Protected birds can only be captured if the law allows it (not for pets). Minnesota Law 346.155 prohibits exotic cats, bears and non-human primates and any hybrids of the above and domestic animals. In 2005, a law went into effect in Minnesota that, in most cases, made it illegal for humans to own various types of exotic animals, including felidae (such as lions, tigers, and ocelots), bears, and nonhuman primates — or hybrids of them, which are referred to as « regulated animals » in the law. Why wouldn`t these adorable fur balls be pets? But in Minnesota, for the most part, it`s illegal to own a wild cat, bear, or primate: so no lions, tigers, pumas, bears, or monkeys. These are animals that most of us will only see in a zoo, but what kind of exotic animals are legal in Minnesota? When people ask Nalezny about exotics, she encourages them to explore the owner`s responsibilities and commit to keeping the pet. And she points out that buying an exotic pet creates a demand for more. MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — After the owner of an exotic Ohio wildlife park opened the cages of more than 50 animals and then committed suicide, authorities said they had to kill nearly all of them to protect the neighborhood. Authorizes the importation of legally acquired wildlife, unless expressly prohibited. Transportation requires the person to be in the same vehicle as the animal.
(Minnesota Statutes 97A.505; Minnesota Statutes 97A.521) In Minnesota, it is illegal to own wild cats, bears or primates (so no lions, tigers, pumas, bears or monkeys), but it is still legal to buy them. It`s a bit like the fireworks act. « The regulation of exotic products is currently similar to that of fireworks, » Streff said. « You can bet that on the fourth of July, if you`re driving in the countryside, you`ll see all kinds of fireworks from the air. I would be willing to give you a beer and pizza as the vast majority of fireworks you see are not allowed by law. According to the council`s list, there are currently more than 160 registered and regulated exotics living in Minnesota, including 22 bears, 68 cats and 76 primates. Many appear to be registered for private owners, and others for private wildlife parks licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to agency records. Animals housed in facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, such as the Minnesota Zoo and Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, don`t need to be registered this way, said Tammy Thies, executive director of Wildcat Sanctuary at Sandstone, though some are on the board`s list.
Nowadays, celebrities and movies help bring new status animals to the market. Think of the kids begging for clownfish after seeing Finding Nemo, potterheads trying to train owls and boys waiting for their turtle from the pet store to replicate the stunts of Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo and Raphael. And social media has become a zoo. We now have famous pets, PetCon, and pet influencers who can charge thousands of dollars to promote products. Streff said encounters with exotic animals aren`t common here in Minnesota, but they happen more often than you might think. The bill passed after a series of incidents involving exotic animals, said Keith Streff, senior human officer at the Animal Humane Society of Golden Valley, including one that made headlines when a white tiger grabbed a girl at a private wildlife park in Racine, Minnesota, and dragged her to the ground. Among the most common unusual pets that Nalezny treats today are parrots and other birds, bearded dragons, various species of turtles and turtles, chameleons and snakes. The not entirely exotic category includes rodents: rats, mice, guinea pigs, hamsters and gerbils. A 2011 WCCO article wrote that Minnesota regulates the registration and inspection of exotic possessions after 2005. There is also a law in Minnesota that states that exotic animals are regulated by several levels of government – federal, state, and local. Minnesota, along with a majority of states, prohibits or partially prohibits private ownership of animals generally considered exotic, according to Born Free, an animal welfare organization.
Why wouldn`t those adorable raccoon fur balls be pets? « Rabies, » says local veterinarian Jaime Nalezny. Historically, the human fascination with taming wild animals has been driven by both status and scientific curiosity. And imperialism. In the late 1600s, the British royal family gained bragging rights by bringing a rhino from voyages to the East Indies. As early as the late Middle Ages, lions, bears and an elephant roamed a menagerie in the Tower of London. In the United States, President Theodore Roosevelt kept several exotic pets in the White House, including a bear, a hyena, guinea pigs and a badger. There will always be people in their lives who need to fill up with an exotic animal, » she says, a void that only a raccoon can fill. The 2005 law allowed people who already legally owned exotic animals to keep them and gave them time to comply with the new law, including a written plan to recapture the animals in the event of escape. Often it does not end well to keep exotic animals and big cats as pets. We saw evidence of this in central Minnesota in 2005 when a 10-year-old boy was injured by a private lion outside Royalton. Laws are subject to change. Until 2002, it was legal in Minnesota to keep lions, tigers and other big cats.
In fact, as the Animal Humane Society explains, you can go online and order a 15-week-old Jaguar and it would arrive at your door the next day. And it can be difficult to find good veterinary care for exotics, as many veterinarians won`t see them for safety reasons, she said. A resident fishing license allows Minnesotans to take turtles as pets in lakes and streams. But breed, season and size vary. Exotic animals are also not good for the environment. In addition to violating wildlife populations, exotic animals can establish themselves as invasive species, often after their owners have left them. The Burmese python, for example, is now prevalent in the Florida Everglades, threatening native animals and often thwarting a « Python patrol » program. These animals may also pose a health risk to their owners. Exotic animals can be vectors of SARS, rabies, herpes and salmonella infections. And then there are the pet snakes that strangle or fatally bite their owners, and the lions and tigers that beat their owners to death.
« After 2005, Minnesota will regulate the registration and inspection of exotic properties, » said Officer Keith Streff, an animal investigator with the Animal Humane Society. It turns out that baby raccoons look even more adorable when filtered through Insta. But when I called the Animal Humane Society, the Minnesota Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and an exotic veterinarian, I discovered that it was also illegal to keep them in Minneapolis without permission. Streff said illegal mountain lions are probably the most common exotic animal in illegal homes and farms in Minnesota. Still, the state`s new law has « significantly reduced the workload » of complaints about illegal animals, he said. All these rules and regulations do not prevent people from buying and selling exotic animals. Tiger King on Netflix makes this very obvious. I think all we can hope for is that homeowners who want to break the rules will not put anyone else at risk, and that law enforcement will do what they can to try to enforce the laws.
