Keeping hens · National rules

Can you keep backyard chickens in Gambia?

Registration: conditions apply, for the keepers covered below, under the Animal Health Act, 2023, if it is in force (its commencement was not established). What we found on bird flu, welfare and the keeping rule follows, including what we couldn't establish.

Read from 2 official sources19 passages quotedChecked October 29, 2026

At a glance

Registering your flock

Conditions apply

Where hens can live

Set locally

Bird-flu housing orders

Status needs rechecking

Welfare rules

Not established
Set locally

Who decides where hens can live

The national law we read gives a named local body its own powers over where hens can live. What the checked sources say:

  • The Local Government Act, 2002 lists, among council functions, power to prohibit, restrict, regulate or license the keeping of dogs, animals and poultry (list of council functions, para (k)).

No national rule on how many chickens may be kept was found. Which councils have rules on keeping poultry was not surveyed. The Local Government Act, 2002 is read as passed; its amending Acts were not checked against this entry.

The law's own words are quoted under national rules on keeping poultry below.

How to check: Look up the local rules where you live (the ordinances, bylaws or zoning of the body named here), or ask that office, before you get hens.

A sourced reading of national law in Gambia, not legal advice. Local ordinances and zoning, HOA rules, and any local rooster or coop limits aren't covered here yet: check your local code before you get hens.

Keeping your flock

These findings cover the national scope stated below. They do not determine whether chickens are allowed at a particular home. City zoning, property restrictions and other local rules are outside this research.

Registering as a poultry keeper

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: The Gambia

Applies to: Under the Animal Health Act, 2023, if in force (its commencement was not established): the owner of a farm, meaning any area, place or premises where animals, including birds, are temporarily or permanently kept for rearing (ss.2, 33(1)).

Outside this finding's scope

  • Whether a household flock kept for eggs counts as a 'farm' was not established, and the registration regulations the Minister is to make (s.33(2)) were not found.
  • The Act was assented to on 30 January 2024; the commencement date is blank in the printed copy and no commencement notice was found.
  • Until the 2023 Act is shown to be in force, the Diseases of Animals Act (Cap. 62:03), which it repeals (s.77(1)), may still apply; that Act was not read.

What the checked sources say

  • The Animal Health Act, 2023 says the owner of a farm shall register it with the Veterinary Services (s.33(1)); its commencement was not established, so whether this duty applies yet is unknown.
  • Separately, the same Act says moving an animal or animal by-product within The Gambia needs a Veterinary Services permit whose conditions must be met (s.35(1)); this also depends on the Act being in force.

Authority: Veterinary Services

Fee: Not established from the sources checked.

The official wording

Bird-flu housing orders

Current status needs rechecking

An official current-status link has not been established.

Orders can change between checks. A missed check or an expired order does not establish that no order applies.

Housing-order finding as checked on 2026-10-29

The scope and conditions below are a dated record, not confirmation of today's position.

Conditions apply to this finding

Uses housing orders in this scope: Yes, according to the checked evidence, within the limits listed under “Outside this finding’s scope” below.

Jurisdiction: The Gambia

Applies to: Under the Animal Health Act, 2023, if in force (its commencement was not established): animals in an area, premises or zone placed under quarantine, or in an infected area (ss.10, 11).

Outside this finding's scope

  • This page does not say whether any order applies now. No official page showing current bird-flu measures was identified in the sources read.
  • Whether avian influenza is listed as a notifiable disease was not checked.
  • The Act's commencement date is blank in the printed copy; no commencement notice was found.
  • Until the 2023 Act is shown to be in force, the Diseases of Animals Act (Cap. 62:03), which it repeals (s.77(1)), may still govern disease orders; that Act was not read.

What the checked sources say

  • The Animal Health Act, 2023 says the Veterinary Services may, in consultation with the Minister, declare quarantine by order published in the Gazette; the order declares an area, premises or zone under quarantine and provides for restricting the movement of animals and animal products (s.11). Its commencement was not established.
  • The same Act says an authorised officer may, as directed by the Veterinary Services, isolate animals in an infected area or require their owners to isolate them, or to move them within twenty four hours (s.10(n)).
  • For current measures, check with the Veterinary Services.
Checked
Recheck due

Historical evidence, as checked

These quotations record what was checked on the dates shown. They do not confirm an order's current status.

Small-flock welfare minimums

Not established from the sources checked

Jurisdiction: The Gambia

Applies to: Animals under human control (Animal Health Act, 2023 s.31(b)).

Outside this finding's scope

  • The Animal Health Act, 2023 (commencement not established) directs the Minister to make welfare regulations (s.31); none were found, so no welfare duty for keepers was established from the texts read.
  • The Criminal Code was not read.

The official wording

National rules on keeping poultry

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: The Gambia

Applies to: Councils, under the Local Government Act, 2002; and, if the Animal Health Act, 2023 is in force (its commencement was not established), anyone moving animals (s.35(1)).

Outside this finding's scope

  • No national rule on how many chickens may be kept was found. Which councils have rules on keeping poultry was not surveyed.
  • The Local Government Act, 2002 is read as passed; its amending Acts were not checked against this entry.
  • The national texts' silence on poultry numbers is not permission to keep chickens.

What the checked sources say

  • The Local Government Act, 2002 lists, among council functions, power to prohibit, restrict, regulate or license the keeping of dogs, animals and poultry (list of council functions, para (k)).
  • The Animal Health Act, 2023 says moving an animal within The Gambia needs a Veterinary Services permit (s.35(1)); its commencement was not established, so whether this applies yet is unknown.
  • Check with your council about local rules on keeping poultry.

The official wording

Selling eggs in Gambia? →Licence, small-flock line, markets and cartons, on their own page.Selling: Registration

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Common questions

Do I have to register backyard chickens in Gambia?
Registration: conditions apply. The finding covers: Under the Animal Health Act, 2023, if in force (its commencement was not established): the owner of a farm, meaning any area, place or premises where animals, including birds, are temporarily or permanently kept for rearing (ss.2, 33(1)). Outside this finding's scope: Whether a household flock kept for eggs counts as a 'farm' was not established, and the registration regulations the Minister is to make (s.33(2)) were not found. The Act was assented to on 30 January 2024; the commencement date is blank in the printed copy and no commencement notice was found. Until the 2023 Act is shown to be in force, the Diseases of Animals Act (Cap. 62:03), which it repeals (s.77(1)), may still apply; that Act was not read. Authority: Veterinary Services.
Can I keep chickens in my backyard in Gambia?
The national law we read gives a named local body its own powers over where hens can live. The Local Government Act, 2002 lists, among council functions, power to prohibit, restrict, regulate or license the keeping of dogs, animals and poultry (list of council functions, para (k)). No national rule on how many chickens may be kept was found. Which councils have rules on keeping poultry was not surveyed. The Local Government Act, 2002 is read as passed; its amending Acts were not checked against this entry. Look up the local rules where you live (the ordinances, bylaws or zoning of the body named here), or ask that office, before you get hens.
Do I have to keep my hens indoors for bird flu in Gambia?
Housing orders come and go, so we never show one as current. We haven't confirmed an official current-status page for it.

Allowed where you live? Then keep the records.

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