Animal Ordinances in Pennsylvania (2026)

Pennsylvania's Right to Farm Act limits municipal restrictions on normal agricultural operations including chickens and…

Allentown bans keeping livestock and fowl within the City. City Code Chapter 163 makes it unlawful to keep or maintain…

Bethlehem's Codified Ordinances flatly prohibit keeping cattle, sheep, swine, goats, llamas, alpacas, horses or fowl…

The City of Erie prohibits keeping any animal usually kept as a farm animal or livestock; owners receive a seven-day…

Philadelphia generally prohibits keeping chickens, poultry, and livestock; farm animals (other than pigs) are allowed…

Pottstown Borough Code Section 201 bans keeping any pig or other farm animal within Borough limits, expressly naming…

In Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, pigs, hogs and swine are banned outright. Large animals must be housed at least 100…

Bristol Township prohibits keeping cattle, swine, sheep, goats or fowl except where zoned and designated for them, with…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, § 3-509.7 allows poultry only on a lot with a land area of 40,000 square feet…

Haverford Township allows up to four pet chickens for noncommercial egg production in the backyard of a property on…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, hens need a permit from the Department of Community…

Reading's zoning code excludes livestock -- including chickens, other poultry, and fowl -- from the definition of…

Upper Darby Code § 222-30 bars keeping fowl, poultry, sheep, goats, pigs, or other domestic or wild/semi-wild animals…

Abington Township's § 58-10 permits keeping chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and other poultry kept for show or racing…

Bensalem Township treats backyard poultry and livestock as an agricultural use confined to two zoning districts…

Delaware County sets no rule on backyard chickens or livestock: this is municipal zoning. Each of the 49 boroughs and…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, permits chickens as outdoor pets in every zoning district under Code §…

Lower Merion Township lets residents keep chickens, other fowl and livestock, but any coop, shelter or corral needs a…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, backyard chickens and ducks are an accessory use in the CR District…

Penn Hills residents may keep up to four hens per property in a coop after registering with Code Enforcement, but…

Pittsburgh allows chickens, ducks, goats, and honeybees by right in any residential yard, but caps counts by lot size…

Scranton lets residents keep chickens, ducks, geese and other domestic fowl but the Health Director can order them…

Pennsylvania's Dog Law requires all dogs to be confined, leashed, or under reasonable control by their owner whenever…

Abington Township requires every dog off its owner's property to be leashed at all times when on foot, with a leash no…

Allegheny County parks require dogs and other domestic animals to stay on a leash at all times, except in areas the…

Allentown bars animals from running at large: on public property they must be on a leash no longer than six feet…

Bethlehem dogs must stay on a leash or other restraint whenever they leave the owner's premises, and letting a dog run…

In Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, a dog away from its owner's premises must be on a leash no longer than six feet, and…

Bristol Township bars any animal from running at large and requires every dog to be on a leash in public, with the…

Bucks County's Park System Rules require every dog, cat and other pet to stay under the owner's control on a leash no…

Dogs are allowed in Delaware County parks only on a leash no longer than six feet, and only in areas where dogs are…

Erie owners must keep dogs on a leash no longer than six feet whenever the dog is off the owner's property and on a…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, bans letting any animal run at large on streets, public property and…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, § 3-505.9 bars any dog, cat or other animal from running at large on public…

In Haverford Township, any dog off its owner's property must be on a lead not exceeding six feet, held by a person…

Lancaster County has no countywide leash law. Statewide, the Pennsylvania Dog Law requires every dog be confined to the…

Lower Merion Township bars anyone owning, harboring or keeping a dog or cat from letting it run at large on public…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Chapter 68 makes it unlawful to permit any dog, cat, pet or…

Millcreek Township Code § 8-2 requires every dog owner in the Township to keep the dog under restraint at all times and…

Montgomery County has no countywide leash ordinance: your borough or township sets that. Statewide, PA's Dog Law…

The Municipality of Penn Hills, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania requires dogs be confined on their owner's property or…

Dogs and most other animals off their owner's property must be on a leash no longer than six feet, with a person able…

Pittsburgh bans dogs running at large on streets, sidewalks, or private property; owners must restrain dogs with a…

