Nassau County, FL Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

The code defines 'wild animal' broadly as any living member of the animal kingdom, including animals born or raised in captivity, and then lists narrow carve-outs: domestic dogs (excluding wolf, coyote or jackal hybrids), domestic cats (excluding ocelot or margay hybrids), farm animals, rodents, and captive-bred common cage birds. Everything else, foxes, raccoons, big cats, primates, venomous or constrictor reptiles and similar exotics, falls under the ban. Section 6-55 makes it unlawful to own, possess or have custody of any wild or vicious animal for display, training or exhibition purposes even without charging a fee, and separately bars keeping or permitting the keeping of any wild or vicious animal as a pet.

The only institutional exemption runs to facilities accredited by the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA). A narrow rescue exception lets Animal Services release an infant wild or vicious animal deemed capable of survival back into the wild under a temporary permit, rather than treating it as a seized illegal pet, which covers orphaned wildlife found on private property.