Can You Own a Coyote in Maryland? Here’s What State Law Actually Says

If you have ever watched a coyote trot across a Maryland field at dusk and wondered whether you could raise one like a dog, the short answer is no. Maryland treats coyotes as banned wildlife, not pets, and the state has already euthanized at least one that someone tried to keep on a leash.

You will find plenty of confusion online about coyote ownership because states handle these animals so differently. Below, you will see exactly how Maryland classifies coyotes, which permits exist (and who actually qualifies), what care standards apply to licensed facilities, and what happens if you get caught keeping one anyway.

Is It Legal to Own a Coyote in Maryland

You cannot legally keep a coyote as a pet in Maryland. Pet coyotes are not legal in Maryland, and you cannot keep a coyote as a pet in the state. This applies whether you bought the animal from a breeder, found a pup in the wild, or brought one in from a state with looser rules.

The prohibition comes from Maryland’s dangerous animal statute. Maryland bans private ownership of a specific list of animals under its dangerous animal statute, Criminal Law § 10-621, and the prohibited categories include bears, wild cats, foxes, skunks, raccoons, alligators, crocodiles, caimans, wild dogs, wolf-dog hybrids, nonhuman primates, and venomous snakes from certain families. Coyotes fall squarely into that “wild dog” category. The wild dog ban covers wolves, coyotes, wild foxes, African wild dogs, and similar canids.

A real case makes the point clearly. Police in Calvert County captured a pet coyote running loose near North Beach after a resident called in a sighting; the coyote was wearing a blue collar, indicating it was someone’s pet, and had been purchased in Virginia as a puppy. Because of rabies exposure concerns, the animal was euthanized, and charges were pending for the owner. As one Maryland Natural Resources Police statement put it plainly: it is illegal to own or possess a coyote in the State of Maryland.

This is different from hunting or trapping coyotes, which is legal under specific seasons and license requirements. If you want to understand that side of the law, the Maryland coyote hunting laws guide breaks down seasons, weapons, and trapping rules in detail. Owning one as a companion animal, though, sits in an entirely different legal category.

Pro Tip: If you already have a coyote or coyote hybrid in Maryland, do not wait for a complaint to surface. Contact the Maryland DNR or your local animal control office directly to understand your options before wildlife officers find the animal first.

How Maryland Classifies Coyotes Under Wildlife Law

PIN IT

Maryland’s legal treatment of the coyote (Canis latrans) is more layered than a simple ban. The state actually gives coyotes two overlapping classifications, and understanding both helps explain why hunting them is legal while keeping one at home is not.

For wildlife management purposes, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources classifies coyotes as furbearers. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources supported legislation that provided for the legal classification of coyotes as a “Fur-Bearing Mammal,” subject to several sunset clauses. That status was not permanent at first. During the 2000 legislative session, the General Assembly repealed the sunset clause provisions, giving the coyote permanent statutory classification as a “Fur-Bearing Mammal,” which means annual hunting and trapping seasons for coyotes have been established.

That furbearer classification governs hunting and trapping, not household ownership. Under the state’s furbearer regulations, furbearers include beaver, bobcat, coyote, fisher, gray fox, long-tailed weasel, mink, muskrat, opossum, raccoon, red fox, river otter, and skunk. Every one of those species is also on the restricted-possession list for private ownership, which is why hunting eligibility and pet legality never overlap for coyotes in Maryland.

Separately, the criminal code labels coyotes a “wild dog” under the dangerous animal statute discussed above. The exemptions built into that statute are narrow. Animal sanctuaries, AWA-licensed facilities, those holding valid permits from the Department of Natural Resources, and veterinarians are exempted from the ban. Everyday residents, hobby breeders, and rescue-minded neighbors do not qualify for any of those exemptions.

Maryland’s coyote population itself is a fairly recent development. According to the state’s wildlife agency, coyotes expanded into Maryland on their own, without direct human assistance, after originating as a mid-western species occupying prairies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains. Their spread across the East Coast is part of why lawmakers eventually settled on a permanent classification rather than letting it lapse.

Permits and Licensing Requirements for Coyote Ownership in Maryland

Even where Maryland’s exotic pet framework theoretically allows permits for restricted species, coyotes are treated with extra caution because of disease risk, not just behavior. This is where a second regulation, separate from the criminal statute, comes into play.

Under COMAR 08.03.09.03, a person or organization may not harbor or move within Maryland any live raccoons, skunks, foxes, wolves, coyotes, bobcats, or any other mammalian wildlife species for which there is no USDA-certified vaccine against rabies, without first obtaining a permit from the service. Because no USDA-approved rabies vaccine currently exists for coyotes, this regulation functions as a near-total block on private possession, layered on top of the criminal ban.

For the small number of entities that can legally hold a coyote, such as accredited wildlife sanctuaries or educational exhibitors, the permitting bar is high. Individuals who wish to own or exhibit exotic animals must obtain a permit from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which includes providing proof of adequate housing, food, sanitation, veterinary care, and security measures to prevent escapes, and the DNR also conducts yearly inspections of facilities where exotic animals are kept or exhibited to ensure compliance.

There is one narrow historical exception worth knowing about. These animals cannot be imported, sold, traded, bartered, possessed, or bred by private individuals regardless of whether you had the animal before the law took effect, with a narrow grandfathering exception for pre-2006 owners who notified local animal control in time. If you are outside that window, which almost everyone reading this in 2026 is, the grandfathering clause does not apply to you.

Across the country, the pattern is similar even where wording differs. The legal landscape surrounding coyote ownership is highly restrictive across the United States, and most states explicitly prohibit keeping coyotes as pets without special permits, which are rarely granted to private individuals and are typically reserved for wildlife sanctuaries, educational facilities, and licensed exhibitors. Maryland’s approach fits squarely within that national trend rather than being an outlier.