Pottstown bans letting any animal run at large and requires dogs on the street to be leashed with a lead no longer than…

Reading requires every dog in a street, sidewalk, park, or other public space to be leashed or chained, or heeled and…

Scranton forbids an owner or custodian from letting a dog run at large anywhere in the city, and defines proper…

Upper Darby Code § 222-6 requires every dog owner to keep the dog under restraint at all times and bars dogs from being…

York County requires every pet, animal or fowl in its parks to be on a tethered leash and under the owner's immediate…

Pennsylvania state law prohibits municipalities from enacting breed-specific legislation that restricts dogs solely…

Scranton has no breed ban; instead it targets any dog by behavior. Section 169-11 holds an owner liable for all damages…

Abington Township does not regulate dogs by breed; instead § 58-28 lets anyone attacked, or whose pet was seriously…

Bethlehem does not regulate dogs by breed, but any dog of fierce, dangerous or vicious propensities, or a female dog in…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Chapter 3-513 classifies any animal with at least one listed characteristic as…

Pittsburgh has no breed ban. Under Code § 633.20, a dog is declared dangerous individually under Pennsylvania's…

Reading's Animal Control Officer or police can formally declare a dog aggressive or an animal vicious after a…

Upper Darby Code does not list restricted breeds. Instead §§ 222-20 and 222-21 regulate dogs by behavior: a dog that…

Bristol Township regulates dangerous dogs by conduct, not breed. Chapter 57 defines a vicious animal as one that has…

Pennsylvania bans breed-specific legislation, so no Lancaster County municipality may outlaw pit bulls or any breed…

Millcreek Township Code § 8-6 requires every dog in the Township to be licensed under the Pennsylvania Dog Law and…

Allentown cannot ban or restrict any dog breed. Pennsylvania's Dog Law (3 P.S. Sec. 459-507-A) expressly abrogates…

Bensalem Township has no breed-specific dog ban. Chapter 80 instead defines a 'vicious dog' by conduct: any dog that…

Erie has no breed-specific ban; Pennsylvania state law expressly prohibits any local ordinance from prohibiting or…

Philadelphia has no breed-specific dog ban. Pennsylvania's Dog Law preempts breed-specific legislation, expressly…

Pennsylvania's Bee Law requires all beekeepers to register their colonies annually with the Department of Agriculture…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, a beekeeper needs a Permit from the Zoning Officer and a Pennsylvania…

Allentown requires a no-fee registration certificate from the Bureau of Health to keep domestic bees. Hives are capped…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, a parcel can hold no more than two hives, each hive must sit at…

Pittsburgh allows residents to keep honeybees by right as an accessory use, with hive counts tied to lot size and a…

Upper Darby Code § 222-27.2 caps how many bee colonies a lot may hold, scaled to lot size from two colonies on a…

Pennsylvania requires Exotic Wildlife Possession Permits for keeping bears, big cats, wolves, and other dangerous…

Section 58-11 of Abington Township's Animals chapter bans keeping a long list of wild and dangerous species outright…

Allentown bans keeping any wild or exotic animal outside a zoo, veterinary clinic, humane society, or circus with…

Bethlehem bars keeping any wild or exotic animal, a term the code defines to include lions, wolves, venomous snakes…

Bristol Township bans keeping a wild or exotic animal anywhere except a zoological park, veterinary facility, Humane…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, § 3-509.6 bars any person from owning, harboring or maintaining a wolf, wolf…

Haverford Township bans keeping any pig, hog or porcine animal and prohibits a printed list that includes poisonous…

Lower Merion Township outright bans keeping poisonous reptiles of any kind anywhere in the Township, along with…

Philadelphia Code § 10-106 bans keeping wild animals, lions, wolves, venomous snakes, alligators, primates, anywhere…

Pittsburgh outlaws purchasing, displaying, selling, or possessing wildlife anywhere in the city unless a Pennsylvania…

Pottstown Borough Code Section 202 makes it unlawful to keep any wild animal in the Borough, however it was acquired…

Upper Darby Code § 222-41 flatly prohibits keeping any wild animal as a pet and bars owning or displaying a wild or…

Chester County restricts high-risk exotic animals. Under Health Department §202, wolves, bats, skunks, foxes, raccoons…

