Can You Own a Coyote in Arkansas? Rules, Permits, and Restrictions
August 31, 2026
Most people assume owning a coyote is flatly illegal, but Arkansas actually allows it under a narrow set of rules set by the state’s wildlife agency. Whether you can legally keep a coyote in Arkansas depends on how the animal was obtained, when it was acquired, and whether you’ve secured the right paperwork.
This guide breaks down exactly what Arkansas law permits, what it forbids, and where local restrictions might still stand in your way even after you clear the state’s requirements.
Is It Legal to Own a Coyote in Arkansas
Yes, but only through two specific pathways recognized by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC). The first applies to coyotes taken from the wild by hand before a hard cutoff date, and the second applies to coyotes purchased from a licensed source.
Under state regulation, bobcat, coyote, gray fox, and red fox captured by hand prior to July 1, 2022 may be kept as personal pets for the animal’s lifetime. That cutoff has already passed, so wild-caught coyotes acquired after that date do not qualify under this provision.
The second path covers captive-bred animals. Individuals may purchase and own up to six per household of captive-born, commercially obtained native wildlife species, coyotes included, as personal pets. You can read more general background on the species itself on our coyote profile page, and compare this to Arkansas’s broader stance on exotic pet ownership statewide.
Pro Tip: If you’re hoping to acquire a coyote today, the wild-caught grandfather clause no longer applies to new captures. Your only realistic legal route is purchasing a captive-bred coyote from an AGFC-permitted Wildlife Breeder/Dealer.
How Arkansas Classifies Coyotes Under Wildlife Law
The coyote (Canis latrans) is treated as native wildlife under Arkansas regulation, which places it in a different legal category than domestic pets or fully unrestricted exotic species. According to A-Z Animals, these regulations divide animals into three broad categories: species that are unrestricted, species that require permits or special approval, and species that are prohibited. Coyotes fall squarely into the permitted-with-conditions tier rather than the unrestricted list.
Arkansas protects native wildlife through a combination of hunting regulations and captive wildlife rules, and just because a native species is common or familiar does not mean it is legal to keep as a pet. That same logic extends to other native species you might assume are freely available, including several birds covered separately under wildlife protections, such as the raptors profiled in our guides to hawks, eagles, and owls found throughout the state.
In limited cases, native wildlife may be possessed if obtained from a permitted source and kept in compliance with captive wildlife regulations, though wild-caught animals are generally not allowed. This mirrors how the state handles other regulated categories, including certain venomous species, which require their own possession permits despite being native to Arkansas.
Permits and Licensing Requirements for Coyote Ownership in Arkansas
The permit path you need depends entirely on how you acquired your coyote. For captive-bred animals, animals must have been purchased from a Commission-permitted Wildlife Breeder/Dealer, brought into Arkansas with a Wildlife Importation Permit, or purchased from a legal owner that registered the sale with the Commission. Owners must also keep proof of legal ownership on hand at all times.
If you want to keep more than six coyotes (or six of any combination of restricted native species) in one household, a Wildlife Breeder/Dealer Permit becomes mandatory. Breeding pets acquired under the personal-pet provision is not allowed, though owners are permitted to sell up to 20 individual animals per calendar year without obtaining a Wildlife Breeder/Dealer permit, as long as each sale is registered with the Commission.
Wild-caught, grandfathered coyotes carry stricter limits. That animal cannot be sold or rehomed, and if the owner wishes to get rid of it, the coyote can only be turned over to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. It also may only leave Arkansas with direct permission from the Chief of Wildlife Management, so relocating out of state isn’t something you can arrange informally.
Selling wildlife more broadly triggers its own licensing rules. Under Arkansas code, it is unlawful to rear, breed, propagate, produce, distribute, sell, or offer for sale any wildlife in Arkansas without first obtaining a valid Wildlife Breeder/Dealer Permit, with a narrow exception for red fox, gray fox, and coyote that were legally trapped and sold by someone holding a valid trapping license. If you’re weighing coyote ownership against other legal exotic options, our breakdown of exotic pets legal in Arkansas and the state’s general hunting laws both provide useful context on how these permit systems overlap.
Important Note: Owning a pet coyote is a separate legal matter from trapping or shooting a nuisance coyote under a Predator Control Permit. Landowners dealing with coyotes preying on livestock should review our coyote hunting laws in Arkansas guide rather than assume pet-ownership rules apply.
