Sarasota County, FL Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Sarasota County has banned unlicensed possession of wild animals since 1973 under Ordinance No. 73-022, codified at Sec. 14-81 in Article III of the animal control chapter, a section titled 'Hunting and Fishing' rather than the general Article II animal-control rules that cover dogs and cats. Subsection (a) makes it unlawful for any person to have in his possession, 'for sale or otherwise,' any wild animal unless that animal was born and raised in captivity, meaning a wild-caught animal cannot be legally kept, displayed, or offered for sale in the unincorporated county regardless of the species.

The captive-bred exception means the ban does not sweep in animals purpose-bred by licensed exotic breeders, though those animals can still be subject to separate State Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission caging, permitting, and species-specific rules that operate independently of this county provision. Subsection (b) exempts possession connected to zoological, scientific, and educational endeavors, provided the person holding the animal is qualified by education or experience, or is licensed by the State, to care for injured wildlife under the applicable Florida statute; this covers accredited zoos, university research programs, nature centers, and state-permitted wildlife rehabilitators taking in injured or orphaned wild animals.

The ordinance sits alongside two neighboring 1970s-era ordinances in the same article: Sec. 14-82 regulating shrimping methods and seasons in the county's inside salt waters, and Sec. 14-83 requiring a landowner's written consent before anyone sets a steel trap on their property, both carrying the same misdemeanor-level enforcement as Sec. 14-81.