Animals are an important part of the family for many pet owners. While people typically think about dogs, cats, fish, birds, and other domesticated animals when they hear the word pet, the word can apply to a diverse selection of different animal types and breeds.
Individual tastes, personal wants, lifestyle, and location are just a few factors that play a role in the type of mammal owners purchase for companionship. While the law allows humans to own several different species of pets, there are many exotic animals that private individuals cannot legally house.
Person and species safety are main reasons why certain mammalians are not allowed to be kept as companions. Anyone caught illegally owning a forbidden pet can face confiscation of the pet, fines, and even prosecution in a court of law. Animals that private owners are not allowed to purchase as pets include:
1. Venomous Pets
Poisonous amphibians including snakes, reptiles, spiders, and insects are illegal. This includes toxic spiders, scorpions, cobras, Gila Monsters, and Mexican Beaded Lizards. Snakes falling in the Boid family are also illegal. This includes green or yellow anacondas and all python snakes such as Reticulated, African Rock, Burmese, Indian, and Amethyst.
Snakes longer than 3.3 meters and lizards longer the two meters are also not allowed to be held as pets according to the law.
2. Wild Animals
Wild animals are beautiful to look at in their natural habitat but are not allowed in homes under the regulations outlined in a court of law. This includes, wild boars, deer, bears, hyenas, all alligators and crocodiles, wild cats and dog breeds, prairie dogs, bats, and all Viverridae species such as mongooses, civets, and genets. Mustelidae family animals including weasels, otters, martens, mink, badgers, and wolverines are illegal to own. All Procyonidae animals like raccoons. Coatis, kinkajous, olingos, ringtails, cacomistles, and olinguitos are prohibited as domestic pets.
3. Primates
All animal breeds and their sub breeds classified as a primate are not allowed as pets under the law. This includes all lemur species, all Tarsiiforme species, tamarins, capuchins, monkeys, macaques, baboons, mangabeys, coloinae species, langurs, surilli, douc, gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees.
4. Marsupials
Marsupial classified animals are not allowed to be kept as pets. This species category includes all opossum types, marsupial moles, thylacinae, Kaluta, quolls, mulgaras, dasyures, shrews, antechinus, Tasmanian Devils, antechinus, ningauis, dunnarts, planigales, bandicoot, bilby, wombats, possum, cuscus, gliders, kangaroos, wallaby, potoroo, pademelon, and betong classified species.
5. Wild Cats
Domesticated cat breeds are favoured companions for animal lovers, but bigger, wild breeds are forbidden. These include lions, tigers, bobcats, leopards, jaguar, oncillas, lynx, cheetahs, Jaguarundi, ocelots, margays, Andean cats, servals, and all other wild cats classified under the feline family.
6. Wild Dogs
There are many domesticated canine breeds that make great pets, but wild dogs should be kept in the wild. These species include: foxes, coyotes, wolves, jackals, bush dogs, culpeos, dholes, dingos, raccoon dogs, and short-eared dogs.
Owning a pet is a big responsibility no matter what type of domesticated animal you are caring for. If you are looking for a companion to add to your home, it is important to know what you are legally allowed to keep and what you are not. Owning an illegal animal is dangerous and can result in fines and possible court prosecution. This is especially true if your pet is involved in an animal attack, in which case you will need help from a personal injury lawyer to deal with the legal repercussions.
The law is very clear on what animal classifications and sub classifications are not allowed to be kept by humans. If you are looking for a pet, but not sure if the animal you are considering is allowed, contact your government or law agency first before purchasing your pet.