Georgia criminalizes animal cruelty and neglect statewide under O.C.G.A. 16-12-4, applying uniformly regardless of local ordinances and covering hoarding situations.
Georgia's animal cruelty statute (O.C.G.A. 16-12-4) makes it a misdemeanor to neglect, abandon, or fail to provide adequate food, water, sanitary conditions, and humane care to any animal. Aggravated cruelty is a felony. Animal hoarding cases are prosecuted under these provisions when an owner accumulates more animals than they can properly care for. Local ordinances may add limits on the number of pets per household, but the state cruelty law applies uniformly and provides the floor for prosecution and animal seizure.
First-offense cruelty is a misdemeanor; aggravated cruelty is a felony with up to 5 years prison and $15,000 fine plus animal forfeiture.
Chatham County, GA
Unincorporated Chatham County does not set numeric quiet hours. Code §11-101(h) bans amplified sound audible beyond the premises, and §11-109 caps vehicle tr...
Chatham County, GA
Chatham County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 5-1.3 limits residential fences to 6 feet in front and side yards and 8 feet in rear yards. Business district fences may...
Chatham County, GA
Consumer fireworks have been legal in Georgia since 2015 (HB 110, codified at O.C.G.A. § 25-10-1 et seq.). Under O.C.G.A. § 25-10-2, consumer fireworks may b...
Tybee Island, GA
Georgia state law (O.C.G.A. §6-1-4) preempts local governments from regulating private drone operations, so Tybee Island cannot pass its own drone ordinance....
Chatham County, GA
Chatham County Code § 16-1304(1)(g) requires every STVR application to outline the parking rules of the rental and how occupants will comply. Parking rules m...
Chatham County, GA
Chatham County Code § 16-1302(7) defines the STVR occupancy rate as no more than two adults per bedroom, plus two additional adults. For a recreational vehic...
See how Tybee Island's animal hoarding rules stack up against other locations.
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