Dogs & animal control — Kingston, Ontario

Do I need a dog licence? What are the leash rules?

In the City of Kingston, Ontario, licence required: True; leash rule: Dogs must not be off-leash in any public park or recreational area, except at a designated off-leash dog area.; fines: not more than $100,000. Source: Animal Control By-law 2021-166, verified 2026-08-28.

Animal Control By-law 2021-166 adopted bylaw
licence required True s. 5.1
leash rule Dogs must not be off-leash in any public park or recreational area, except at a designated off-leash dog area. s. 12.3(f)
fine range not more than $100,000 s. 20.1
scout note

City of Kingston By-law 2021-166 regulating the keeping, registration, licensing, control and welfare of certain classes of animals; in force January 1, 2022.

Animal Control Bylaw No. 2021-166 adopted bylaw

Requires dog/cat licensing in urban areas, prohibits unleashed dogs outside designated off-leash parks, requires muzzling under control orders for dangerous dogs, and sets permit requirements for kennels, breeders, hen coops and pigeon lofts. (Bylaw Library's own 'pdf format' link is broken sitewide -> jotform request form, not bytes; see notes -- document_url is the city's descriptive page instead.)

Machine-readable: animal-control.json · Official website: http://www.cityofkingston.ca/ · Last verified 2026-08-28 · Dogs & animal control in other municipalities