It’s Legal To Own A Coyote In Texas-As Long As You Have A License

When I worked as a Security Officer full time, in addition to a radio job (because we radio folks sometimes need some extra income)--I used to have to do a patrol around the perimeter of the grounds for the business I was guarding. I worked the overnight shift-so it was always entertaining (my word for SCARY) to take the Security vehicle and scan the patrol tags at all these gates up in what we called "The North 40"--where there was seemingly no civilization and it was all wildlife, brush, and gates surrounded by trees. It was always a rush to get out of the vehicle, scan the tag on the gate, and get back in before anything roaming around out there could have you for a late-night snack :-). And you could see them--those eyes peering at you from inside the bushes along the gravel roads. When the headlights from the Ford Explorer we drove would hit the reflectors in those coyotes' eyes they'd shine back as if to say "Stand still for a minute so I can jump on you!"

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We had a bad problem where I lived of coyotes attacking people's dogs in back yards and on their properties late at night when they'd let their pets out to go potty before bed. A good friend of mine at the radio station had her dog killed by one doing that. Coming here to Texas-it was a surprise to learn that you can actually legally OWN a coyote here--as long as you have a license to do so. And wolves-there's no law about them so you can have one of those here even without a license. While coyotes and wolves are both very pretty--they both have feral instincts that help them to survive in the wild and do not make good domesticated pets, as dogs and cats do. It's very difficult to train them to be pets, and you run the risk of them turning on you due to instinct alone. So even though you can own them here-you're much better off heading to one of the shelters and getting a cute dog for a pet instead.