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Wildlife Problem in Columbus? Which Office to Call

Checked against Columbus Consolidated Government, West Central Health District, Georgia DNR and Georgia DPH pages and local news reports on November 7, 2026. How we research this site.

Columbus has three numbers worth knowing: Animal Services for strays, roadkill and aggressive animals, Environmental Health for bites and bats, and Georgia DNR for the rules on wildlife. The work of getting a wild animal out of a house falls to private, DNR-permitted operators.

Situation by situation

What is going on	Call	Why that office
Bitten or scratched by any animal	A doctor, then Columbus Environmental Health, (706) 321-6170, and Animal Services	The West Central Health District asks for bites to be reported to both offices.
A bat in a bedroom or living room	Columbus Environmental Health, before the bat goes anywhere	CDC says not to release a bat found in the home until you have talked to public health. What to do.
A raccoon or skunk acting strangely in the open	PAWS Humane Animal Services Division, (706) 653-4512	Health officials ask residents to report animals behaving strangely or aggressively to animal control.
A stray dog or cat	PAWS Humane Animal Services Division, (706) 653-4512	Calls until 5 p.m. After that, 911 for emergencies such as an injured dog or a threatening animal.
Squirrels, raccoons or opossums in the attic	A DNR-permitted nuisance wildlife control operator	Georgia DNR lists permitted operators by the county they are based in.
Bats roosting in the house	You, outside April to July, or a permitted operator	Georgia DNR says exclusions should be avoided from April 1 to July 31, and any done then must be by a licensed operator.
A snake in the house	911 for a bite. Otherwise a private removal specialist	Georgia’s nonvenomous native snakes are protected by state law.
An alligator out of the river	Georgia DNR Game Management, Region 5 office, 229-430-4254	Licensed agent trappers handle nuisance alligators four feet or longer.
A dead animal	Depends where	Animal Services takes roadkill. The full breakdown.

Animal Services: the city’s animal control, under new management

Columbus Animal Care and Control has been run by PAWS Humane Society since early 2025, under the name PAWS Humane Animal Services Division. The phone number did not change: (706) 653-4512. PAWS told WRBL the division is budgeted for 15 sworn officers plus a lieutenant, that officers work until 10 p.m., and that calls stop at 5 p.m., after which emergencies such as an injured dog or a threatening animal go to 911.

PAWS describes the division’s calls as animal abuse, leash law violations and stray animals, and it also takes dead animals in the roadway. For a stray, it asks people to check local lost-pet pages first, since most strays are close to home. Removing a raccoon from your roof is not on that list.

Columbus Environmental Health

Rabies is handled by the Columbus Department of Public Health, part of the West Central Health District. Its Environmental Health office is on the second floor of 2100 Comer Avenue, (706) 321-6170, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a lunch closure from 1 to 2. The district runs the rabies control program and publishes an animal bite form and a Columbus animal-to-human exposure report.

When a raccoon in the Japonica Drive area tested positive in July 2025, the district told anyone who had contact with a raccoon to call Environmental Health, Animal Care and Control and their physician. That is the pattern for any wildlife exposure in Columbus.

Animal already in the attic or walls?

Tell us what you have seen or heard and where, and we will pass it to a DNR-permitted operator covering Columbus and Muscogee County where one is available. Request a quote →

Georgia DNR

The Wildlife Resources Division sets out three legal routes for a nuisance animal on your property: hire a nuisance wildlife control operator, remove it yourself during the regulated hunting and trapping seasons, or get a wildlife control permit from DNR. It adds that local ordinances on discharging firearms still apply. Its permitted operators may not handle deer, turkeys, bears or alligators over four feet long. For advice, DNR gives 1-800-366-2661.

DNR’s Game Management map puts Muscogee County in Region 5, run from 2024 Newton Road in Albany, 229-430-4254. Its operator list is organised by the county where each company is based, and DNR suggests asking any company whether it is licensed by DNR and getting more than one estimate.

The calls people get wrong in Columbus

Calling Public Works about roadkill. Its Community Service Division does not pick up dead animals. Animal Services does. Details.

Killing a harmless snake. DNR says only seven of Georgia’s 47 native snakes are venomous, that the copperhead is usually the only one that does well in suburbs, and that the other 40 are protected.

Sealing bats in during summer. DNR’s April 1 to July 31 window exists because flightless pups trapped inside die there. Bats in the house.

Expecting a fast animal control visit after hours. Calls stop at 5 p.m. Plan accordingly, or use 911 for a real emergency.

Questions people ask

Does Columbus animal control remove raccoons or squirrels from houses?

Not that we can find. Columbus’s animal control, now the PAWS Humane Animal Services Division, told WRBL it takes calls about animal abuse, leash law violations, stray animals and dead animals in the roadway. Georgia DNR’s options for a wild animal on your property are to hire a nuisance wildlife control operator, remove it yourself during the regulated seasons, or get a DNR wildlife control permit.

Who do I report an animal bite to in Columbus?

The West Central Health District asks people to report bites and scratches to both Columbus Animal Care and Control and the Columbus Environmental Health Office, (706) 321-6170, and to see a doctor. Georgia DPH says to wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water first.

Is it illegal to kill a snake in Georgia?

Georgia DNR says the state’s 40 nonvenomous native snakes are protected by state law, and the eastern indigo is federally protected as well. If a clearly identified venomous snake is a danger to people or pets, DNR points to its list of private wildlife removal specialists.

Are there alligators in Columbus?

Occasionally, in the Chattahoochee. A DNR game management biologist told the Ledger-Enquirer in 2024 that they have not established much of a presence in Columbus, and that spring and summer are when people are most likely to see one. Georgia’s nuisance alligator program uses licensed agent trappers for alligators four feet or longer.

Request a quote

We read every request and pass it to a licensed wildlife operator covering Columbus where one is available. We are still building our list of operators here, so we cannot promise one is available or say how quickly they will respond.

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Anything else worth knowing? What you have seen or heard, how long it has been going on, whether you have heard young, single or two storey

We are an information and referral service, not a licensed wildlife control operator, and we may be paid for the introduction. You are never charged.

Sources (checked November 7, 2026)