Lauderhill, FL Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 4-3(a) of the Lauderhill Code prohibits keeping, maintaining or harboring within the city any animal, reptile or fowl that by its nature is wild and untamed and is not a domestic household pet, on the basis that such an animal constitutes a threat to the physical health or well-being of the citizenry. The same subsection separately bars keeping any animal susceptible to rabies without having it vaccinated, and bars keeping any animal, reptile or fowl that creates offensive odors, excessive noise or unsanitary conditions amounting to a nuisance.

Subsection (b) defines 'wild and untamed' to include, but not be limited to, wildlife such as a leopard, tiger, lion, cougar or bobcat, while carving out an exception for wildlife licensed and permitted by the State of Florida's game and freshwater fish commission or sold under a state permit. Subsection (c) ties the penalty for violating Section 4-3 to Section 4-26 of the same chapter, the general citation and penalty provision for Chapter 4, so an owner caught harboring a prohibited wild animal faces the same escalating civil-infraction fine schedule that covers the rest of the animal code, rather than a separate wild-animal penalty. The Lauderhill Police Department and the Code Enforcement Department jointly serve as the city's animal control authority for this section.