Arlington County, VA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 2-20(A) makes it unlawful for any person to keep, permit to be kept, breed, or permit to be bred any live wild or exotic animal as defined in § 2-18. That definition sweeps in any live non-human primate, raccoon, skunk, wolf or wolf hybrid, coyote, squirrel, fox, leopard, panther, tiger, lion, bear, wild cat hybrids such as bobcats, lynx and caracals, ratites, crocodilians, venomous snakes and reptiles, and any other warm-blooded mammal normally found in the wild; it also covers most scorpions, several spider genera including widow, recluse, funnel-web, and tarantula species, and centipedes of the genus Scolopendra, though it exempts captive-bred rabbits, rodents, ferrets, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, guinea pigs, and domestically bred or legally imported non-ratite birds, non-venomous snakes and reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

The ban does not reach AZA-accredited zoos, County or Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority nature centers, Arlington Public Schools animal programs, state- or federally-licensed wildlife rehabilitators and exhibitors, scientific research facilities, on-duty officers, the Animal Control Agency, federally recognized wildlife sanctuaries, or licensed veterinary clinics. 1, a resident who already possessed a wild or exotic animal before the ordinance's effective date, other than a banned venomous snake or reptile, must either dispose of it, such as by giving it to an accredited zoo, sanctuary, or veterinary clinic, by humane euthanasia, or by surrendering it to the Animal Control Agency, or register it with the Animal Control Agency within 60 days, providing proof of residency, photographs, and identifying details, with the registration renewed annually by January 31 and any move, death, or transfer reported within 10 days.

An Officer may seize or confiscate any wild or exotic animal, with the owner paying the Agency's capture and housing costs unless the animal was registered and the owner self-reported the escape before a public complaint.