Legal! Photo by angela n.

Think quick: can you legally lead horned cattle along D.C. street? Answer: yes.

I learned this yesterday, as I searched through the section of the D.C. Municipal Regulations dealing with dogs. The section doesn’t limit itself to canine companions, but also includes a section for fowl (you can have them, but you need the mayor’s permission and they can’t be within 50 feet of your home or 250 feet of any neighbors), pigeons (a pigeon coop is fine, but 51 percent of your neighbors within 100 feet have to sign off on it), bees (permitted, though regulated), and wild animals (for display only).

My personal favorite, though, has to do with droves of animals on D.C. streets. Dating back to a set of police regulations from 1981 (though they’re likely older, though the citation I found says 1981), the rules state that you’re legally allowed to walk around with a herd of sheep (or cows)—provided you do so after 10 p.m. and before 6 a.m., that your herds be 150 yards apart and that at least six people be present when a herd crosses a bridge. And there’s more; the full set of regulations is below.

I’ve been digging around the Washington Post archives to learn more, and the best I’ve gotten is that Baltimore debated the issue of cattle crossing the street in 1881. And according to a 1914 Post article that’s below, D.C. had its share of cows, horses and goats wondering around. That year, the D.C. pound didn’t only take in cats and dogs—that year, it also took in six cows, two horses and one goat. A 1946 article might shed some more light: that year, there were 40 working farms in D.C., averaging 46.4 acres in size.

So, there you have it. Herds of cattle are legal.

906. Droves of Animals on Streets

906.1 No person shall drive or conduct sheep, swine, beeves, or other cattle in herds or droves through any improved city street, nor any densely populated suburban street, nor on any suburban paved or board sidewalk, except as provided in this section.

906.2 No person shall drive or conduct swine, beeves, or other cattle between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

906.3 No herd or drove shall follow a preceding herd or drove at a distance that is less than one hundred fifty (150) yards, and no less than two (2) drovers shall be in charge of any herd or drove.

906.4 Sheep driven or conducted between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., and when crossing a bridge, shall be in charge of at least six (6) drovers; and the footway and not less than one-third (1/3) of the roadway of the bridge shall be kept free of obstruction by the sheep.

906.5 No drove of beeves shall consist of more than fifteen (15) beeves.

906.6 Horses and mules shall not be driven loosely through any street under any circumstances, but may be conducted in droves of not more than six (6) haltered together and in charge of at least one (1) person holding the halter.

906.7 No horse, mule, goat, sheep, swine, bovine, or other cattle shall be allowed to run at large in the District, and no person owning or harboring any of these animals shall cause or permit an animal to wander, rove, or run at large unrestrained.

906.8 Horned cattle may be led singly by a rope or halter through any of the streets in the District.

906.9 A cow and calf may be led together, if the cow is secured by a rope or halter.

906.10 No loose herd or flock shall be driven or conducted in the District, except with a permit issued by the Chief of Police.

906.11 A permit to drive or conduct a loose herd of animals shall designate the route and time the herd or flock may be driven or conducted.

906.12 No person under sixteen (16) years of age shall drive or conduct any animals listed in this section.

A Washington Post article from 1914.