---
title: How many dogs or cats you can keep in White Rock
question: "How many dogs or cats can I keep?"
place: White Rock, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/white-rock
category: Pets, animals and wildlife
owner: municipal
owner_body: City of White Rock
sources_read: 2026-11-05
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/white-rock/how-many-pets/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/white-rock/how-many-pets.json"
---

# How many dogs or cats you can keep in White Rock

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

**Short answer:** White Rock's Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw allows no more than three dogs on any property, and no kennels. It sets no limit on cats. Exotic animals, livestock and poultry are banned.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (City of White Rock, https://www.whiterockcity.ca)  
**Where:**
- Phone: Bylaw Enforcement, 604-541-2146
- Email: Bylaw Enforcement, bylaw@whiterockcity.ca

## Key facts

- **Dogs allowed:** No more than three dogs on any real property. Dogs under four months old are not counted. A kennel (more than three dogs) is not allowed.
  - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2012, No. 1959 (consolidated April 2025), ss. 3, 4, 5](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/271/Consolidated---Animal-Control-and-Licensing-Bylaw-2012-Number-1959-PDF)
  - Official wording: "No person shall keep or allow to be kept on any real property more than three dogs." … "No person shall keep, own or operate a kennel." … "excludes any dog under the" … "age of four months"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Cats allowed:** The bylaw sets no limit on cats.
  - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2012, No. 1959 (consolidated April 2025), s. 3 'pet'](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/271/Consolidated---Animal-Control-and-Licensing-Bylaw-2012-Number-1959-PDF)
  - Official wording: "“pet” means any domestic animal other than livestock or poultry kept within a"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Other animal limits:** Exotic animals (Schedule D), livestock, poultry and aviaries are banned. Bees: no more than two colonies per lot, only on lots zoned RS1 or RS4, at least 15 feet from any property line.
  - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2012, No. 1959 (consolidated April 2025), s. 7, s. 45, Schedule D](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/271/Consolidated---Animal-Control-and-Licensing-Bylaw-2012-Number-1959-PDF)
  - Official wording: "No person shall possess or keep in any area, temporarily or permanently, any species" … "individual or any exotic animal." … "any livestock, poultry, aviary, or apiary except as permitted pursuant to City of White Rock Bee Keeping" … "Snakes, except those designated as wildlife by Provincial enactment"
  - Source: [Bee Keeping Bylaw 1992, No. 1313, s. 3](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/4187/Bee-Keeping-Bylaw-1992-no-1313)
  - Official wording: "No person shall keep more that two (2) colonies of bees on any lot." … "No person shall keep more that two (2) colonies of bees on any" … "Beehives shall only be permitted on a property that is zoned RSl"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Exceptions:** The limit and the kennel ban do not apply to a City-authorized animal shelter, BC SPCA premises, a retail pet store, a veterinary hospital, or an educational institution's research or teaching premises.
  - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2012, No. 1959 (consolidated April 2025), s. 6](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/271/Consolidated---Animal-Control-and-Licensing-Bylaw-2012-Number-1959-PDF)
  - Official wording: "The prohibitions in Sections 4 and 5 do not apply to:" … "An animal control shelter authorized by the City;" … "A retail pet store;" … "A veterinary hospital under the control of a veterinarian registered"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Fine:** Operating a kennel (s. 5): $500. Keeping an exotic animal, livestock or poultry: $150 first offence, $250 second, $500 third and later. The ticket schedule has no separate line for the three-dog limit in s. 4. Court fine under the bylaw: $1,000 to $10,000.
  - Source: [Ticketing for Bylaw Offences Bylaw 2011, No. 1929 (consolidated), Schedule B3](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/2072/Consolidated---Ticketing-for-Bylaw-Offences-2011-No-1929-PDF)
  - Official wording: "Operating a kennel" … "$500.00" … "Keeping an exotic animal" … "$150.00 1st"
  - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2012, No. 1959 (consolidated April 2025), s. 53](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/271/Consolidated---Animal-Control-and-Licensing-Bylaw-2012-Number-1959-PDF)
  - Official wording: "shall be liable upon summary" … "conviction to a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and not more than" … "ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00)."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw, 2012, No. 1959 (consolidated April 2025)
  - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2012, No. 1959 (consolidated April 2025), s. 1](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/271/Consolidated---Animal-Control-and-Licensing-Bylaw-2012-Number-1959-PDF)
  - Official wording: "This Bylaw may be cited as "Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw, 2012, No. 1959.""
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

The City of White Rock limits dogs, not cats. The [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/271/Consolidated---Animal-Control-and-Licensing-Bylaw-2012-Number-1959-PDF) says no more than three dogs may be kept on any real property. Dogs under four months old are not counted. A kennel (more than three dogs) is not allowed. The bylaw sets no limit on cats.

## Good to know

- The limit and kennel ban do not apply to a City-authorized animal shelter, BC SPCA premises, a retail pet store, a veterinary hospital, or an educational institution's research or teaching premises.
- Exotic animals (listed in Schedule D of the bylaw), livestock, poultry and aviaries are banned. See the backyard chickens answer.
- Bees: no more than two colonies per lot, only on lots zoned RS1 or RS4, at least 15 feet from any property line. Those zone names come from a 1992 bylaw and predate the 2024 Zoning Bylaw, so ask Bylaw Enforcement how this applies today.
- Fines: operating a kennel $500. Keeping an exotic animal, livestock or poultry is $150, then $250, then $500. The ticket schedule has no separate line for the three-dog limit. A court fine under the bylaw can be $1,000 to $10,000.
- Every dog needs a licence. See the dog licence answer.

## Official forms and pages

- [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 1959 (PDF)](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/271/Consolidated---Animal-Control-and-Licensing-Bylaw-2012-Number-1959-PDF)

## Related questions

- [White Rock dog licences: fees and how to get one](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/white-rock/dog-licence.md)
- [White Rock backyard chickens, bees and livestock rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/white-rock/backyard-chickens.md)
- [White Rock rules for aggressive and dangerous dogs](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/white-rock/dangerous-dogs.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Dog and cat limits in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/how-many-pets.md)
- [Surrey](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/surrey/how-many-pets.md)
- [Langley City](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/langley/how-many-pets.md)
- [Township of Langley](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/langley-township/how-many-pets.md)
- [Delta](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/delta/how-many-pets.md)
- [New Westminster](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/new-westminster/how-many-pets.md)
- [Burnaby](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/burnaby/how-many-pets.md)

## Sources

- [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2012, No. 1959 (consolidated April 2025) (PDF)](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/271/Consolidated---Animal-Control-and-Licensing-Bylaw-2012-Number-1959-PDF) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Bee Keeping Bylaw 1992, No. 1313 (PDF)](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/4187/Bee-Keeping-Bylaw-1992-no-1313) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Ticketing for Bylaw Offences Bylaw 2011, No. 1929 (consolidated) (PDF)](https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/2072/Consolidated---Ticketing-for-Bylaw-Offences-2011-No-1929-PDF) (read 2026-11-05)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with City of White Rock. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/white-rock/how-many-pets/_