Bessemer, AL Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 14-11 of Chapter 14 (Animals), titled 'Same—Reptiles and wild animals,' bars anyone in Bessemer from keeping or maintaining a poisonous reptile or wild animal without first registering it with the chief of police and the county department of health. The chief of police is also empowered to prescribe regulations for the safe penning or caging of the animal, meaning registration alone doesn't guarantee an owner can house the animal however they like; the police department can impose specific containment conditions. Section 14-12 adds a second layer: the rabies control officer, not the police chief, is the official who actually issues the keeping permit, and only does so when, in his judgment, the animal isn't detrimental to public health or likely to create a nuisance.

Read together, the two sections create a two-step process, registration with police and health officials followed by a discretionary permit from the rabies control officer, rather than an outright ban on wild or poisonous-reptile ownership. The chapter's general enforcement section, 14-5, assigns the rabies control officer and city police jointly to enforce Chapter 14, and Section 14-6 folds in any stricter state animal-control law, since state rules only apply where they're more restrictive than the city's. There is no exemption in Sections 14-11 or 14-12 for size, species or number of animals kept.