Douglas County, Nebraska follows state law on exotic pets, supplemented by Omaha Municipal Code Chapter 6 and enforced countywide by the Nebraska Humane Society. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 37-477 bans private possession of wolves, skunks, and any Felidae (wild cats) or Ursidae (bears). Omaha additionally prohibits wolf hybrids.
Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 37-477 and 163 NAC Ch. 4 § 008, no person may keep a wolf, skunk, or any cat-family or bear-family animal in captivity, with narrow exceptions for accredited zoos, government facilities, licensed lynx and bobcat fur producers, and pre-1986 grandfathered owners. Other native wild birds and mammals — bobcat, fox, raccoon, river otter, beaver, white-tailed deer — require a Captive Wildlife Permit from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and may not be taken from the wild. Asian raccoon dog and wild pigs are banned outright. Omaha Code Chapter 6 layers an additional ban on wolf hybrids inside city limits. Common cage birds and traditional exotic pets (ferrets, hedgehogs, non-venomous reptiles) are unrestricted.
Possessing a prohibited species under § 37-477 is a Class III misdemeanor on first offense (up to three months jail, $500 fine) and a Class I misdemeanor thereafter. Omaha wolf-hybrid violations carry fines up to $500 plus impoundment.
Douglas County, NE
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