South Fulton, GA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

City Code § 18-1007 forbids the purchase, sale, ownership, possession, or harboring of any skunk, except pen-raised skunks, and any fox from any geographic region, including Alaska and Canada. The only carve-out is for pen-raised skunks other than black-and-white skunks, which may be kept as pets after the owner secures a permit from the city manager or a contracted animal control provider; pet stores cannot sell a pen-raised skunk without first seeing that permit. Section 18-1008 layers a broader permit requirement on top: every owner, custodian, or harborer of any wildlife or exotic animal, defined in § 18-1001 as any animal not indigenous to Georgia and any hybrid that is part exotic animal, must obtain all necessary state and federal permits and meet all state and federal requirements for keeping that animal.

Section 18-1006(a) reinforces this by requiring owners of wildlife or exotic animals to carry those permits on their person and comply with state, local, and federal law whenever the animal is transported, and it bars wildlife and exotic animals from running at large within city limits at all. An exotic or wild animal found roaming, unpermitted, or otherwise in violation can be captured and impounded under § 18-1010(b)(9), and the animal is not exempt from these rules merely because it carries a vaccination, tag, or certificate, per § 18-1010(c). Violations of Title 18 are punished as allowed under the City Charter and applicable law per § 18-1002.