Animal Ordinances in New Mexico (2026)

New Mexico is a fence-out state under NMSA 77-16-1, meaning landowners must fence livestock OUT of property. Counties…

Rio Rancho allows commercial livestock, cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, only in the Agricultural Residential (A-R)…

Albuquerque's HEART Ordinance caps poultry at 15 birds per household with no more than one rooster, and caps rabbits at…

Unincorporated Bernalillo County's R-1 zoning allows raising poultry, rabbits, and livestock as a permitted use, but…

Unincorporated Doña Ana County lets residents keep chickens and other fowl as "very small animals" once their lot is…

Las Cruces allows backyard poultry and small livestock with a special animal permit: lots under half an acre may keep…

In Sandoval County's R1-35 single-family district, residents may keep livestock, defined to include horses, cattle…

Santa Fe lets residents raise chickens, other fowl and rabbits for personal use without a permit, but City Code sets…

Unincorporated Valencia County classifies keeping chickens, poultry, cattle, goats, rabbits and other farm animals as…

Las Cruces requires dogs under humane physical restraint at all times off the owner's property, with a leash no longer…

Albuquerque bans letting any animal run at large; accompanied dogs must be on a leash no longer than eight feet, held…

Dogs in unincorporated Bernalillo County must be on a leash of no more than six feet whenever off the owner's property…

Doña Ana County requires every animal to be under humane restraint at all times, on or off the owner's property…

In unincorporated Otero County, letting a dog or other domestic animal run loose off its own property is unlawful under…

Rio Rancho requires dogs off their owner's property to stay on a leash no longer than eight feet, confined to the…

Dog owners in unincorporated Sandoval County must keep animals under control at all times. Code § 4-9(a) bars any…

Santa Fe requires dogs on public streets, alleys, city property and any place open to the public to be on a secure…

In unincorporated Valencia County, dogs and cats may only be on roadways and public areas on a secure leash no longer…

In unincorporated Bernalillo County, any dog declared dangerous by its owner or a court must be registered with animal…

Doña Ana County has no breed ban: it regulates dogs by proven behavior under the state Dangerous Dog Act, requiring…

Otero County has no breed-specific ban; instead Code § 105-8G regulates any animal by conduct. A dog or other animal…

Rio Rancho classifies dogs as potentially dangerous, dangerous, or vicious purely by documented behavior, not breed…

Sandoval County has no breed-specific dog ban. Instead, Code § 4-9(b) targets individual animals: it is unlawful to…

Santa Fe does not ban or single out any dog breed. Instead, Section 5-7.4 SFCC 1987 lets a court declare any individual…

Valencia County doesn't restrict dogs by breed; instead, Code § 90.069 lets an animal control officer investigate any…

Las Cruces has no breed ban. Dangerous-dog rules are behavior-based: a municipal judge may declare a dog dangerous or…

Albuquerque has no breed-specific ban; the HEART Ordinance regulates dogs by individual behavior, defining 'Aggressive'…

New Mexico Statutes Chapter 76, Article 9 governs beekeeping statewide, requiring commercial apiary registration with…

Unincorporated Valencia County treats honey bee production and keeping as an agricultural activity, and Chapter 92's…

New Mexico statute 77-18-1 and NMAC 19.35.7 regulate possession of exotic animals statewide. The Department of Game and…

Albuquerque bans owning, possessing, breeding, selling, or displaying Prohibited Exotic or Wild Animals, including big…

Bernalillo County bans owning, keeping, or exhibiting dangerous wild animals as pets in unincorporated areas, covering…

Doña Ana County outright bans keeping wolves, big cats, bears, primates, venomous snakes, gila monsters, alligators and…

Las Cruces bans keeping wild and exotic animals that are dangerous by nature, including big cats, bears, wolves and…

Keeping an exotic or wild animal in unincorporated Otero County requires a state permit, not just a county nod. Code §…

Rio Rancho bars keeping wild, dangerous, or protected animals as pets unless the owner holds a city…

Owning a wild or exotic animal in Santa Fe requires a permit from the animal services administrator under Section…

Under NMSA 17-2 and Game Commission rules, intentionally feeding or baiting big game animals to create nuisance…

Intentionally feeding feral pigeons anywhere in Albuquerque, public or private property, is a civil violation under the…

Sandoval County makes it a crime to feed a free-roaming horse without a horse feeding permit issued by the county. The…

Las Cruces prohibits feeding animals running at large, so leaving food out for stray or free-roaming animals is barred…

NMSA 30-18-1 universally criminalizes animal cruelty statewide, including failing to provide sustenance to animals in…

Albuquerque's HEART Ordinance limits a household to no more than six companion animals, no more than four of which may…

Unincorporated Bernalillo County caps a household at four dogs and cats combined, six if every animal is sterilized…

Doña Ana County caps any premises in the unincorporated county at 15 adult dogs and cats combined; a site with more…

Las Cruces lets any residence keep up to three companion animals four months or older with no permit. Keeping between…

