Walker County, GA Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Walker County Code § 6-25(a) sets the household breeding threshold: a household may breed and offer for sale up to 30 animals per year under O.C.G.A. § 4-11-2 without becoming a pet dealer, but exceeding 30 in a household in one year makes that person a pet dealer regardless of whether the animals came from one litter or several. Section 6-21 defines pet dealer broadly to include anyone who sells, exchanges, or offers for adoption dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles, or other customary pets, while carving out a person who sells no more than one litter per household per year and licensed veterinary hospitals.

Section 6-25(c) then requires anyone acting as a pet dealer, or operating a kennel, stable, or private animal shelter, to hold a valid license from the Georgia Department of Agriculture under O.C.G.A. § 4-11-1 et seq. and comply with applicable state regulations; the county does not issue its own separate pet-dealer license. Section 6-25(d) requires those premises to be kept in good repair, clean, sanitary, adequately ventilated, and disinfected when needed. Section 6-25(e) authorizes immediate impoundment, at the owner's expense, of animals found at an unlicensed pet dealer, shelter, stable, or kennel.

Kennels housing more than three dogs built after June 1, 2018 face added ventilation, heat, and water standards under Section 6-54(k), and a kennel over eight dogs needs Zoning Department clearance first.