dogs "dangerous"…

St. Louis's Health Commissioner can declare any dog "dangerous" after a documented bite, attack, or prior warning…

St. Louis County declares dogs, cats, or other animals dangerous by behavior, not breed, then locks in fencing…

Missouri lets cities pass breed laws, and Clay County is split: Gladstone presumes pit bulls dangerous under a 2007…

Jackson County regulates 'vicious or dangerous' animals by behavior, not breed: there's no pit bull or breed-specific…

Missouri does not license backyard hives, but it is unlawful to move bees, combs, or used beekeeping equipment into the…

Keeping bees, including honeybees, on residential property in Florissant is unlawful under Section 205.350 unless the…

Backyard beekeeping isn't a listed use in St. Charles County's single-family residential districts. Apiaries appear as…

Independence caps backyard hives with a strict 50-foot setback from property lines and streets, restricts placement to…

Kansas City law declares beekeeping a nuisance unless apiaries and hives are kept properly to avoid annoying neighbors…

Lee's Summit requires an annual City license to keep bees and caps small lots at two hives, set back at least 25 feet…

Springfield, Missouri lets residents keep honey bees if they provide a nearby water source, prove training or…

Urban beekeeping is allowed in St. Louis under SLRC 10.12 with registration at the Missouri Department of Agriculture…

Beekeeping is legal across Clay County and treated as agriculture. Missouri requires no apiary registration; the state…

Beekeeping is a permitted use by right on land zoned Agricultural (AG) in unincorporated Jackson County. Jackson County…

Missouri RSMo 578.023 universally requires registration of dangerous wild animals such as lions, tigers, bears, wolves…

Columbia, Missouri bans keeping lions, wolves, venomous reptiles, primates, and other 'dangerous exotic animals' as…

Florissant's animal regulations (Chapter 205) follow state law (RSMo §578.023) prohibiting dangerous wild animals…

Independence bans keeping wild animals as pets and bars exotic animals or reptiles too, except common birds, fish, and…

Jefferson County outlaws keeping native wildlife as pets: no one may own, harbor or keep a raccoon, skunk, fox…

Kansas City bans keeping non-domestic cats, primates, wolves, foxes, raccoons, skunks, and other wild carnivores as…

Lee's Summit bans keeping lions, tigers, bears, wolves, coyotes, nonhuman primates, raccoons, skunks, foxes and any…

O'Fallon outlaws selling, owning, or harboring bears, big cats, wolves, wolf hybrids, coyotes, and dangerous or…

Springfield, Missouri prohibits keeping, possessing, displaying, or selling wild animals within city limits, including…

St. Charles County bans owning, selling or harboring wild or exotic/dangerous animals anywhere in the unincorporated…

St. Louis prohibits ownership of dangerous wild animals under SLRC 10.16 and RSMo 578.023. Banned species include large…

Unincorporated Greene County requires a Conditional Use Permit before keeping predators, carnivores, venomous, or…

Jackson County requires written Animal Control Officer permission, backed by a Missouri state permit, before anyone can…

Lions, primates, bears, wolves, coyotes, foxes and venomous reptiles are legal in St. Louis County only under a…

Missouri Wildlife Code 3 CSR 10-4.200 prohibits year-round placement of grain, salt, minerals, and other consumable…

St. Charles County parks ban feeding or baiting deer, geese, raccoons and other wildlife, and the ban reaches anyone…

Feeding wildlife anywhere in a Clay County park or recreation area is banned outright under Code of Ordinances §…

Independence bars knowingly feeding any wild animal within city limits, though bird and squirrel feeders, garden and…

Jackson County bans feeding or baiting wildlife, deer, raccoons, birds, and waterfowl, anywhere in its own park system…

Lee's Summit bans feeding or leaving any attractant for wild animals like deer, raccoons or coyotes anywhere within…

Kirkwood's parks ordinance makes it unlawful to feed waterfowl or wildlife in any city park. The same section also bars…