You cannot own exotic wildlife in Lancaster County without a state permit. The PA Game Commission (34 Pa.C.S. §2963)…

Pennsylvania Game Commission regulations prohibit intentionally feeding bears and elk statewide, with deer feeding…

Bethlehem bars feeding any animal or bird in a City park outright. Section 941.02(c)(2) makes it unlawful to give…

Philadelphia Code Section 10-110 makes it unlawful to feed any pigeon in a public street, square, park, or other place…

In Bensalem Township, feeding a stray or feral cat is unlawful unless you join the Township's humane feral cat program…

Haverford Township bans feeding, harboring or sheltering feral cats and wild animals, and bans leaving food or water…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, § 68-4 makes it unlawful to feed a wild animal unless licensed to do so…

Section 425-6 of Allentown's Code prohibits feeding waterfowl anywhere in the city's parks and at the municipal golf…

County Code § 141-7.A(3) bars feeding any animal or waterfowl in a Delaware County park unless the food is expressly…

Feeding bears and elk is always illegal in Pennsylvania, and deer feeding is banned in Lancaster County, which sits in…

York County bans feeding geese, ducks, deer, birds, squirrels or any other wild animal anywhere in its park system, and…

Abington Township does not ban feeding stray or feral cats outright. Section 58-34 makes it unlawful only if the…

Pennsylvania sets no statewide cap on how many dogs or cats a household may keep. The line that matters is the Dog…

Allegheny County's Municipality of Penn Hills treats any household keeping more than six dogs as a commercial kennel…

Allentown does not cap household pets by number directly, but City Code Chapter 163 defines any place keeping more than…

Bethlehem limits any premises to six animals six months or older, regardless of how many owners live there, and treats…

In Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, no one may keep more than four cats per 500 square feet of lot area, with a six-month…

Bristol Township caps a household at two animals. The Code Enforcement Officer can issue a permit for more after an…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, no person is permitted to own, harbor or maintain more than five dogs or cats…

In Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, no more than four dogs aged three months or older can be kept in…

Lancaster County has no hoarding ordinance, but Pennsylvania's animal-cruelty law reaches hoarding through the neglect…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, residents of each dwelling unit can keep a maximum combined…

Philadelphia caps a residence at no more than twelve adult dogs or cats combined, of which no more than two dogs and…

Pittsburgh caps households at five dogs and cats combined under City Code Section 633.12, though licensed kennels and…

Reading caps households at six dogs, six cats, or a combination of six before requiring City registration and a permit…

Scranton's zoning code limits any residential lot under one acre to a combined six dogs and cats over three months old…

Bensalem Township has no individual cat-licensing requirement, but Chapter 80's cat article regulates feral colonies…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, § 68-5 allows feeding feral cats only as part of a feral cat management…

Abington Township only allows a cat to run free outside its owner's residence if the cat has been spayed or neutered…

In Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, cat owners may not let a cat run at large, and no one may feed unmanaged or unkempt…

Chester County requires all cats three months or older to be vaccinated against rabies. Under Health Department §202.8…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, § 3-503.1 requires a license from the Chief of Police or an authorized agent…

In Haverford Township an owner or harborer of a cat or feral cat cannot knowingly or negligently let it defecate or…

Lower Merion Township Code § 90-53 bars any dog or cat owner from letting the animal run at large on public streets or…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, the animal control article of the Township Code defines ANIMAL to…

In the Municipality of Penn Hills, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, cats must be confined to the owner's property and…

Pittsburgh doesn't license cats, but any cat allowed to roam freely must wear a collar or tag with the owner's name…

Scranton makes it unlawful for a cat's owner or harborer to let it run at large in the city, alongside livestock like…

Upper Darby Code § 222-43 bans letting a cat run at large, and § 222-42 requires every cat off its owner's premises to…

Allentown does not license cats, but it does regulate them: cats over three months must have current rabies…

Philadelphia exempts sterilized cats from its at-large and leash law, and lets Animal Control sterilize and release…

Pottstown Borough Code Sections 205 and 206 let animal rescue groups and volunteer feral cat caregivers trap…

Philadelphia Code Section 10-109 bars animal shelters from releasing a dog or cat for adoption, and animal retailers…

