Blaine, MN Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Blaine City Code Article V of Chapter 14, Nondomesticated Animals, exists 'to protect the public health from disease transmission, animal bites, animal attacks and other serious injury, and public nuisances arising from the keeping or escape of nondomesticated animals' (§ 14-215). Section 14-217 makes it unlawful to keep, maintain or harbor any animal prohibited by federal or state law, plus a named list of nondomesticated species: skunks (vaccinated or not), any large cat of the family Felidae such as lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, cougars and ocelots, any member of the family Canidae such as wolves, foxes, coyotes, dingoes and jackals, poisonous snakes and pit vipers like rattlesnakes, coral snakes, water moccasins and cobras, raccoons, and a catch-all covering bears, badgers and similar animals.

Domesticated house cats and dogs are excluded. Section 14-218 exempts animals brought in temporarily for entertainment, exhibition or educational purposes if securely enclosed, animals held for sale in licensed pet stores (which must give buyers a photocopy of the article), animals in public zoos or nonprofit institutions, small caged species like nonpoisonous snakes, hamsters, gerbils and guinea pigs, and animals held by veterinary clinics or college-affiliated research institutions. Section 14-219 separately bans selling or transferring any prohibited animal except through a licensed pet store. Under § 14-216, any prohibited animal found in the city may be impounded, and after five unclaimed days it can be sold or destroyed; anyone reclaiming an impounded animal must pay impound costs and document that the animal has been relocated outside Blaine. Enforcement runs through the city's designated animal control authority, working with the Blaine Police Department's community service officers.