USDA Licenses and Federal Laws Since September 17, 2007, it has been illegal to transport a big cat as a pet across state borders, that is, from a non-USDA licensed facility or to a non-USDA licensed facility. Read the full Captive Wildlife Safety Act. The USDA prohibits all public contact with big cats under 8 weeks and over 12 weeks of age. If you see someone using a teddy bear that is too young or too old, please photograph the event and indicate the exhibitor`s name, location and what you saw to stop the abuse. There is only a one-month window during which exhibitors are allowed to use the youth. There is a pending bill banning all contact with big cats and their babies. Before you pay to have your picture taken with a big cat, contact your USDA regional office to make sure you`re not breaking federal laws. This is an important piece of legislation that protects big cats from breeding for this purpose. Many states and individual counties require a USDA license (usually a Class C transmitter license) as a condition of obtaining a license to own feral cats. The following explanation may clarify this requirement. In Oregon, it is illegal to own feral cats, bears other than black bears, dogs that are not native to Oregon, monkeys, alligators, crocodiles or caimans.
You can get a special permit for an assistance monkey. Animals you can have without a license include alpacas, ferrets, bison, camels, chinchillas, emus, ostriches, llamas, lemurs, sugar gliders and giraffes. Beginning in 2005, Kentucky banned private ownership of tigers, lions, monkeys, bears, venomous reptiles, and other dangerous wildlife. As one of the most comprehensive restrictions on keeping exotic animals as « pets » in the United States, the regulation also prohibits the breeding of existing animals. Existing containment facilities must be large enough to provide sufficient space for movement, protection, and maintenance of sanitary conditions. The holder of an existing pet or breeding animal licence allows a conservation officer to inspect the facilities at any time. Since 2012, Kentucky has held the ALDF record for the most missing regulations for the protection of animals of all kinds for five consecutive years. With proper documentation, interviews, and cage requirements, possession of servals and other small cats is permitted in most cases. Hunting of bobcats is allowed. Class I (naturally dangerous) cats are lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs and cougars and can only belong to zoos, circuses and commercial breeders.
Two years of experience or at least 70% on a test is required. Handling, habits, health care and accommodation are tested. Have cage, plumbing and housing standards. Cages must be inspected by TWRA prior to admission of animals. One acre is required for personal possession or 3 acres for commercial propagators. Cats under 25 pounds and between 8 weeks and 3 months old are allowed to make public contact for one hour every 8 hours. Bobbcats are considered native species and require a Class II (native) permit. An import permit is required before bobcat are introduced into the state. All other cats, bobcats, and domestic hybrids belong to Class III, for which no permit is required. Nature centers, rehabilitation centers and educational exhibitions are not allowed to own Class III cats that are not real zoos. Bobbcats are hunted and captured.
Savannah cats are legal. Can you own a tiger in Utah? And do you need a permit? If you want to own any of the animals on that state`s dangerous wildlife list, you must register it with the county where the animal lives. This list includes lions, tigers, ocelots, wolves, primates and venomous reptiles. You do not need a permit for chinchillas, yaks, servals or camels. You must obtain approval from RI`s Department of Environmental Management, Agriculture Division, to import, possess or preserve native wildlife or hybrids thereof. Permits are only granted to AZA zoos, U.S. F&W, or other USDA-approved entities that comply with the AWA, with particular attention to Part 3 – Standards, Subdivision E of Part 2 – Animal Identification, and Subsection C – Research Facilities. New rules adopted in 2010 require a permit to own exotic wild animals issued by the Agriculture and Resource Marketing Division of Rotary`s Department of Environmental Management for alien species, including hybrids of domestic cats. Breeding must be approved by the Ministry.
Savannah cats need a permit. Bobbcats are classified as protected fur-bearing animals in Rhode Island under common law (RIGL 20-16-1). There is no open hunting or fishing season for bobcats. It is illegal to possess the carcass of a bobcat, and road fatalities must be reported to the Ministry of Fisheries and Wildlife. Florida is one of the states that don`t allow tigers as pets, but there`s also a workaround: « You can get around the law by getting an exhibitor license from the USDA, » Bass added. I was then told the process: After paying the licence fee ($40, which you can pay in installments), there is a pre-licence inspection. Before that, you can call and ask questions to make sure you`ve covered all the bases to pass the inspection. Bobcat hunting will become illegal from 01.01.2020.
Hybrid cats of all generations are legal to own. And then there`s perhaps the biggest mishap. In 2011, sheriff`s deputies in Zanesville, Ohio, slaughtered nearly 50 wild animals — including 18 rare Bengal tigers — after a wildlife park owner opened their cages shortly before the suicide, apparently a final act of defiance against worried neighbors and troublesome police. The small-town police were not equipped to deal with the jungle wild animals that had escaped and had to kill them all. This horrific incident served as a wake-up call for Ohio, which has since banned the trade and breeding of exotic animals. Estimates show that there are 5,000 to 10,000 tigers living in backyards, roadside zoos and homes. TARIK TINAZAY / AFP / Getty Images Wooden rattlesnakes and eastern copperheads can only be kept as pets if they are legally taken from the wild and require a venomous snake permit. Pet owners are limited to a wooden rattlesnake.
All feral cats that are not domestic hybrids at least 3 generations old and registered in national or international cat registries are considered controlled and can only be kept and imported under a state show permit (USDA license). The only exceptions to the permit are ministry employees, rehabilitators with native wildlife, and wildlife under other licences. The NH State Exhibitor License requires 2,000 hours of paid experience with an authorized issuer to be eligible. Exhibitors must not allow cats to have direct contact with the public. Hunting and trapping bobccats has been illegal in New Hampshire since 1989. The Department of Hunting and Fishing attempted to reopen hunting for bobcats in 2016, but withdrew the proposed bylaw due to opposition from conservation and animal welfare organizations. « It`s so screwed up, » Bass continued. « We can`t regulate ourselves. We need a federal ban. Big Cat Rescue and a handful of other tiger sanctuaries have created a collection to try to pass a federal bill called The Big Cat Public Safety Act that would end private ownership of tigers as pets.
« We`re very close, hopefully get a hearing at home, » Bass said. « This will end private ownership and prohibit the public from direct contact with tiger cubs. That is the most important thing. Must obtain a permit for all big cats, clouds, snow, cheetahs and mountain lions. May obtain personal possession or reproduction or exhibition permits. Requires liability insurance of $100,000 per animal, a health certificate of $300.00 per animal for an annual fee. Sanctuaries are exempt from paying the annual fee only if they hold a USDA Class C license.