Bensalem Township makes it unlawful for an owner to let a cat run free outside the home unless the cat is spayed or…

Any dog or cat adopted from a City shelter or a nonprofit rescue in Erie must be spayed or neutered, by six months of…

Haverford Township bans feeding, harboring or sheltering wild animals, which covers coyotes and deer, and bars leaving…

City parks ban hunting, molesting, or feeding wild animals and birds, but Pittsburgh runs an official Deer Management…

Abington Township bans retail pet stores from selling dogs or cats. Section 58-37, adopted 8-14-2025 by Ordinance No…

Allentown pet shops cannot sell dogs, cats, rabbits, or guinea pigs at all; only adoption partnerships with shelters or…

Bethlehem pet shops cannot sell or offer for sale any dog, cat or rabbit under a 2024 ordinance amendment. Stores may…

Philadelphia pet shops cannot sell a dog or cat unless it comes from an animal care facility or rescue organization…

Pittsburgh pet shops and other commercial establishments may sell dogs, cats, or rabbits only if the animal came from…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, pet shops, breeders and foster homes that sell or give away more than five…

Pet groomers in Allentown are zoned under the "animal service" use category, § 660-37.B, alongside boarding, training…

Pet grooming is a straightforward permitted use in most of Erie's commercial zones, but the C-2 General Commercial…

Lower Paxton Township's zoning chapter defines an animal grooming facility as a retail establishment for bathing…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, a pet grooming establishment is limited to grooming or washing pets…

Philadelphia Code Section 10-103(6) makes every groomer, along with veterinarians, animal shelters, retailers, and…

A veterinary office is not an as-of-right use anywhere in Bensalem Township. In the R-AA district, section…

In Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, an animal hospital needs a lot of at least 20,000 square feet for small animals and…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, a veterinary hospital is not a permitted use anywhere in the zoning…

Philadelphia zoning files animal hospitals under "Boarding and Other Services," a use marked not-allowed in every…

In Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, a veterinary office with an associated kennel is Use D14 under the Township…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, an animal hospital, veterinarian, or kennel is permitted by right in the CG…

In Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, an office of a veterinarian, a veterinary hospital and a kennel are permitted by…

Lower Paxton Township's zoning chapter treats a veterinary clinic as an animal hospital and veterinarian services use…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, a veterinary clinic is a defined zoning use covering treatment…

Pottstown's Zoning Ordinance treats a veterinary office and kennel as a distinct land use: permitted by right in the…

In Penn Hills' EastGate District, veterinarian offices are permitted as by-right professional offices under the zoning…

Scranton's Zoning Ordinance defines an "animal hospital or veterinary clinic" at § 445-8 as a building for treating…

In Abington Township, killing, injuring or disturbing birds, their nests or eggs inside any township park or playground…

Bethlehem's park code makes it unlawful to hunt, harm, trap or throw projectiles at any animal, reptile or bird within…

Pittsburgh bars anyone from harming a wild or non-domesticated bird, including pigeons, and limits capture or trapping…

Molesting, trapping, hunting, capturing, killing or injuring any bird or mammal is banned in Allegheny County parks…

Franklin Township bars hunting, capturing or killing any bird or animal, game or otherwise, in any township park unless…

Lower Merion Township bans harming birds and other wildlife inside its parks. Township Code § 109-6 makes it unlawful…

Erie's park rules make it illegal to hunt, molest, harm, frighten, kill, trap, chase, tease, shoot at, or throw…

In City of Harrisburg parks, Pennsylvania, no person can hunt, harm, frighten, chase, trap or shoot a bird, or take its…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, § 132-3 bars anyone but authorized Township staff from killing, trapping…

Philadelphia's Animal chapter flatly bars capturing, wounding or killing any bird within the city, unless done in…

Upper Darby Township Code bars anyone from injuring, annoying or killing birds in a Township park, disturbing waterfowl…

In Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, § 126-3L of the Park Ordinance bars anyone from annoying…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, keeping any wild animal as a pet requires a City permit under § 3-509.5 B. The…

Pittsburgh law limits who may capture or trap a wild or non-domesticated bird, including pigeons, to the city's Animal…