Animal Ordinances in New York (2026)

Under New York Agriculture and Markets Law §373, any police officer or humane society agent may seize a lost, strayed…

The Town of Greece bans keeping chickens, ducks, swine, goats, sheep or lambs on an ordinary residential lot. Zoning…

North Hempstead bars keeping pigeons, swine, goats, rabbits, foxes, minks, skunks, bees or snakes on residential…

Schenectady flatly prohibits keeping, raising, or harboring any livestock, poultry, or fowl within city limits…

Yonkers bars keeping backyard chickens or any other poultry, fowl or bird on a residential property. City Code § 65-23…

Albany bans farm animals and livestock citywide but allows up to six hens per lot with a City Clerk license, lot-area…

Cheektowaga's property maintenance code requires every residential premises to stay free of livestock, farm animals and…

Glen Cove requires a Zoning Board of Appeals permit, issued after a public hearing, before anyone can keep chickens…

New Rochelle effectively bars backyard chickens and other farm animals on typical residential lots: City Code § 89-18…

Within the City of Oneida's Inside District, residents of owner-occupied single-family homes may keep up to 12 hens, or…

The Town of Oyster Bay bans housing chickens, other fowl, and farm animals in residence districts outright unless the…

Amherst bans keeping livestock outside farm districts but carves out backyard chickens: up to six hens, no roosters, a…

The Town of Babylon bars keeping livestock, horses, farm animals or draft animals within 100 feet of any dwelling house…

Brookhaven allows backyard chickens in every residential zoning district but bans roosters outright and caps flock size…

Buffalo allows up to five domesticated chicken hens in residential districts with an annual City Clerk license ($25 per…

Homeowners in Clarkstown's R-160 through R-10 Districts may keep domestic animals for individual use without a special…

Town Code § 79-33 permits up to six noncommercial chickens on single-family residential lots, bars roosters and on-site…

Huntington caps backyard chickens and ducks at eight combined per property, bans roosters outright, and requires daily…

Islip allows residents to keep poultry such as chickens if it does not create a nuisance or health hazard, capping…

New York City lets residents keep female chickens (hens) with no permit and no limit on the flock, but Health Code…

Keeping chickens or other fowl in Rochester requires a license from the Chief of Police and compliance with numeric…

Saratoga Springs prohibits keeping any rooster on any property citywide, effective May 6, 2025, with the code defining…

Smithtown allows residents to keep poultry, including chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks and pheasants, but only in rear…

Utica prohibits keeping fowl of any kind within city limits. City Code bars having, keeping, or offering to sell any…

Huntington requires dog owners to keep dogs restrained on their own property and bans letting a dog run at large on any…

Albany requires every dog to be restrained by a collar and leash at all times, with stricter control rules inside city…

A dog off its owner's property anywhere in Amherst outside the Village of Williamsville must be on a leash no longer…

Dogs must stay on the owner's property or be on a leash under six feet to avoid being 'at large' in the Town of…

In unincorporated Brookhaven, a dog cannot run loose off its owner's property and must be fully controlled on a rope…

Broome County limits dogs, cats and other domesticated pets in its county parks to an eight-foot leash at all times…

Dogs and cats must be on a leash held by the person in control at all times in city parks and park approaches…

Cheektowaga requires every dog off its owner's premises to be restrained by leash, licensed or not. A peace officer or…

Clarkstown bans dogs from running at large and requires any dog off its owner's property to be restrained by a chain or…

A dog off its owner's premises in Colonie must be on an adequate collar and leash no longer than eight feet, or under…

Dutchess County doesn't run a general leash-in-public law; towns and cities handle that. What the county regulates is…

Glen Cove bans dogs running at large citywide and requires a leash no longer than six feet on public streets and…

Greece requires every dog off its owner's premises to be on a leash no longer than eight feet, or otherwise confined…

Greenburgh Code § 310-10(G) requires any dog or domestic animal in a public place, including streets, sidewalks or…

Town Code § 152-8 bars letting a dog run at large off its owner's premises, treats any dog on a leash of six feet or…

Town of Islip Code § 12-2 makes it unlawful for any dog owner, licensed or not, to let a dog run at large anywhere in…

