Kansas City, MO Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited
- Nonhuman primates, wild cats, wolves, raccoons
- Exempt
- Domestic livestock, dogs, cats, lab rodents
- Penalty
- Seizure and humane destruction of animal
- Removal window
- 48 hours to leave city limits
- Code section
- City Code § 14-9(b)
Summary
Kansas City bans keeping non-domestic cats, primates, wolves, foxes, raccoons, skunks, and other wild carnivores as pets citywide, with violations subject to seizure and destruction of the animal.
Except insectivores animals, it is unlawful to keep or harbor any poisonous animal or any carnivorous or omnivorous animal and including but not limited to nonhuman primates, all nondomestic cats including bobcats and lynx, ocelots, mountain lions, tigers, panthers, lions, or any wild/domestic cat hybrid, wolves, wolf/dog hybrids with any percent of wolf parentage, raccoons, skunks, foxes, crocodiles, alligators and caimans. The only exclusion to this clause are domestic livestock, small fowl, domestic dogs, domestic cats and small rodents of varieties used for laboratory purposes. Nonpoisonous snakes shall be kept in locked escape-proof cages, except when being handled. It shall be an ordinance violation for an owner, keeper, harborer or handler to permit a snake or lizard to escape from a cage or while being handled. (Code of Gen. Ords. 1967, § 6.9; Ord. No. 48707, 6-22-78; Ord. No. 53297, 10-22-81; Ord. No. 65201, 3-1-90; Ord. No. 951372, § 1, 11-9-95; Ord. No. 060086, § 1, 2-2-06)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 139 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 38).
Full Breakdown
City Code § 14-9(b) makes it unlawful within Kansas City, Missouri, to keep or harbor any poisonous animal or carnivorous/omnivorous wild animal, naming nonhuman primates, nondomestic cats (bobcats, lynx, ocelots, mountain lions, tigers, lions), wolves and wolf-dog hybrids, raccoons, skunks, foxes, crocodiles, alligators and caimans. Domestic livestock, small fowl, dogs, cats and laboratory rodents are exempt, and insectivores are not covered. The supervisor of animal health and public safety can also independently declare any other animal dangerous, in which case it must leave the city within 48 hours or be seized and destroyed.
Violations & Fines
Keeping a prohibited animal is an ordinance violation; the supervisor of animal health and public safety can seize and humanely destroy the animal, or require its removal from the city within 48 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep a pet fox or raccoon in Kansas City?
What happens if animal control finds a prohibited exotic animal?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kansas City
Compare Kansas City to another location·View the Missouri animal ordinances overview
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Exotic Pets in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Jackson County handle exotic pets.