Grand Prairie, TX Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Sec. 5-31(a) bans keeping any wild animal anywhere in the city outside the two exceptions in subsection (b). The first exception covers a facility the State of Texas has declared exempt from the Chapter 822 dangerous-wild-animal registration requirement under Health and Safety Code Sec. 102; that facility must produce documentation of the exemption and any required animal registrations on request. The second exception is narrow and dated: a non-human primate may be kept in a commercially zoned area only if the owner already had it before September 11, 1982, and the owner meets every Chapter 822 state registration requirement plus all other federal, state and local animal rules, with application instructions available from the city's animal services division.

Because the ordinance sits in Chapter 5, the general enforcement tools apply: the animal services manager has a right of entry under Sec. 5-60 to inspect any premises for compliance, without a warrant if there's an imminent health hazard, and can seek a search warrant under Sec. 5-62 from a court if entry is refused and there's probable cause of a violation. City officers and employees carrying out these inspections are shielded from personal liability under Sec. 5-64, with the city attorney defending any suit arising from their official duties.