MD SB375

Beginning January 1, 2027, prohibits keeping a rooster that is movement-constrained through the use of an enclosure (such as wire cages, water tanks, or plastic barrels) or tether that provides long-term housing for one adult rooster and prevents interaction with other roosters

Exemptions apply to commercial poultry producers, public and state-funded nonpublic schools, government animal shelters, animal welfare organizations, 4-H/Future Farmers of America members with county authorization, and persons who kept more hens than roosters in the preceding 6 months

Violations are civil offenses with penalties of a warning for the first offense, up to $500 per rooster for a second offense, and up to $1,000 per rooster for third or subsequent offenses

State or local law enforcement officers and local animal control authorities may enforce the law; local governments may enact more stringent rooster-keeping requirements

Enacted to address ongoing cockfighting issues and the linked spread of Avian Flu from roosters bred for fighting; effective October 1, 2025