You’ve heard the old saying that “a dog is a man’s best friend.” What if man has a various buddy? What occurs if your buddy is a squirrel, a deer or a lizard? Can they take their buddy home then?
Exotic animal guidelines remain in location at the federal, state and county levels. So which animals can you lawfully own in Washington state?
Illegal unique family pets in Washington
Federal law safeguards all endangered species from sale and ownership. You cannot own any threatened types. The IUCN red list has a searchable database of worldwide types and their status.
Washington state has numerous laws in location relating to animal ownership. You cannot take home wild animals without an authorization. It is unlawful in the Evergreen State to own a “potentially dangerous animal.” The meaning is specified in the state code by types category.
Because of the prospective risk postured, the following animals are not legal to own:
▪ Potentially hazardous mammals
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Felines: Lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards, clouded leopards
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Canines: Wolves, other than hybrids
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All bears
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Hyenas
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Rhinoceroses
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All nonhuman primates
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All elephants
▪ Potentially hazardous reptiles
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All atractaspididae snakes
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Boomslang snakes
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All Elapid snakes, that includes cobras and mambas
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All sea snakes
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Water and crocodile screens
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All vipers
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All crocodile types
The just exception to this policy is animal owners who lawfully had among the above animals prior to 2007, in which case the owner has a grandfathered right to own the animal for the rest of its life. The hazardous animal guidelines were upgraded in 2007, indicating it would have been legal to own much of these animals prior to that.
Permits for some types might be released for companies, like an animal sanctuary, and certified people.
It is likewise unlawful to own animals that posture risk of rabies infection. This consists of bats, skunks, foxes, raccoon and coyotes.
Additional state law covers “deleterious exotic wildlife,” which implies wild animals that can trigger damage to the regional environment or native wildlife. The legal meaning for negative unique wildlife consists of:
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Birds in the Anatidae family (ducks, geese) and the mute swan
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Mongoose
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Wild boar and the comparable javelina
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Bovids: Chamois, Tahr, goats, ibexes other than hircus, Barbary sheep, sheep other than domestic sheep, sassabies, hartebeest, wildebeests
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Cervids: All nonnative subspecies of red deer, all hybrids with North American elk, fallow deer, axis deer, rusa deer, sambar deer, sika deer, reindeer and roe deer
Washington Wonders: Can I own this animal?
The McClatchy Northwest Service Journalism Team has actually received reader questions about the following animals and whether ownership is legal:
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Frilled lizard: Yes, with correct licensing
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Ball python: Legal statewide, however inspect your county guidelines
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Chipmunk: Not from the wild
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Blue electrical gecko: No, they are a seriously threatened types
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Wild bunnies: No, wild animals cannot be taken home
If you have any concerns about how things operate in Washington state, send your questions through the form listed below. The Evergreen State has plenty of interests, peculiarities and secrets — and we wish to hear what you are questioning.
