Johnson County, KS Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

3(c) of the Johnson County Code of Regulations for the Park and Recreation District, Appendix C to the county's Code of Resolutions, readopted in full by Resolution No. 060-23 on July 20, 2023: no exotic birds or animals shall be permitted within the boundaries of any JCPRD Facility, except in accord with provisions of a Special Use Permit. 1(g) defines the covered animals broadly as birds or animals not commonly kept domestically, including, but not limited to, lions, tigers, bears, falcons, and ostriches, and includes all species not native to or currently found in the wild in northeast Kansas.

That sweeps in reptiles, primates and other nontraditional pets well beyond the named examples, so long as they are not commonly kept domestically or not native to the region. This is a park-access rule, not a countywide restriction on owning an exotic animal at home: the Environmental Sanitary Code and other chapters of the county's Code of Resolutions do not separately license or ban exotic pet ownership on private property in unincorporated Johnson County. The only path around the JCPRD ban is a Special Use Permit, the same permitting mechanism JCPRD uses for archery, camping and hot-air ballooning, which requires advance approval from the JCPRD Board or its designee for a specific facility, date and purpose.

3(a): they must be leashed and under control except in designated off-leash areas, and are barred entirely from Ernie Miller Nature Park unless they are trained service animals.