It's unlawful to give any wild animal or bird food, drink or a noxious substance in an O'Fallon city park, and…

SLCRO §611.210 declares any animal that defaces public property, causes unsanitary conditions, or attracts pests a…

Missouri RSMo 578.009 and 578.012 universally criminalize animal neglect, abandonment, and abuse, applying to hoarding…

St. Louis County prosecutes animal hoarding as cruelty to animals: failing to give every animal sanitary conditions…

Columbia, Missouri (Boone County) caps households at four dogs or cats over six months old at one location, with…

Florissant caps the usual household pets a resident can keep without a permit at four. Section 205.380 exempts the…

Unincorporated Greene County caps household pets at four dogs and four cats per dwelling, six dogs and cats combined…

Independence residences may keep no more than four dogs or cats total, in any combination, once the animals are older…

Unincorporated Jackson County caps households at six dogs/cats on larger rural-zoned lots and three in other…

Kansas City limits any residence to four dogs, cats or Vietnamese potbellied pigs combined, over 120 days old…

Kirkwood caps households at three cats and three dogs. Section 4-5 makes keeping more than three cats on one premises a…

Lee's Summit residents may keep up to three dogs or cats on a lot with no special permit. A household with four or five…

O'Fallon limits households and businesses to three animals over three months old. The cap can be lifted only with…

Springfield caps pets at four cats and four dogs over six months old per dwelling, with a kennel-license exception for…

Unincorporated St. Charles County caps most households at four domesticated animals and, separately, four snakes on…

St. Louis caps residential households at four domestic animals, dogs and cats, before requiring a noncommercial kennel…

Columbia, Missouri requires every cat over three months old to be licensed and vaccinated, caps ownership at four cats…

Every Florissant resident who owns, controls or harbors a cat must obtain a City license under Section 205.070 and have…

Independence allows caregivers to maintain community cat colonies under a TNR program, but requires ear-tipping and…

Unincorporated Jackson County bars owners from letting cats run at large and requires every cat over four months to…

Jefferson County requires every cat kept in the unincorporated county to carry a paid County Animal License, treats the…

Kansas City requires every cat over 120 days old to be licensed through the Commissioner of Revenue, with proof of…

Kirkwood requires every cat kept anywhere in the city, even part-time, to be vaccinated against rabies and to wear a…

Every cat over six months old in Lee's Summit must carry a current City license and rabies tag, and an unlicensed cat…

O'Fallon's Animal Control Ordinance treats cats the same as dogs under its general control-of-animals rules: no city…

St. Charles County requires every kitten to be rabies-vaccinated and registered with a numbered tag by four months of…

St. Louis requires every owned cat to be rabies-vaccinated and registered with a $50 tag, bars cats from running at…

St. Louis County requires every cat over four months old to be vaccinated for rabies and registered with a tag through…

Florissant requires every pit bull to be spayed or neutered under City Code Section 205.395(B), with narrow exceptions…

Kansas City requires every pit bull to be spayed or neutered unless the owner qualifies for a narrow exception, with…

Independence requires any cat over four months old that is allowed outdoors to be sterilized, giving owners 14 days to…

Jefferson County requires every animal over three months old to be spayed or neutered before it can be adopted from the…

Lee's Summit requires every dog over six months old to be spayed or neutered, or the owner must buy an annual unaltered…

Columbia, Missouri requires an intact dog or cat to be spayed or neutered before release the third time animal control…

St. Charles County has no county-wide spay/neuter mandate for ordinary pets. Sterilization becomes mandatory only as…

St. Louis allows only one pot-bellied pig per parcel, and the privilege is conditioned on fixing it: males must be…

Every dog, cat, puppy, and kitten leaving the St. Louis County Animal Shelter through adoption must be spayed or…

Jackson County does not require pet owners to spay or neuter their animals, but a court hearing an animal-control…

Columbia, Missouri requires any dog or cat picked up by animal control to be microchipped before release, if it isn't…

