Loudoun County, VA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

02. Exceptions are limited to Loudoun County Public Schools animal programs, wildlife rehabilitators or exhibitors and veterinary clinics properly licensed or permitted by the federal government or the Commonwealth, scientific research facilities, Conservation Police or Animal Control Officers managing the animals in the line of duty, the Department temporarily housing them, or a wildlife sanctuary under the federal Lacey Act. 29(b), an Animal Control Officer or Other Officer may seize, capture or confiscate any wild or exotic animal, and one found running at large is automatically confiscated; the owner must pay the Department's actual costs of locating, capturing and housing it.

29(c) grandfathered residents who already possessed a wild or exotic animal as of the ordinance's adoption, Ordinance 23-06, passed March 7, 2023, letting them keep it for its natural life if they registered with the Department within 60 days, providing the animal's age, sex, color, species and count, its housing location, photographs, and the owner's name, proof of residency, address, phone and email; the animal must be housed in a species-appropriate manner meeting Virginia's "adequate shelter" standard, and an Animal Control Officer inspects the shelter after registration.