Gwinnett County, GA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

33 governs anyone in unincorporated Gwinnett County who keeps a wild or exotic animal. It has two operative requirements: the owner or custodian must obtain all permits required by the State of Georgia for the activity, and no animal quarters may sit closer than 200 feet to any property line. The UDO's land-use table backs this with a zoning restriction: 'Wild Animals, keeping of' is marked S/C, meaning it is allowed only in the RA-200 agricultural-residential district, and only as a Special Use requiring both a Special Use Permit and compliance with the Section 210-120 conditional-use standards; the use isn't listed at all, and so is prohibited, in the other ten base residential districts or in any non-residential district.

A Special Use Permit application goes to the Board of Commissioners under Section 270-30, following the same public notice and hearing steps as a rezoning; the Board can approve, approve with conditions, deny, or remand the application, and a Certificate of Occupancy cannot issue until every condition of the permit is met. The UDO defines 'Wild Animal' broadly, as any living member of the animal kingdom, excluding livestock and household pets, so the rule reaches exotic pets such as big cats, primates or venomous reptiles as well as native wildlife someone tries to keep captive.

State permitting requirements referenced by subsection A come from Georgia's wild animal licensing law, administered separately by the Department of Natural Resources. These county standards were adopted with the UDO rewrite, Ord. No. UDOA2023-00002, effective September 26, 2023.