Exotic Pets Legal In California

You have to have a specific reason to have an exotic animal in california.

Exotic pets legal in california. However there are only a few exotic pets legal in california. Animal rights advocates advise against keeping most wild animals in captivity but that hasn t stopped exotic pet lovers from legally owning. In california most exotic mammals are illegal including ferrets. Some animals are banned as pets because they aren t meant to be domesticated others are dangerous to california s ecosystem.

This includes the short tailed. Exotic is a subjective term when talking about pets so california has assembled a pretty extensive and convuluted list of restricted pets non dangerous exotic animal e g. You do not need permits for common pet animals including exotic pets like sugar gliders ferrets savannah cats foxes prairie dogs raccoons and skunks. California has some of the toughest laws on exotic pets in the nation.

The laws regarding exotic pet ownership vary by state. Several ungulate species are legal in california although most are actually domesticated even though they are considered exotic. Ronnie macdonald cc by 2 0 9. You can obtain a license to own a serval in montana north dakota south dakota oklahoma texas arizona mississippi missouri indiana pennsylvania and maine.

Are tenrecs legal in california. They are not allowed as pets said andrew hughan of the state department of fish and wildlife. California has some of the strictest laws in the nation on animal ownership. Arizona law prohibits all species of the genus didelphis which consists of american opossums of which all are cat sized and the most common member is the virginia opossum which is native to north america.

There doesn t appear to be any other listing for other opossum species making non didelphis species legal. They are popular in the exotic pet trade. It s legal to own these wild cats in nevada idaho wisconsin alabama south carolina north carolina and west virginia without a license required. They include the water buffalo yaks pot bellied pigs alpaca and llamas.

Only hawaii s laws are more restrictive. A kit fox rests on a rock renne grayson cc by 2 0 via flickr.