# Which municipalities in nj allow keeping goats as pets?



## Emilie (Nov 13, 2017)

Hi. I live in NJ and I would like to buy property in the next 1-2 yrs. I am trying to find out where I could legally keep 2 dwarf or pygmy goats as pets? I have been looking online and I can only find out, sometimes, where they are _not _allowed. Some of these municipal codes specify the laws for swine or chickens but don't mention goats one way or another. They would be kept as pets and not for commercial production. Thank you!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Goats are livestock. So it has to be a property that allows livestock.


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## SeventeenFarms (Dec 10, 2013)

Karen is right -codes re livestock is what you are looking for - you may need to make some phone calls to town/township officials in the area you are looking to move to. In some townships, areas within can be designated differently- business, residential, and rural. You'll need to research it carefully.

Locally, in a town not far from me, a woman kept a miniature pig for a pet. It was house broken, leash trained, stayed in the fenced yard when outside, didn't "bark", etc. No problem for a few years until a neighbor decided to make it one, and a long forgotten livestock code was dusted off, revived, and updated. The pig had to go. People who had backyard chickens became a target too, and were soon regulated. Choose carefully.


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