Maryland Restriction	What It Covers	Who Can Be Exempt
Criminal Law § 10-621	Wild dogs (coyotes, wolves, wild foxes), wild cats, primates, bears, venomous snakes, and more	Sanctuaries, AWA-licensed facilities, DNR permit holders, veterinarians
COMAR 08.03.09.03	Species without a USDA-certified rabies vaccine, including coyotes, foxes, skunks, and raccoons	Entities with a state-issued harboring permit
DNR Furbearer Regulations	Hunting and trapping seasons for coyotes and other furbearers	Licensed hunters and trappers only, not applicable to pet ownership

Enclosure and Care Requirements in Maryland

Because private coyote ownership is illegal in Maryland, there is no enclosure standard written for pet owners the way there is for, say, backyard chicken coops. The care standards that do exist apply only to the licensed sanctuaries, zoos, and rehabilitation facilities that hold a valid DNR permit.

Those standards are not casual. As noted above, permit holders must document adequate housing, food, sanitation, veterinary care, and security measures to prevent escapes before the DNR will even consider an application, and inspectors return annually to confirm the facility still meets those benchmarks. Security is often the sticking point, since coyotes are athletic, persistent diggers and climbers.

Industry guidance for facilities that do legally house coyotes elsewhere in the country points to similarly demanding setups. Where legally permitted to keep a coyote, housing requirements are extensive, including secure outdoor enclosures with climb-proof fencing. Combine that with the reality that finding veterinary care can be challenging, as few practitioners have experience with wild canines, and it becomes clear why almost no private individual clears the bar even in states that theoretically allow permits.

Behavior adds another layer of difficulty. Coyotes retain their wild nature even when raised in captivity, and these animals can’t be fully domesticated and may exhibit unpredictable behavior, especially during breeding seasons or when stressed. That unpredictability is precisely why Maryland folds coyotes into the same dangerous-animal framework as wild cats and bears rather than treating them like an unusual dog breed. If you want a closer look at coyote biology and behavior in general, the coyote species profile covers diet, range, and pack structure in more depth.

Important Note: Even licensed Maryland wildlife facilities that meet DNR housing standards are not pet owners in the legal sense. Their permits authorize sanctuary, exhibition, or rehabilitation use, not private companionship, and those permits can be revoked if inspection standards slip.

Local Laws and HOA Restrictions That May Apply in Maryland

State law already closes the door on coyote ownership, but you should not assume that is the only layer of restriction you would face. Counties, municipalities, and homeowners associations can add rules on top of state law, and they often do for wildlife-related issues.

Separate state and federal protections on endangered species and native wildlife add additional layers of restriction, and local counties can impose even stricter rules than the state. In practice, this means a Baltimore County or Montgomery County animal control ordinance could add its own permitting hurdles, insurance requirements, or outright bans that go beyond what § 10-621 already prohibits.

This layering is not unique to Maryland. While a state may allow you to keep certain animals as pets, local laws can still restrict ownership. Homeowners associations frequently go further still, since HOA covenants can prohibit any animal not classified as a common household pet regardless of what state or county law technically permits. Even in jurisdictions where ownership might technically be possible with proper licensing, local ordinances and homeowners’ associations often impose additional restrictions or outright bans.

If your property backs up to open land or woods, you are also more likely to encounter coyotes as wildlife neighbors rather than as pets. Maryland’s suburban and rural edges support a range of other wild species, from hawks and owls that share hunting territory with coyotes, to bats and snakes that fall under their own separate wildlife-handling rules. If you are curious how Maryland regulates other rabies-vector species alongside coyotes, the bats of Maryland guide covers a comparable permit structure.

Penalties for Illegally Owning a Coyote in Maryland

Getting caught with a pet coyote in Maryland carries both criminal and civil consequences, and the two operate independently of each other. Criminal exposure comes first, since possession itself is the violation regardless of whether the animal ever hurts anyone.

Violations of Criminal Law § 10-621 are a misdemeanor carrying fines up to $1,000 for individuals. Beyond the fine, wildlife officers can seize the animal, as happened in the Calvert County case where the coyote was captured, tested for rabies exposure, and ultimately euthanized while charges were pending for the owner.

Civil liability is a separate and arguably bigger risk. Maryland treats strict liability as the law of the land in cases involving exotic animals, meaning that if you own such an animal and it injures someone or damages their property, you can be held liable for damages even if you are not at fault. You can behave as responsibly as possible, providing ample space, a healthy diet, and professional care, and this still will not negate strict liability. In plain terms, “I did everything right” is not a legal defense once a coyote you were not allowed to own in the first place causes harm.

Nationally, the consequences described above are consistent with how most states handle illegal exotic pet possession. Violations can result in substantial fines, animal confiscation, and potential criminal charges. Combine a misdemeanor conviction, a lost animal, and an uncapped civil liability exposure, and the practical cost of illegally keeping a coyote in Maryland far outweighs anything gained from the attempt.

Pro Tip: If you find an orphaned or injured coyote pup, resist the urge to raise it yourself. Contact a licensed Maryland wildlife rehabilitator instead; handing the animal over is legal and keeps you out of the criminal and civil exposure described above.

Maryland’s position on coyote ownership is unambiguous once you look past the confusion that surrounds furbearer hunting seasons and permit exemptions for accredited facilities. If you are drawn to coyotes as animals worth understanding, channel that interest into hunting-season research, habitat observation, or supporting a licensed sanctuary rather than attempting private ownership. For a broader picture of what shares the landscape with Maryland’s coyote population, the guide to coyote predators and the snakes of Maryland overview are useful next reads.