Bristol Township, PA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 57-11 A of the Bristol Township Code, part of Chapter 57 adopted as Ord. No. 19-86, bars anyone from keeping a wild or exotic animal in any place other than a zoological park, veterinary hospital or clinic, Humane Society, circus, sideshow, amusement show or facility used for educational or scientific purposes, and only where proper cages, fences and other protective devices prevent escape or injury to the public. A private home is not on that list.

The definition in § 57-1 is wide. It covers any species prohibited by Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations or otherwise controlled by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and any animal that is wild, fierce, dangerous, noxious or naturally inclined to do harm. Wild animals count however domesticated. The printed list includes all dog-family animals except domesticated dogs (wolf, fox, coyote, dingo), all cat-family animals except commonly accepted domestic cats, all bears, the weasel family including ferrets, badgers, otters and mink, raccoons and civets, all subhuman primates, porcupines, venomous and constricting snakes, venomous lizards, crocodilians, venomous fish and piranha, and venomous invertebrates. Ferrets stand out because they are common pets elsewhere.

Section 57-11 B separately bars anyone from selling, offering for sale, adopting, exchanging or transferring a wild or exotic animal, with or without charge. A person who held such an animal before the chapter passed can transfer it only to someone who is not a resident of Bristol Township. Section 57-11 D lets a person in violation remove the animal from the Township or hand it to the Township official, who can release it to the wild, send it to a zoological park or dispose of it in some humane manner. Section 57-11 E created a permit track for animals already owned when the chapter was enacted: an application within 45 days of the effective date, with species, age, sex and a housing plan, Township approval of the containment facilities, an annual fee per animal, and no replacement after the animal dies or is transferred.