{"title":"How many dogs or cats you can keep in Bowen Island","question":"How many dogs or cats can I keep in Bowen Island?","slug":"how-many-pets","place":{"path":"ca/bc/bowen-island","name":"Bowen Island","region":{"code":"bc","name":"British Columbia"},"country":{"code":"ca","name":"Canada"}},"category":{"slug":"pets-and-wildlife","name":"Pets, animals and wildlife"},"owner":"municipal","owner_label":"Municipal","owner_body":{"name":"Bowen Island Municipality","url":"https://bowenislandmunicipality.ca"},"short_answer":"Bowen Island's Dog Control Bylaw and Land Use Bylaw set no limit on the number of dogs or cats a household can keep. The Land Use Bylaw does define a kennel as three or more dogs or cats kept for money, and limits where kennels are allowed.","aliases":["how many dogs bowen island","how many cats can I have bowen island","pet limit bowen island","kennel bowen island"],"cost":"No cost; no pet-limit permit or fee is stated.","how_long":"Not applicable.","where":[{"type":"phone","label":"Bylaw Services","value":"604-947-4255 ext. 2","note":"Municipal offices: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m."},{"type":"email","label":"Bylaw Services email","value":"bylaw@bimbc.ca"}],"documents":[],"forms":[{"title":"Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002 (consolidated November 2025) (PDF), Bowen Island Municipality","url":"https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/190971/"},{"title":"Dog Control Bylaw No. 30, 2001 (consolidated July 2022) (PDF), Bowen Island Municipality","url":"https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/34266/"}],"related":[{"slug":"dog-licence","title":"Bowen Island dog licences: fees and how to get one","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/dog-licence/"},{"slug":"backyard-chickens","title":"Bowen Island backyard chickens, bees and livestock rules","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/backyard-chickens/"},{"slug":"dog-leash-rules","title":"Bowen Island dog leash rules and off-leash areas","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/dog-leash-rules/"}],"nearby":[{"place":"ca/bc/west-vancouver","name":"West Vancouver","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/west-vancouver/how-many-pets/"},{"place":"ca/bc/gibsons","name":"Gibsons","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/gibsons/how-many-pets/"},{"place":"ca/bc/lions-bay","name":"Lions Bay","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lions-bay/how-many-pets/"},{"place":"ca/bc/north-vancouver-district","name":"District of North Vancouver","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/north-vancouver-district/how-many-pets/"},{"place":"ca/bc/north-vancouver","name":"North Vancouver","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/north-vancouver/how-many-pets/"},{"place":"ca/bc/richmond","name":"Richmond","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/richmond/how-many-pets/"}],"topic":{"title":"Dog and cat limits in British Columbia, by municipality","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/how-many-pets/"},"facts":{"dog_limit":{"label":"Dogs allowed","value":null,"status":"none","note":"Bowen Island's Dog Control Bylaw and Land Use Bylaw set no limit on dogs.","sources":[]},"cat_limit":{"label":"Cats allowed","value":null,"status":"none","note":"Bowen Island's Dog Control Bylaw and Land Use Bylaw set no limit on cats.","sources":[]},"other_limits":{"label":"Other animal limits","value":null,"status":"none","note":"No combined pet limit was found in the Municipality's bylaws.","sources":[]},"exceptions":{"label":"Exceptions","value":"The Land Use Bylaw defines a 'kennel' as a place where three or more dogs or cats are kept, bred, boarded or trained for monetary gain. Kennels are permitted uses in the Rural Residential zones RR 1, RR 2 and RR 3 and in SR 1. A kennel is not allowed as a home occupation.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/190971/","title":"Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002 (consolidated November 2025) (PDF), Bowen Island Municipality","section":"Definitions","quotes":["or more dogs or cats which for monetary gain are or are intended to be trained, cared for, bred,","“KENNEL” means any building or structure, compound, group of pens or cages or lot in which three (3)","The following uses shall not be permitted as home occupations and will require","Kennel ♦ ♦ ♦","Kennel ♦"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-08"}},"fine":{"label":"Fine","value":null,"status":"none","note":"There is no ticket for having too many pets on Bowen Island.","sources":[]},"bylaw":{"label":"Bylaw","value":null,"status":"unknown","reason":"not_found","sources":[]}},"facts_summary":{"total":6,"stated":1,"matched":1,"none":4,"unknown":1},"body_markdown":"## How it works\n\nThe [Dog Control Bylaw No. 30, 2001](https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/34266/) sets no limit on the number of dogs. No cat limit or combined pet limit was found in the Municipality's bylaws, and there is no ticket for having too many pets.\n\n## Good to know\n\n- The [Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002](https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/190971/) defines a \"kennel\" as a place where three or more dogs or cats are kept, bred, boarded or trained for monetary gain. Kennels are permitted in the Rural Residential zones RR 1, RR 2 and RR 3 and in SR 1. A kennel is not allowed as a home occupation.\n- This is a land-use definition, not a household cap. If you plan to keep or board several animals, ask Bylaw Services at 604-947-4255 ext. 2 or bylaw@bimbc.ca.\n- You can still be ticketed for noise from animals; see the noise rules.","sources":[{"url":"https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/190971/","title":"Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002 (consolidated November 2025) (PDF), Bowen Island Municipality","accessed":"2026-11-08"},{"url":"https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/34266/","title":"Dog Control Bylaw No. 30, 2001 (consolidated July 2022) (PDF), Bowen Island Municipality","accessed":"2026-11-08"},{"url":"https://bowenislandmunicipality.ca/services/bylaw-enforcement/","title":"Bylaw Enforcement, Bowen Island Municipality","accessed":"2026-11-08"},{"url":"https://bowenislandmunicipality.ca/contact/","title":"Contact, Bowen Island Municipality","accessed":"2026-11-08"}],"sources_read":"2026-11-08","review":{"status":"machine_checked","badge":"Checked against official text","label":"Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 1 of 6 facts was matched to the official text; 4 are recorded as not set; 1 could not be confirmed."},"urls":{"html":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/how-many-pets/","markdown":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/how-many-pets.md","json":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/how-many-pets.json"}}