Dogs and cats may enter Monroe County parks only on a leash; they're barred entirely from swim areas, beaches and golf…

Mount Vernon dogs may not run at large on any street, walk or public ground; City Code § 116-1 requires a collar or…

Nassau County bars tethering a dog or other animal outdoors for more than 1 hour in any 12-hour period, sets minimum…

New Rochelle requires every dog off its owner's property to be restrained on a chain or leash no longer than six feet…

North Hempstead requires every dog on public property, or on private property without the owner's consent, to be held…

Oneida prohibits letting a dog run at large anywhere in the city under City Code § 17-3, and defines 'restraint' to…

Oyster Bay requires every dog off its owner's premises to be on a leash no longer than six feet and under full control…

Ramapo forbids letting a dog run at large anywhere but the owner's own property, or another person's property with…

Every dog in Rochester must be restrained by a leash whenever off the owner's premises, under Code § 31-4, regardless…

Inside Rockland County's own parks, a dog may only be brought into an area designated for dogs, and even there must be…

Saratoga County orders all dogs confined or under an owner's control from December 1 to May 1 each year, a countywide…

Saratoga Springs requires every dog on any public street or public place to be under a person's control and held on a…

Schenectady bars letting a dog run at large on city streets and sidewalks unless it is on a collar and leash no longer…

Smithtown bars any dog owner from letting a dog run loose off its own residential property unless the dog is under full…

Suffolk County caps outdoor dog tethering at one hour in any twelve-hour span and bans it overnight, with added rules…

Syracuse requires every dog to be leashed unless it is on property the owner owns or leases, or on other property with…

Ulster County limits how and how long a dog can be tethered outdoors, capping stationary restraint at five hours a day…

Utica requires dogs off the owner's property to be on a leash no longer than 8 feet. Dogs may not run at large, and no…

In Westchester County parks, dogs must be licensed and kept on a leash no longer than six feet, with unleashed animals…

Every dog in Yonkers must be on a leash no longer than six feet whenever it is off its owner's property, with dangerous…

Agriculture and Markets Law section 107(5) preempts municipalities from enacting breed-specific dog regulations…

Albany has no breed-specific ban. City Code Chapter 115, Article VII lets an animal control officer seize any dog whose…

A Town of Babylon judge can declare any dog dangerous after it attacks a person, dog, or cat, then order euthanasia or…

Brookhaven does not ban dogs by breed; § 23-5 instead locks down any dog a court has adjudicated dangerous based on its…

Glen Cove does not ban dogs by breed, but Section 87-24 of the City Code imposes special rules on any dog declared…

Greenburgh does not regulate by breed. Instead, Chapter 310 requires any dog a court has judicially found dangerous…

Mount Vernon regulates dogs by behavior, not breed: a former provision naming pit bulls as inherently 'vicious' was…

Nassau County requires any dog judicially declared "dangerous" under state law to be registered with the SPCA on a…

New Rochelle has no breed-specific dog ban: a former Pit Bull Terriers ordinance was repealed in 2001. Instead, City…

Oyster Bay does not ban dog breeds; Chapter 103, Article III defines "dangerous dog" by conduct, such as biting another…

Ramapo does not restrict any dog breed by name. Instead, § 93-6(C) targets any dog an owner knows or should know has…

Rochester's dangerous-dog law is conduct-based, not breed-based: no breed is named or banned. Once a dog is declared…

Schenectady does not ban dog breeds by name but lets a court declare any dog dangerous after an unprovoked attack or…

Syracuse's Dangerous Dog Ordinance (Article 8.5) requires any dog classified as dangerous, one with a known propensity…

Yonkers doesn't regulate dogs by breed: it licenses and restrains any dog or animal that meets the City Code's…

North Hempstead does not ban or single out any dog breed. Town Code § 14-2 instead defines a 'vicious dog' by conduct…

Utica does not ban any specific dog breed. New York state law preempts breed-specific bans, so control is based on a…

Islip has no breed-specific dog ban, and it could not adopt one: New York's Agriculture and Markets Law bars any…

New York City does not restrict dogs by breed. Administrative Code § 17-342 defines a "dangerous dog" purely by…

