Lincoln, NE Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Lincoln treats exotic pets as a public-safety issue rather than a permit-and-cage matter. Under LMC 6.04.020 (Unusual and Wild Animals Prohibited), no person may own, keep, or harbor an unusual or wild animal inside the corporate limits of the City of Lincoln. The accompanying definition in LMC 6.02.530 (Unusual Animal), adopted by Ordinance 18092, lists the prohibited categories: Class Mammalia order Carnivora (Felidae such as lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, and cougars; Canidae such as wolves, coyotes, and foxes; Mustelidae such as weasels, skunks, wolverines, mink, and badgers, with ferrets excluded; Procyonidae including raccoons; and Ursidae bears), order Primata (monkeys, chimpanzees), and order Chiroptera (bats); and Class Reptilia, covering all venomous snakes and lizards (cobras, vipers, boomslang, Kirtland's tree snake, Gila monster), the order Loricata (alligators, caymans, crocodiles), and the giant constrictors (green anaconda, Indian python, reticulated python, African rock python). Hybrids of prohibited species are also covered. The ordinance exempts public zoos, properly licensed circuses and carnivals, accredited colleges and universities using animals for research or teaching, humane societies, and permitted wildlife rescue organizations. Animals seized under the ordinance can be impounded, and the owner is liable for the city's costs of recovery, care, veterinary treatment, boarding, and disposal. Lincoln residents who want to keep wildlife outside this prohibited list (for example, native non-venomous reptiles or certain birds) may still need a separate Captive Wildlife Permit from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission under Title 163, Chapter 4 of the Nebraska Administrative Code.