Cecil County, MD Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 142-37 of the Code of Cecil County, part of Chapter 142, Animal Care and Control, prohibits a private citizen from possessing or harboring a dangerous or vicious wild animal within the county's borders and cross-references § 10-621 of the Criminal Law Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The section then lists the animals a person may not import, offer for sale, trade, barter, possess, breed, or exchange while alive: fox, skunk, raccoon or bear; caiman, alligator or crocodile; any member of the cat family other than the domestic cat; a cat hybrid weighing over 30 pounds; any member of the dog family other than the domestic dog and any dog hybrid; nonhuman primates such as lemurs, monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, marmosets, lorises and tamarins; and poisonous snakes in the Hydrophidae, Elapidae, Viperidae or Crotolidae families.

A violator is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, faces a fine of up to $1,000 if an individual or up to $10,000 if not an individual. Section 142-37C separately applies the chapter's own fine schedule, capping the assessment for a violation of this section at $10,000. The prohibition does not reach federally licensed animal exhibitors, federally licensed sanctuaries, licensed wildlife rehabilitators, research facilities, anyone holding a Maryland Department of Natural Resources license for the species involved, or an animal control officer or veterinarian acting in the course of duty.

The county's Animal Care and Control Authority, created under Chapter 142, is the enforcing agency, and the Sheriff's Office can act on a misdemeanor charge. Because this rule governs the unincorporated area, the eight incorporated towns, including Elkton and North East, enforce their own separate ordinances on this subject.