Agriculture and Markets Law Article 15 establishes a uniform statewide apiary inspection program with mandatory disease…

Glen Cove prohibits keeping bees anywhere in the city unless the Zoning Board of Appeals specifically authorizes it…

Oyster Bay classifies bees as farm animals under its zoning code: no residence-district property may keep bees without…

Before spraying or otherwise killing a honeybee colony or swarm, Suffolk County law requires the applicator to phone a…

Environmental Conservation Law section 11-0512 universally prohibits possessing wild animals such as big cats, bears…

Huntington bans knowingly owning, possessing or harboring any wild or dangerous animal as defined by New York's…

Code of the Town of Islip § 12-23 bars anyone from keeping, harboring or possessing a wild animal anywhere in Islip…

Mount Vernon bans keeping any wild, ferocious or dangerous species as a pet anywhere in the City, limiting such animals…

New Rochelle's Zoning Code defines exactly which animals count as a household pet, and anything outside that list…

The Town outright bans owning, harboring or selling a defined list of "dangerous animals": venomous species, large…

Rochester outright bans owning, possessing or harboring any "wild animal" within city limits under Code § 30-26, a…

Saratoga Springs writes no exotic-pet ordinance of its own. New York's statewide ban does the work. Environmental…

New York's Environmental Conservation Law bans keeping wild animals as pets everywhere in Schenectady: big cats, bears…

Suffolk County prohibits using wild or exotic animals, bears, big cats, primates, crocodilians, and more, in traveling…

Keeping any wild, ferocious, dangerous or poisonous animal, bird or reptile in Syracuse is illegal unless it's at a…

Albany County bars anyone from possessing or displaying a live venomous or devenomed snake unless they operate a…

Clarkstown's zoning code lists the keeping, breeding and raising of foxes, minks, pigs or primates for commercial or…

Greenburgh's Chapter 345 bars anyone from conducting or operating a display of wild or exotic animals, or a rodeo, on…

Yonkers bars anyone from putting on a display of wild or exotic animals, or a rodeo, on any property the City has an…

New York bans keeping dangerous wild animals, big cats, primates, and venomous reptiles as pets, and this applies in…

The Town of Amherst outlaws feeding wild waterfowl, including Canada geese and mallard ducks, anywhere in town at any…

Cheektowaga bans feeding Canada geese, mallard ducks, and other wild waterfowl anywhere in town at any time of year…

Huntington Town Code flatly bans feeding deer anywhere in the town. Section 78-42 makes it unlawful to feed or…

Chapter 10A of the Brookhaven Town Code makes it unlawful to feed waterfowl or pigeons in any Town park, adopted in…

Clarkstown prohibits feeding waterfowl, meaning geese, swans, brant and river or sea ducks, anywhere on Town-owned land…

Nassau County prohibits feeding swans, geese, ducks and other migratory waterfowl anywhere on county-owned or…

New Rochelle bans feeding wildlife, including deer, geese, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, feral cats and pigeons, on any…

Rockland County prohibits feeding waterfowl, meaning geese, brant, swans and river and sea ducks, on any County-owned…

Suffolk County makes it illegal to feed deer, coyotes, geese, and other wild animals countywide, plus bars leaving out…

Town of Babylon Code bars feeding domestic or migratory waterfowl anywhere on Town property, parks, preserves, beaches…

Pigeon feeding in Buffalo is restricted: prohibited on public streets where traffic conditions do not permit it…

NY ECL 11-0505 prohibits feeding black bears and deer statewide, including Oneida County. DEC enforces and issues…

Orange County's Sanitary Code doesn't ban feeding wildlife outright, but Article III, Section 2(8)(d) requires it be…

Ramapo's Waterfowl Law bars feeding any waterfowl on Town of Ramapo property, including parkland and the Spook Rock…

Yonkers City Code § 58-20D, amended in 2023, bars leaving food for birds, fowl, dogs, cats or other animals in the…

Broome County doesn't ban feeding deer, geese or backyard birds outright, but its Sanitary Code requires anyone doing…

New York City has no law that bans feeding pigeons. In city parks from Central Park to Prospect Park, NYC Parks Rule 56…

Amherst's Zoning Code does not cap dogs by a simple household number; instead it defines a "kennel" as any premises…

