Ames, IA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Sec. 3.301 of the Ames Municipal Code sets up a dangerous-wild-animal system covering species that, if not properly kept, are known to cause serious injury, death or disease, or are manifestly capable of it; the list runs from opossums, bats and primates through raccoons, skunks, big cats, venomous snakes and crocodilians, while explicitly exempting domestic dogs and cats, ferrets, rabbits, camelids, deer, pronghorns and bison. Sec. 3.302 requires annual registration of every covered animal with the City Animal Control Officer, including its location and identifying characteristics, plus an annual premises inspection.

Sec. 3.304 then draws a harder line for three categories: bears, large cats and wolves cannot be kept at all unless the animal predates the ordinance and meets its security and space rules; imported mammals need documentation of entry through a licensed quarantine station and a certificate of health; and rabies-or-plague-risk species such as skunks, raccoons, foxes, bats and mongooses need certification of continuous captive breeding. Sec. 3.306 backs the ban with physical standards, locked chain-link or masonry pens with concrete floors, and Sec. 3.307's space table sets minimums by species, for example 200 square feet and seven feet of height for a coyote, scaling up to 3,000 square feet and ten feet for an American black bear.

An uncared-for or loose dangerous wild animal goes into City protective custody under Sec. 3.303 and can be humanely disposed of, or returned to the wild only if it is an Iowa-native species capable of survival.