Rio Rancho city code caps most households at five dogs, cats, pygmy goats, or rabbits combined once they're over six…

Albuquerque bans letting cats roam free and requires every cat over three months old to be microchipped and registered…

Doña Ana County exempts trap-neuter-return colonies from its ownership and abandonment rules but bans returning feral…

Bernalillo County requires an annual license for every dog, cat, or ferret over three months old, but exempts…

Las Cruces manages free-roaming cats through a formal trap-neuter-return program instead of at-large citations. Sec…

Otero County's Animal Control Ordinance carves out a formal community-cat exemption at Code § 105-6: a free-roaming cat…

Rio Rancho requires every cat over five months old to be licensed and kept confined to the owner's property; loose or…

Santa Fe requires every cat three months or older to be licensed, with a current rabies certificate presented at…

Trap, neuter, and return work with unowned feral cats does not count as abandonment in unincorporated Valencia County…

Santa Fe bars anyone from owning a dog or cat over six months old that hasn't been spayed or neutered, unless the owner…

Albuquerque requires dogs and cats over six months old to be altered unless the owner holds an Intact Companion Animal…

Doña Ana County does not ban unaltered pets outright but requires an annual intact animal permit for every unspayed or…

Rio Rancho requires every dog over six months and cat over five months to be spayed or neutered unless the owner holds…

Bernalillo County doesn't require spay/neuter for every pet, but litter and intact-animal permits do: unsterilized…

Las Cruces does not require every pet to be sterilized outright. Sec. 7-11A-1 makes spay or neuter mandatory only once…

Otero County requires every dog and cat over six months old to be sterilized under Code § 105-7B, unless the owner…

Every dog or cat over 3 months old in unincorporated Valencia County must have a microchip implanted, under Code §…

Every Albuquerque resident who owns a dog or cat past three months old must have it microchipped and registered with…

Bernalillo County requires every dog, cat, and ferret over three months old to carry a county license, and county law…

Doña Ana County requires every dog and cat owner in the unincorporated county to keep the animal microchipped and to…

Every companion animal three months or older in Las Cruces must carry a registered identification microchip under Sec…

Otero County requires microchip identification for strays, not for every pet at home. Code § 105-7E says dogs and cats…

Unincorporated Bernalillo County bars owning, harboring, or exhibiting a coyote as a wild animal; wolf-coyote hybrids…

Albuquerque bans retail pet stores from selling dogs or cats outright. A store may sell only other living creatures…

Doña Ana County outlaws operating a puppy mill outright, defining the term as a commercial dog-breeding operation run…

Las Cruces bans pet stores outright from selling dogs or cats. Sec. 7-16(f) forbids any pet store from selling…

Rio Rancho pet stores cannot sell, purchase, or transfer dogs, cats, or dog/cat hybrids: only adoption through a…

Pet shops in unincorporated Bernalillo County cannot sell cats, dogs, or rabbits outright, and any live companion…

A pet shop in unincorporated Valencia County can't operate without a permit from the Animal Control Director, under…

Santa Fe requires every grooming parlor to hold a professional animal care permit from the animal services…

Albuquerque grooming parlors must hold an Animal Service Provider Permit, meet secure-facility and sanitation…

Pet groomers in unincorporated Bernalillo County are licensed as professional animal sites, needing an annual permit…

In Rio Rancho, veterinary hospitals and kennels are allowed in the Agricultural Residential (A-R) zone only as a…

Albuquerque's Integrated Development Ordinance limits what a Veterinary Hospital can treat and how it can keep animals…

In unincorporated Bernalillo County, a small animal clinic is a by-right permissive use in the C-1 Neighborhood…

Veterinary clinics, animal hospitals and kennels are classified as "Civic Support" uses in the County's Unified…

Las Cruces allows veterinary facilities by right only in the EE (equestrian estate) and REM (residential estate mobile)…

Santa Fe zones veterinary clinics for household pets, not livestock. Subsection 14-6.2(C)(8) bars veterinary…

Code § 154.121(B)(8) allows veterinary hospitals with outdoor kennels and runs as a permitted use, not merely a…

Rio Rancho bans hunting, trapping, snaring, or collecting any bird, mammal, reptile, or amphibian inside the roughly…

Willfully killing a bird, or molesting or robbing its nest, is an outright misdemeanor in Santa Fe under Section 5-8.12…

Doña Ana County requires a special animal permit before anyone can keep an outdoor rehabilitation aviary, a bird of…

Las Cruces will not let anyone keep a bird of prey without proof the federal government and the New Mexico Department…

Albuquerque's Parks Code bans hunting, harming, frightening, or shooting at any bird within city parks, and it makes…

Confined wild or domestic fowl and birds in unincorporated Bernalillo County must get food and water at least every 12…

Doña Ana County requires a special permit before anyone keeps an outdoor rehabilitation aviary, and the County will not…

State-licensed wildlife rehabilitators are exempt from Albuquerque's Exotic or Wild Animal Collection Permit, as long…