The Town of Babylon caps residential dog-keeping at four dogs per parcel; owners who want more must apply to the Town…

A residential plot in unincorporated Brookhaven may house no more than 10 dogs six months or older. Anyone wanting more…

Buffalo limits dog ownership to 3 dogs per single- or double-family home or commercial property. In multi-unit…

No Cheektowaga premises may keep more than three dogs four months of age or older, and the Town Clerk cannot license a…

In the R-160 through R-10 Zoning Districts, Clarkstown's § 290-20K limits any one lot to five cats or dogs over six…

A Town of Greece dwelling unit may keep no more than three dogs under § 157-10A of the Property Maintenance Code…

Huntington's Zoning Code treats households keeping more than four dogs, cats or similar household pets as an…

New Rochelle's Zoning Code caps the number of dogs or cats a household can keep as an accessory 'household pet' use at…

Rochester caps dogs over four months old at four per premises with three or fewer dwelling units, and just one per unit…

Schenectady caps each premises at three dogs aged six months or older. The limit sits in City Code § 144-6, and owners…

Utica City Code sets no fixed numeric cap on dogs or cats per household. Instead, all dogs four months and older must…

Oneida sets no fixed numeric cap on how many dogs a household may keep. Instead, City Code § 17-13B bars harboring…

No Islip-specific ordinance sets a fixed maximum number of household dogs or cats; instead New York's state…

Saratoga Springs caps no number of dogs or cats a household may keep. City Code Chapter 101 governs dog licensing…

Amherst Code Chapter 99, Article II bars turning a cat loose: whoever harbors one must make a reasonable effort to keep…

Broome County doesn't require cat licenses, but it does require rabies shots. Under the Sanitary Code's Feline Rabies…

Huntington requires every cat four months or older to be vaccinated against rabies, with narrow exceptions for…

Monroe County requires every cat four months or older to be vaccinated against rabies, with a licensed veterinarian's…

New York City requires owners to sterilize any cat allowed to roam outside the home, but the Health Department cannot…

Rochester has no cat licensing scheme, but bars cats and other non-dog animals from running at large on streets under…

Smithtown does not license cats or restrict them from running at large, but a cat picked up by the Animal Shelter…

Suffolk County mandates rabies vaccination and an ID tag for every resident cat, runs a no-cost feral cat…

Utica does not require cats to be licensed or leashed, and there is no citywide cat limit. Cats are still covered by…

Albany County has opted into New York's shorter shelter hold for cats: under 'Lulu's Law,' Code § 110-42, a duly…

Buffalo legally authorizes Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Return (TNVR) programs for feral and community cats. Citizens…

New Rochelle has no cat licensing program, but City Code § 89-4 bars any cat, dog or other animal from committing a…

The City of Oneida does not license cats the way it licenses dogs, but City Code § 17-3B bars letting an unspayed…

Any dog four months or older that is impounded or seized in Buffalo must be spayed or neutered before it can be…

The Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter will not release a dog or cat to a person claiming ownership of it unless the…

New York City requires every cat owner to have their cat sterilized if the cat is ever allowed to roam outside the…

The Animal Services Center will not release a cat or dog to an adopter unless the animal has been sterilized by a…

Any dog or cat adopted, bartered, or given away by a Suffolk County animal shelter or rescue must be spayed or neutered…

Brookhaven does not force every pet owner to spay or neuter, but any dog or cat adopted from the Town animal shelter…

New York City pet shops and animal rescue groups can't release a dog or cat to a buyer or adopter unless it's already…

Smithtown does not require pet owners generally to microchip their animals, but every animal adopted from the Town's…

The County Legislature may authorize a Wildlife Management Plan for Durand Eastman Park, including firearm discharge…

Suffolk County outlaws purposely feeding or baiting coyotes and other wild animals anywhere in the county, targeting…

New York Department of Environmental Conservation classifies coyotes as game with a regulated season; Buffalo prohibits…

Huntington's Deer Management law names the only lawful ways residents may control deer, and coyote effigies make the…

New Rochelle bans commercial pet stores from selling any live dog or cat unless the animal came from an animal shelter…

