San Luis Obispo County, CA Animal Ordinances: Coyote Management (2026)

009 makes it unlawful to own, keep, maintain, or possess any animal that is wild by nature and, because of its size, disposition, or other characteristics, could endanger human life or property; subsection (a)(1)(a) names coyotes specifically alongside wolves, foxes, and jackals as canines whose possession is banned. The ban carries narrow exceptions under subsection (b): licensed zoos, museums, veterinary hospitals, wildlife rehabilitation organizations, and animals merely being transported through the county for no more than 24 hours in compliance with state and federal law.

Because the code contains no separate ordinance authorizing a county-run coyote cull or hazing program, the two tools the county actually applies to coyote conflicts are this possession ban and the parks feeding restriction at Sec. 060(g), which states no person shall feed wildlife within any county park unless authorized in advance by the director; a resident or visitor who baits coyotes into a park with food faces that section directly, while removal of a coyote that has become dangerous runs through the CDFW depredation-permit process referenced at Sec.

060(f). 005 adds a public-health layer: anyone bitten by a coyote, along with any parent, guardian, physician, or other person aware of the bite, must notify the Division of Animal Services within 24 hours and report the bitten person's contact information, the animal type, the owner's information if known, and the time, date, and circumstances of the bite. Enforcement of the possession ban and the bite-reporting duty runs through the Division of Animal Services under the chief animal control officer, established at Sec. 001 as part of the County Health Agency.