Hialeah, FL Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)
Key Facts
- Banned category
- Wild, dangerous or undomesticated animals (Sec. 10-1)
- Pet-shop exception
- Ordinary pet-store animals allowed (Sec. 10-3(d))
- Snake exception
- Nonpoisonous snakes if securely kept (Sec. 10-3(c))
- Pigeon cap
- 20 in R-1, 10 in R-4 districts
- Penalty
- Up to $500 per day (Sec. 1-11)
Summary
Hialeah bans keeping any wild, dangerous or undomesticated animal as a pet, from predatory mammals to reptiles and game birds. Sec. 10-2(a) makes it unlawful to 'harbor, maintain, control...or keep any livestock or wild, dangerous, undomesticated or vicious animals in the city,' and Sec. 10-1 defines the banned category broadly, with only narrow pet-shop and nonpoisonous-snake exceptions.
Wild, dangerous or undomesticated animals means and includes any wild mammal, predatory animal, reptile, game bird, or fowl, not of a species customarily used as ordinary house pets, including pigeons, unless such pigeons are of an ornamental species specifically bred for exhibition or trained as a homing, carrier, tumbling or racing pigeon... but rather are animals not naturally tame or gentle, that are ordinarily confined to a zoo or exist in the wilderness, or those that would cause a reasonable person to be fearful of bodily harm or property damage because of their wild nature, size or other characteristic. Fish in an aquarium are not included in this definition.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 10 of the Hialeah Code of Ordinances defines and bans exotic-pet ownership through its 'wild, dangerous or undomesticated animals' category. Sec. 10-1 defines the term to mean 'any wild mammal, predatory animal, reptile, game bird, or fowl, not of a species customarily used as ordinary house pets, including pigeons,' unless those pigeons are a registered ornamental or racing breed, and specifies that these are animals 'ordinarily confined to a zoo or exist in the wilderness, or those that would cause a reasonable person to be fearful of bodily harm or property damage because of their wild nature, size or other characteristic.
' Sec. ' The Code carves out three narrow exceptions in Sec. 10-3. ' Subsection (d) allows 'the ownership or harboring of any animal, fish, bird or reptile that is customarily sold at pet shops, with the exception of potbellied pigs, livestock or wild, dangerous, or undomesticated animals,' meaning a conventional pet-store animal is fine but a big cat, venomous reptile or primate is not. Subsection (e) separately permits a strictly limited number of registered ornamental or racing pigeons, up to 20 in the R-1 one-family district and ten in the R-4 townhouses district, kept in a loft under detailed care rules, an exception that exists precisely because ordinary pigeons otherwise fall inside the wild-animal definition.
Violations & Fines
Harboring a prohibited wild, dangerous or undomesticated animal is a civil infraction under Sec. 1-11, up to $500.00, with each day of continued possession counting as a separate violation. Because Sec. 10-2(a) also folds in 'vicious animal[s]' as defined by F.S. § 828.27(1)(c), an animal that is not exotic but has a documented history of unprovoked attacks can be cited under the same subsection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep an exotic pet like a big cat or venomous reptile in Hialeah?
Are pet-store reptiles and birds allowed?
What about pet snakes?
Can I keep pigeons in Hialeah?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hialeah
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