New York City pet shops cannot sell, display for sale, deliver, barter, auction, give away or transfer any dog, cat…

The Town of Babylon allows retail puppy stores in the E Business District only by special exception, requiring minimum…

Anyone who sells more than nine dogs or cats a year in Albany County for profit must hold a Commissioner-issued pet…

Pet shops selling dogs, cats, birds, or other animals in Buffalo must obtain a license from the Commissioner of Permit…

Nassau County law regulates pet dealers and pet stores selling dogs and cats: barring animals from breeders with recent…

Putnam County pet stores, dealers, sellers and shelters must check the county's online Animal Cruelty Registry before…

Rockland County does not ban pet-store sales of dogs and cats, but its 'Protect our Pets Act' (Ch. 230, Art. III) bars…

Suffolk County pet stores may still sell dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters, but only if sourced from…

Suffolk County requires every pet grooming business and individual pet groomer to register biennially with the…

Amherst zones pet grooming facilities as a commercial use under Town Code § 203-6-4-1, permitted only in the zoning…

Cheektowaga's C Retail Business District allows dog grooming as a by-right principal use, but only inside a fully…

Clarkstown permits pet grooming as a by-right use in its Hamlet Center Zoning Districts (HC-C Congers, HC-VC Valley…

Nassau County requires pet grooming businesses and individual pet groomers to be licensed by the Office of Consumer…

New Rochelle's zoning code defines 'animal day care' as a business offering pet grooming, bathing, boarding…

Oneida licenses every grooming shop as a 'commercial animal establishment' under City Code Chapter 17, Article III, and…

In the Town of Babylon's E Business District, veterinarians, animal hospitals, kennels and pet shops are allowed only…

Glen Cove allows veterinary hospitals, boarding kennels, pet shops and animal hospitals only as Planning Board special…

Huntington does not allow veterinary hospitals or clinics as a matter of right in its business districts. Town Code §…

Animal boarding, kennels, veterinarians, animal hospices, and animal hospitals need a special exception permit from the…

Albany's zoning code limits veterinary facilities to serving domestic pets and household animals outside the I-1 and…

Amherst's Zoning Ordinance allows animal hospitals and veterinary clinics only where the district use table permits…

Brookhaven does not let a veterinary hospital open wherever the owner wants. Town Code § 85-1 defines the use narrowly…

A small-animal hospital is a by-right use in Cheektowaga's CM General Commercial District, but the code draws a hard…

Clarkstown permits veterinary services by right in its Hamlet Center Zoning Districts (HC-C Congers, HC-VC Valley…

New Rochelle's Zoning Code defines an 'animal hospital' as any building for the medical or surgical care of animals…

New York City's Zoning Resolution allows veterinary and pet care establishments as-of-right in C1, C2 and C4 through C7…

Oyster Bay's zoning code separates veterinary clinics from overnight animal boarding: a VETERINARY OFFICE or CLINIC may…

Rochester's Zoning Code lists animal hospitals as a permitted use only in specific commercial districts…

Veterinary offices and animal hospitals in Yonkers need a special use permit under City Code Chapter 43 and must keep…

Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and New York Environmental Conservation Law Section 11-0535 protect nearly all wild…

New York City bans taking or possessing any wild bird, including pigeons, under Administrative Code § 17-200. Violators…

Smithtown Code Section 101-4A prohibits hunting, trapping, killing, harming, frightening or molesting any bird, or…

Town Code § 137-12(B) bars killing, trapping, hunting, pursuing or disturbing any wild bird, reptile, snake or other…

Huntington's park code bans hunting, molesting, harming, trapping, chasing, teasing or shooting at any animal, mammal…

Nassau County prohibits feeding migratory waterfowl, swans, geese, and ducks, anywhere on county-owned property…

Suffolk County prohibits trapping, killing, catching, injuring, or pursuing wild birds in any county park unless the…

Within the Town of Babylon's Coastal Erosion Hazard Areas, active bird nesting and breeding grounds on beaches and…

Brookhaven Code § 9-30 bars disturbing, harming, hunting, trapping, or entering a flagged nesting or foraging area of…

Along the Town's ocean-facing nearshore areas, beaches and dunes, active bird nesting and breeding sites are off-limits…