13 Illegal Pets in the United States

Although it might be tempting to try to obtain an unusual pet that few others have, there are multiple reasons that states ban keeping certain animals as companions. Each state has different rules about which animals are illegal to keep as pets.

The most banned animals are dangerous creatures such as bears, big exotic cats, and venomous snakes, but some states also ban more innocuous-looking critters such as tiny turtles, sugar gliders, and squirrels for various reasons.

It is unlawful to keep any of the following animals as pets in several states. Do you know anyone who has ever tried?

Chimpanzee

Chimpanzees are intelligent, social primates that become frustrated and destructive if kept apart from other chimps. There is even the horrific story of a Connecticut woman whose friend’s pet chimpanzee ripped off her hands, lips, nose, and eyes, necessitating a full face transplant.

It’s illegal to own a chimp as a pet in almost every state, with the exception of Texas, Kansas, Idaho, and Alabama. Since chimpanzees can grow up to five feet tall and live for 50 years, it’s better to go ape for some other type of animal companion.

Lion

It’s understandable why big cats, such as lions, are illegal to keep as pets in most states. The apex predators like to hunt large game and are just unsuited for captivity on private property.

In 2022, President Biden signed the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which banned people from keeping lions as pets and exposing them to public petting and photo ops. The bill emerged as a direct response to Netflix’s Tiger King, which called attention to the mistreatment of big cats in captivity.

Squirrel

Most wild animals, including “cute” little ones like squirrels, are illegal to keep as pets in 26 states. The government considers squirrels “exotic animals” even though you can find one in your not-so-exotic backyard.

If you live in a state that allows squirrels to be kept as pets, make sure you get one from a breeder. Wild squirrels are almost impossible to tame, so don’t try to become the “squirrel whisperer.”

Turtles With Shells Smaller Than Four Inches

All turtles, regardless of size, can carry Salmonella germs on their bodies and in their enclosures. Because children are more likely to handle small turtles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale of turtles with shells less than four inches in size in 1975.

If you have a pet turtle of any size, make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after handling and do not place the turtle on countertops, tables, or anywhere else where food is prepared or served.

Wolf

Maybe you watched Game of Thrones and thought having a dire wolf in your corner of Westeros sounded pretty cool. Perish the thought!

It is illegal to keep a pure wolf as a pet anywhere in the United States because wolves are a species considered endangered and regulated. It’s also impossible to fully tame a pure wolf, even one raised from a puppy. German shepherds and Siberian huskies share a lot of DNA with wolves and make much better animal companions.

Alligator

Alligators look cute when they’re babies and some might be tempted to keep them as pets, but these ancient reptiles can grow as big as 11 feet and are one of the more dangerous animals one could choose as a pet. There is the urban legend about pet alligators being flushed down toilets in New York and growing into giant sewer gators, which played well in the movie Alligator but likely isn’t true.

Florida, a state with 24 deadly alligator attacks since 1948, is the only state where you can legally own a gator with a license. In 11 other states, some people can keep alligators as pets with a special permit. In every other state, including New York, gators are off-limits as pets.

Sugar Glider

Sugar gliders are adorable little gliding possums from Australia. It’s understandable why some may desire this exotic nocturnal animal as a pet, but they don’t make good ones.

Requiring large enclosures and other sugar gliders to interact with makes these little critters undesirable as pocket pets, even though they are legal in many states. They are illegal, however, in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and the city of New York.

Deer

Deer are territorial, moody, and easily startled — none of which are qualities most people seek out in a potential pet. In addition, a male deer during breeding season is particularly dangerous with those sharp antlers and their desire to jump out of any enclosure you might have.

A few states — Colorado, New Hampshire, Vermont, and South Dakota — allow deer as pets under certain conditions, but almost everywhere else, they are considered wild animals that are more likely to be legally hunted than legally kept as companion animals.

Eagle

The majestic bald eagle is the national symbol of the United States. Once endangered in the contiguous United States, the bald eagle made a remarkable comeback thanks to the 1940 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Not only are eagles of any kind illegal to keep as pets, but it’s also unlawful to collect their feathers and eggs or disturb their nests. Why would you want to keep a bird that in no way could adapt well to life in captivity anyway?

Venomous Snakes

If you think it sounds cool to have a pet cobra or rattlesnake, think again. Although there are no laws on the books in certain states about keeping a fanged friend, owning one is banned entirely in Tennessee, Vermont, Louisiana, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, New Hampshire, Washington, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Washington D.C., California, and Connecticut.

These dangerous snakes are banned for good reason. Some, such as cobras, do not have antivenom readily available, so the owner of one would be living on borrowed time if their pet cobra bit them.

Shark

Wealthy people with large aquariums might think a shark would make a killer pet, and they’re right… for all of the wrong reasons.

Although there are no federal laws specifically banning sharks as pets, many states — including California, Florida, Nevada, and even the exotic-pet-friendly Texas — either outright ban owning sharks or heavily regulate their ownership. Many sharks are protected and endangered species, making them illegal to own anywhere in the United States.

Tiger

If you watched the Netflix series Tiger King, you know that owning big cats is a no-no in many states. Not only because of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, but because tigers require 15 pounds of meat a day and a minimum of 7 square miles of space or they will become the jungle cat of your nightmares.

As of 2019, there were about 5,000 tigers kept as pets in the United States by people like Tiger King‘s Carole Baskin compared to only 3,890 tigers roaming their native habitats in Asia.

Bear

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Yes, all three large animals are banned as pets in most parts of the United States.

There is a blanket ban on bears in most states, but some states get oddly specific. Black bears are banned in Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Tennessee, but those states don’t have laws on the books about other species. Black, grizzly, and polar bears are illegal in Louisiana, but getting an Arctic-dwelling polar bear to the swamps of Louisiana is probably not something that has happened too often.