Cobb County, GA Animal Ordinances: Coyote Management (2026)

Section 10-14 of the Cobb County Code, in the Animals chapter enforced by Cobb County Animal Services (CCAS), lists coyotes by name among the wildlife a resident cannot legally keep: skunks, foxes, prairie dogs, raccoons, coyotes, wolves, hybrid wolves, any part-wild hybrid, and exotic cats are all off-limits to purchase, sell, own, possess, harbor, or breed unless the keeper is licensed by the federal or state department of agriculture, a bar few private residents clear. The chapter's definitions section, § 10-1, backs the ban with a broad catch-all: "wild animal/wildlife" covers any animal indigenous to Georgia that is not domesticated, including any hybrid that is part wild. That sweeps in a captive coyote regardless of how tame it seems.

The rule reaches only the unincorporated county; Marietta, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Acworth, Powder Springs, and Austell each enforce their own animal codes, so a coyote kept inside those city limits falls under municipal rules, not § 10-14.

Cobb does regulate lawful trapping of a nuisance coyote under § 10-66.2: any trap used must be humane and non-debilitating, placed to avoid injuring children, checked at least every eight hours, set for no more than eight hours before the animal can be transported, and placed only with the property owner's permission. A trapped wild animal cannot be treated cruelly and must be given food and water as needed. Under § 10-67(d), once CCAS takes custody of trapped wildlife, the animal is not treated as a routine impoundment with a holding period; CCAS disposes of it "in accordance with federal and state guidelines," meaning an illegally kept or trapped coyote isn't returned to an owner the way a stray dog would be.