New Brunswick, NJ Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)
Key Facts
- Registered with
- Registrar of vital statistics of the city
- Registration fee
- None
- Covered animals
- Non-game and/or exotic animals defined in N.J.A.C. 7:25-4 et seq.
- Information required
- Animal type, owner and keeper, housing address
- Penalty
- $25.00 to $1,000.00 per offense
- Governing section
- § 6.12.030
Summary
In the City of New Brunswick, New Jersey, anyone who owns, keeps or harbors a non-game or exotic animal, as defined in N.J.A.C. 7:25-4, must register it with the city's registrar of vital statistics. The registration names the animal type, the owner and keeper, and the housing address. No registration fee is charged.
The city council finds and determines: ... A.It is an objective of this chapter to protect the public from non-game and exotic wildlife animal nuisances and threats to public health, safety and welfare.B.It has been determined that these objectives can be fostered by assuring that non-game and exotic wildlife animal owners meet responsibilities for the control of these types of animals. ... A.Any person who owns, keeps or harbors a non-game and/or exotic animal as defined in N.J.A.C. 7:25-4 et seq. shall register the animal with the registrar of vital statistics of the city specifically stating the type of animal, the owner and keeper, and the address within the city where the animal is housed.B.There is no registration fee collected by the registrar. ... Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person who violates or who fails, or refuses to comply with this chapter, is liable to a penalty of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00), nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the city.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 6.12 of the New Brunswick Municipal Code does not ban exotic animals. It regulates them through a registration requirement adopted by the City Council. In § 6.12.020 the council states its purpose: to protect the public from non-game and exotic wildlife animal nuisances and threats to public health, safety and welfare. It then finds that this goal is best served by assuring that the owners of these animals meet their responsibilities for the control of these types of animals.
The operative rule is § 6.12.030(A). Any person who owns, keeps or harbors a non-game and/or exotic animal must register the animal with the registrar of vital statistics of the City of New Brunswick. The registration has to state the type of animal, the owner and keeper, and the address within the city where the animal is housed. Because the text names three roles, owning, keeping and harboring, a person who shelters someone else's animal is covered along with the person who bought it. The city does not write its own species list. It borrows the definition of non-game and exotic animals from the state code at N.J.A.C. 7:25-4 et seq., so that citation decides whether a particular animal counts.
Subsection (B) settles the cost: the registrar collects no registration fee. Registration carries no charge, so the only consequence attaches to skipping it.
Penalties come from § 6.12.040. Except as otherwise provided in the chapter, a person who violates the chapter, or who fails or refuses to comply with it, is liable to a penalty of not less than $25.00 and not more than $1,000.00 for each offense, recovered by and in the name of the city.
This chapter is separate from the zoning rule on livestock. Section 17.03.220 keeps domesticated animals, defined to include horses, goats, sheep, swine, cattle, poultry, fowl and fur-bearing animals, off residential lots, and it exempts small household pets such as dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, hamsters, parrots, parakeets and canaries. That zoning section is not part of the registration rule quoted here.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Chapter 6.12, including failing to register a non-game or exotic animal, carries a penalty of not less than $25.00 and not more than $1,000.00 for each offense under § 6.12.040. The penalty is recovered by and in the name of the City of New Brunswick. The section prints one range for the whole chapter and does not set a separate schedule for first, second or repeat offenses, so it leaves the amount within that range open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I pay a fee to register an exotic animal in New Brunswick?
What information does the registration need to include?
Who has to register, only the owner?
How does New Brunswick decide which animals count as exotic?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Brunswick
Compare New Brunswick to another location·View the New Jersey animal ordinances overview
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Exotic Pets in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle exotic pets.