Carrollton, TX Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

003. That definitions section spells out exactly which species count as a 'wild animal': venomous reptiles, crocodiles, alligators, reptiles over eight feet long, and iguanas among reptiles; emus, ostriches, and rheas among birds; and a long list of mammals including lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, cougars, panthers, bobcats, wolves, coyotes, foxes, skunks, bears, raccoons, bats, cheetahs, hyenas, and non-human primates. The definition also sweeps in any species barred from ownership under federal or state law, any animal listed as 'high risk' under the Texas Rabies Control Act, and any hybrid of a listed animal.

055(B) separately bars letting a wild animal roam at-large outside its secure cage or quarters, and creates a presumption that an animal found loose was willfully let out by its keeper. Under subsections (C) and (D), a Domestic Care Officer (DCO) or Animal Services Officer may impound any wild animal found at-large and, at the DCO's discretion, humanely euthanize an impounded or at-large wild or vicious animal found to be sick, dangerous to people or other animals, suspected of carrying rabies, or aggressive. Impounded wild animals kept in violation of the chapter cannot be redeemed by their owner; the DCO may instead place them with a wildlife rehabilitator or educational center, or euthanize them. 00 because animal regulations sit in the higher public-health-and-sanitation penalty tier. The chapter was last adopted by Ordinance 4287 on November 18, 2025.