Enclosure and Care Requirements in Arkansas
Arkansas regulation sets a firm rule for cohabitation: males and females must be kept in separate pens unless they have been neutered to prevent reproduction. This applies whether the coyote was wild-caught before the 2022 cutoff or purchased from a licensed breeder.
Custody obligations are also strict. Once taken, the animal must remain in the owner’s custody, except pets other than white-tailed deer may be transferred to a Conservation Education or Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit holder. In practice, this means you can’t simply drop a coyote off at a shelter or release it back into the wild if circumstances change.
Beyond the legal minimums, coyotes are demanding animals to house responsibly. They need secure, escape-proof enclosures well beyond what a standard dog fence provides, along with enrichment and space appropriate for a wide-ranging wild canid. If you’re weighing whether hands-on coyote exposure without full ownership responsibility makes more sense, several petting zoos in Arkansas offer supervised encounters with native and exotic wildlife.
| Ownership Path | Legal Basis | Household Limit | Resale Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild-caught (grandfathered) | Hand-captured before July 1, 2022 | Up to 6 combined with other listed species | Cannot be sold; rehoming limited to licensed rehabilitators |
| Captive-bred (purchased) | Bought from AGFC-permitted Breeder/Dealer or via registered sale | Up to 6 per household without a Breeder/Dealer Permit | Up to 20 animals sold per year if registered with the Commission |
Local Laws and HOA Restrictions That May Apply in Arkansas
Clearing state-level requirements does not guarantee you’re in the clear locally. As FindLaw notes in its overview of exotic animal statutes nationwide, local restrictions can also exist in accordance with city or municipal ordinances, and Arkansas is no exception to that pattern.
Cities and counties can impose animal control ordinances, containment requirements, or outright bans on wild or hybrid species regardless of what state wildlife code allows. Many of these overlap with rules you’d expect to apply to dogs, such as the containment and control standards covered in our guide to dog leash laws in Arkansas, which local animal control officers may apply by analogy to loose or improperly secured coyotes.
Homeowners associations add another layer entirely. HOA covenants frequently prohibit livestock, wild animals, or any pet outside a defined list of approved domestic species, and these private agreements can restrict you even when the state and your city both permit ownership.
Common Mistake: Assuming an AGFC permit or grandfathered status overrides local zoning or HOA rules. State wildlife law and local property agreements are enforced independently, so you need to clear both before bringing a coyote home.
Penalties for Illegally Owning a Coyote in Arkansas
Violations tied to wildlife breeder and dealer requirements carry defined consequences. Under the applicable regulation, any person convicted of violating this regulation shall be liable for the costs accrued in the storage, care and maintenance of any equipment or wildlife seized in connection with the violation, on top of whatever fine or citation applies to the underlying offense.
Federal law adds another layer of risk on top of state penalties. According to Exotic Pet Wonderland, it is federally illegal and considered wildlife trafficking to sell a coyote without a USDA permit, which means an illegal sale can trigger federal enforcement even if the buyer and seller are both Arkansas residents. Purchasing from an unpermitted breeder carries the same underlying risk, since that transaction is illegal on the seller’s end regardless of what the buyer believes.
Illegally possessed wildlife is also subject to seizure. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officers can confiscate an animal held without proper documentation, and the owner has no guaranteed right to get it back once custody is transferred to a rehabilitator or holding facility. If you’re unsure whether your situation falls under a legal exemption, contacting AGFC Licensing directly before acquiring or transferring a coyote is the safer move than assuming a gray area works in your favor.
Key Insight: The combination of state seizure authority and federal trafficking law means that “I didn’t know the breeder wasn’t permitted” offers little protection. Verifying a seller’s Wildlife Breeder/Dealer Permit status before any purchase is the single most important step in staying compliant.
Coyote ownership in Arkansas sits in a narrower legal window than many people expect, shaped by a hard 2022 cutoff for wild-caught animals and a permit-driven system for everything acquired since. Before bringing one home, confirm your source’s licensing, secure the right enclosure setup, and check your city and HOA rules on top of state law. Because captive wildlife regulations can be updated between review cycles, it’s worth verifying current requirements directly with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission before finalizing any purchase or transfer.