Elk Grove, CA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

EGMC § 8.02.030 sets a blanket prohibition: no person may have, keep, or maintain any wild, exotic, dangerous, or nondomestic animal or reptile in Elk Grove unless another Municipal Code provision specifically authorizes it, such as for a permitted commercial exhibitor, veterinary facility, or licensed wildlife rehabilitator. The rule reaches beyond textbook "wild animals" like big cats or primates to any reptile the City considers dangerous or nondomestic, which is why the very next section, EGMC § 8.02.040, separately makes it unlawful to own any snake longer than eight feet.

The City's Animal Control Officer, created under EGMC § 8.01.050 and given inspection and impoundment authority under §§ 8.01.070 through 8.01.100, enforces both sections. An officer who finds a prohibited animal can seize and impound it under EGMC § 8.05.010, which also gives the City a lien on the animal to secure the cost of housing and caring for it while the case is resolved. Because the ordinance folds in "reptiles" as a distinct category, it also functions as Elk Grove's oversized-snake rule, not just a wild-mammal ban; a resident cannot rely on a species being legally ownable under state Fish and Game rules to escape the local ban, since the exception in § 8.02.030 requires City-specific authorization, not just a state permit.