---
title: How many dogs or cats you can keep in Bowen Island
question: "How many dogs or cats can I keep in Bowen Island?"
place: Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/bowen-island
category: Pets, animals and wildlife
owner: municipal
owner_body: Bowen Island Municipality
sources_read: 2026-11-08
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/how-many-pets/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/how-many-pets.json"
---

# How many dogs or cats you can keep in Bowen Island

**Question:** How many dogs or cats can I keep in Bowen Island?

**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.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (Bowen Island Municipality, https://bowenislandmunicipality.ca)  
**Cost:** No cost; no pet-limit permit or fee is stated.  
**How long:** Not applicable.  
**Where:**
- Phone: Bylaw Services, 604-947-4255 ext. 2 (Municipal offices: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
- Email: Bylaw Services email, bylaw@bimbc.ca

## Key facts

- **Dogs allowed:** None set. Bowen Island's Dog Control Bylaw and Land Use Bylaw set no limit on dogs.
- **Cats allowed:** None set. Bowen Island's Dog Control Bylaw and Land Use Bylaw set no limit on cats.
- **Other animal limits:** None set. No combined pet limit was found in the Municipality's bylaws.
- **Exceptions:** 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.
  - Source: [Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002 (consolidated November 2025), Bowen Island Municipality, Definitions](https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/190971/)
  - Official wording: "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: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Fine:** None set. There is no ticket for having too many pets on Bowen Island.
- **Bylaw:** Not confirmed. Not found in the official sources that were read.

## How it works

The [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.

## Good to know

- 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.
- 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.
- You can still be ticketed for noise from animals; see the noise rules.

## Official forms and pages

- [Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002 (consolidated November 2025) (PDF), Bowen Island Municipality](https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/190971/)
- [Dog Control Bylaw No. 30, 2001 (consolidated July 2022) (PDF), Bowen Island Municipality](https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/34266/)

## Related questions

- [Bowen Island dog licences: fees and how to get one](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/dog-licence.md)
- [Bowen Island backyard chickens, bees and livestock rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/backyard-chickens.md)
- [Bowen Island dog leash rules and off-leash areas](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/dog-leash-rules.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Dog and cat limits in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/how-many-pets.md)
- [West Vancouver](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/west-vancouver/how-many-pets.md)
- [Gibsons](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/gibsons/how-many-pets.md)
- [Lions Bay](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lions-bay/how-many-pets.md)
- [District of North Vancouver](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/north-vancouver-district/how-many-pets.md)
- [North Vancouver](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/north-vancouver/how-many-pets.md)
- [Richmond](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/richmond/how-many-pets.md)

## Sources

- [Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002 (consolidated November 2025) (PDF), Bowen Island Municipality](https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/190971/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Dog Control Bylaw No. 30, 2001 (consolidated July 2022) (PDF), Bowen Island Municipality](https://bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/34266/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Bylaw Enforcement, Bowen Island Municipality](https://bowenislandmunicipality.ca/services/bylaw-enforcement/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Contact, Bowen Island Municipality](https://bowenislandmunicipality.ca/contact/) (read 2026-11-08)

_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. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with Bowen Island Municipality. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/bowen-island/how-many-pets/_