Lower Merion, PA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 90-52.E of the Health Code carries two flat prohibitions inside the Township's animal-keeping article. Subsection E(1) bars any person from operating or maintaining a piggery within Lower Merion Township, a ban that applies on top of, not instead of, the article's general setback and permit rules for ordinary livestock in § 90-52.C. Subsection E(2) bars any person from keeping a poisonous reptile of any kind in the Township; unlike the setback exemptions written into Subsection C(2) for small numbers of animals or fowl, the reptile ban carries no small-quantity or grandfather exception, so even a single venomous snake or lizard kept as a pet is prohibited outright.

Both bans sit alongside the article's general requirement in Subsection B that no animal, fowl or reptile may be kept where doing so is otherwise prohibited by Township law, Zoning Code use restriction, or a regulation of the Building Inspector or Fire Marshal, meaning a resident can run afoul of the animal-keeping article even for a species the Health Code does not name outright. Because these prohibitions are written into the same animal-keeping section as the housing, sanitation and setback rules for ordinary pets and fowl, the Director of Building and Planning and the Health Officer, who investigate nuisances and complaints under §§ 90-50 and 90-52.D, are the officials who act on a piggery or venomous-reptile complaint.