Lansing, MI Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

04 of the Lansing Zoning Code defines and separately regulates three categories of animals: household pets, livestock, and wild animals. 04: household pets like dogs, cats, and birds are permitted as an accessory use in any zoning district under Subsection (b), and limited livestock, up to five hens with no roosters, is separately permitted on one- and two-family residential property under Subsection (d). The wild-animal definition is broad enough to sweep in exotic reptiles and arachnids, poisonous spiders and lizards, alongside more obviously dangerous animals like bears and coyotes, so a resident cannot argue that a small or docile wild species falls outside the ban simply because it isn't large or aggressive.

Because the prohibition is keyed to 'residential zoning district,' it does not by its terms reach a wild animal kept at a permitted nonresidential use, such as a licensed veterinary clinic, wildlife rehabilitator, or zoo operating elsewhere in the City, Ingham County, Michigan, though those uses are governed by their own permit and licensing requirements rather than this section.