Las Cruces, NM Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Sec. 7-32 lists several animals the city will only permit if the keeper already holds the license required by another government first. For birds of prey, Sec. 7-32(2) states the animal control unit will not issue its special animal permit without proof of a license issued by the federal government and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. That two-layer requirement means Las Cruces adds no separate substantive standard of its own for raptor care; it functions as a local backstop that keeps an unlicensed hawk, falcon or owl out of the city even if federal and state wildlife officials never learn of it.

The same cross-jurisdictional model covers an outdoor rehabilitation aviary, which needs the identical federal and state Game and Fish licenses before the city will permit it, any threatened or endangered amphibian, snake or reptile species, which needs federal or state permits under Sec. 7-32(3), and certain venomous snake families under Sec. 7-32(4), which need the appropriate federal and state permits before the city's special permit issues. Applications for any of these special animal permits go through Sec. as a condition of the permit and requires an application fee and annual permit fee set by city council resolution.