Homestead, FL Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Sec. 4-14, carried forward from Code 1975 § 5-42, sits in Article I of Chapter 4 alongside the city's swine restrictions (Sec. 4-2, which caps pot-bellied pigs at one per household) and its live-turtle sale rules (Secs. 4-15, 4-16). Rather than listing prohibited species or setting its own cage and inspection standards, Homestead's ordinance incorporates the state's wildlife permitting system wholesale: it is unlawful to keep any wild animal or reptile in the city without first complying with Fla. Stat. Chapter 372 and all regulations issued by what the code still calls the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission (now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission).

That means a resident who has not obtained the state's required wildlife license or permit for a given species, whether a venomous reptile, a big cat, a primate or another regulated animal, is violating city code the moment the animal is inside Homestead, independent of any state enforcement action. This gives the city's own animal control division and code compliance officers, who under Sec. 4-10 investigate complaints of animal-related violations but may not enter private property without consent or a warrant, an independent basis to cite a resident even before state wildlife officers act.

Chapter 4 sets no distinct fine for Sec. 4-14, so enforcement runs through the citywide general penalty provision that governs violations lacking their own specified punishment.