Florissant does not require microchipping for pets generally, but once the Director of Public Works declares an animal…

Jackson County requires permanent electronic ID implantation for any animal picked up by animal control before it's…

Kansas City requires Animal Health and Public Safety to implant a microchip in any dog declared potentially dangerous…

O'Fallon does not require every pet to be microchipped, but any dog, cat, or ferret picked up running at large, or one…

St. Charles County requires a microchip whenever the Division of Humane Services impounds a dog or cat for running at…

St. Louis requires dogs declared "Dangerous Dogs" to be spayed or neutered and micro-chipped for identification before…

Lee's Summit doesn't require every pet to be microchipped, but it does mandate it in two situations: any dog or cat…

St. Louis County does not require pet owners countywide to microchip their animals, but its Animal Control Code puts a…

Jackson County bans feeding or baiting any wildlife, including deer, raccoons, and coyotes, in county parks without the…

Independence requires pet shops and other commercial animal establishments to hold a city license and a Director's…

St. Charles County doesn't ban retail dog and cat sales, but no pet shop, dealer, boarding or breeding kennel, or…

Grooming shops in unincorporated Jackson County must meet Commercial Animal Establishment standards, preventing…

Jefferson County's Unified Development Order lists "Pet/animal grooming and/or training" as a Table 5-1 permitted use…

Pet groomers in Kansas City must hold an annual commercial animal establishment permit from the supervisor of animal…

O'Fallon's Zoning Code defines a 'pet grooming facility' as a business that provides hygienic care such as shampooing…

Any grooming shop or parlor operating in unincorporated St. Charles County must hold an annual kennel registration from…

Grooming, boarding, or kenneling four or more dogs, cats, or other household pets in unincorporated St. Louis County…

Kirkwood's zoning code puts pet grooming shops and doggy day cares in the 'animal facility, minor' category, defined as…

Florissant's zoning code allows a pet grooming business for household pets as a permitted, by-right use in every one of…

Kirkwood's zoning code classifies veterinary clinics, animal hospitals, kennels, and overnight animal boarding as an…

Veterinary clinics and animal hospitals are a permitted use in Boone County's A-1 Agriculture District, but ones near…

Columbia, Missouri limits veterinary hospitals to its M-C, M-DT, M-BP, and IG zoning districts (conditional in M-OF and…

Florissant allows veterinarian offices as a permitted, by-right use in its "B-1" Local Shopping District and the city's…

Independence permits veterinary clinics by right in its C-1, C-2, and C-3 commercial districts and its B-P/PUD and I-1…

Jackson County's Unified Development Code treats veterinary clinics differently by zoning district: they are a…

Veterinary offices are permitted by right in Kansas City's B2, B3 and B4 commercial districts and in the R-80…

Lee's Summit requires every veterinary clinic to sit at least 100 feet from any residentially zoned or residentially…

Springfield's Highway Commercial (HC) zoning district allows veterinary clinics, animal hospitals, pet daycare and…

St. Charles County zones veterinary clinics and animal hospitals by district: they're a permissive use in the "C2"…

A veterinary clinic is a permitted, by-right use in St. Louis County's "C-2" and "C-3" Shopping Districts, but sits on…

Florissant designates the entire city as a bird sanctuary, and it is unlawful under City Code Section 205.050 to trap…

Kirkwood Code of Ordinances § 4-2 makes it unlawful to injure, molest, take, or disturb in any way any small bird found…

O'Fallon's park code bans anyone from hunting, molesting, harming, trapping, shooting at or killing any bird on park…

St. Louis bans molesting, injuring, or disturbing small birds and their nests citywide, with sparrows, pigeons, and…

Inside any St. Louis County park, parkway, or recreational area, it's illegal to molest a bird or bird's nest, or to…

In Columbia, Missouri (Boone County), the public health director can disperse nuisance bird flocks that create a health…

St. Louis County will not license a wildlife rehabilitator, breeder, or collector under its Nondomestic Animal Code…