Sandy, UT Animal Ordinances: Coyote Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited
- Wolves, coyotes, wolf-dog and coyote-dog hybrids
- Purpose
- Ch. 12-3 exists partly to bar wild-dog hybrids
- No exemption
- No zoo/vet carve-out, unlike § 12-1-28's wild-animal rule
- Default penalty
- Class B misdemeanor, § 12-3-8
- Scope
- Bans keeping the animal, not city culls or hazing
Summary
Sandy City runs no cull or hazing program in its code. Instead, § 12-3-3 makes it flatly illegal to keep a coyote, wolf, or any coyote-dog or wolf-dog hybrid within city limits, and Chapter 12-3's stated purpose is explicitly to keep wild-animal-dog hybrids out of Sandy.
12-3-1: The purposes of this chapter are to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the City of Sandy, Utah. It is intended to be applicable to dangerous dogs, as defined herein, to prohibit the keeping of wild animal-dog hybrids, and to regulate certain dogs which have a history of one or more serious attacks on people or animals... 12-3-3(d): The following animals are prohibited and may not be kept within Sandy City: wolves, coyotes, wolf-dog hybrids, coyote-dog hybrids, and any other hybrid of a dog and a wild animal.
Full Breakdown
" That purpose is carried out in § 12-3-3(d), which lists the animals barred outright: wolves, coyotes, wolf-dog hybrids, coyote-dog hybrids, and any other hybrid of a dog and a wild animal. Unlike Sandy's general wild-animal ordinance at § 12-1-28, which exempts zoos, veterinary hospitals, humane society shelters, and licensed research or educational facilities that provide adequate containment, § 12-3-3(d) carries no such exemption for wolves, coyotes, or their hybrids; simply keeping one within the City is itself the violation, with no attack or bite required to trigger it.
This sits alongside, but is legally distinct from, Sandy's court-driven dangerous-dog declaration process in the rest of § 12-3-3, which applies to individual dogs based on behavior rather than to an entire prohibited category of hybrid animal. Because the ban is embedded in Chapter 12-3 rather than the separate deer-feeding chapter, it has nothing to do with feeding wildlife; it targets ownership and possession of the animals themselves.
Violations & Fines
Keeping a coyote, wolf, or any wolf-dog or coyote-dog hybrid in Sandy violates § 12-3-3(d), and Chapter 12-3 sets its default penalty at a Class B misdemeanor under § 12-3-8, applied unless the chapter states otherwise. Because the prohibition attaches to keeping the animal at all, Animal Services does not need a bite, attack, or complaint of aggression to act on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Sandy City run a coyote cull or removal program?
Can I keep a coyote-dog hybrid in Sandy if it's tame?
What's the penalty for keeping a banned coyote hybrid in Sandy?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sandy
Compare Sandy to another location·View the Utah animal ordinances overview
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