Kill Devil Hills, NC Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

01 to include any animal for which a federal or state permit or license is required, along with named examples such as lions, tigers, wildcats, wolves, bears, apes, monkeys, raccoons and dangerous or poisonous reptiles like alligators, plus any hybrid of such an animal regardless of genetic percentage. Subsection (A) requires the owner to notify the animal control officer within 24 hours after importing or placing the animal in town, after it bites or attacks a person or another pet, after it damages property, or after it roams or escapes from required restraint, and the owner must also produce any federal or state permit for inspection.

Subsection (B) makes it unlawful to keep an exotic or wild animal in town without a currently valid federal or state permit, and even a permitted animal must be confined in a humane, secure enclosure approved by the animal control officer, or securely muzzled and under the control of a competent handler using a leash, chain or rope. Under subsection (C), any exotic or wild animal that is not properly restrained, that has injured or endangered a person or property, or that lacks a current permit can be confiscated by an animal control officer or law enforcement officer and held at the owner's expense, and subsection (D) allows a law enforcement or animal control officer to slay an escaped or dangerous animal if capture proves unsuccessful or impractical.