Santa Cruz County, CA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Exotic and wild animals are tightly restricted in the unincorporated county. Santa Cruz County Code section 6.12.150 provides that no person shall possess, keep, or have care, custody, or control of any animal belonging to a 'wild species,' as defined in Section 2118 of the California Fish and Game Code, anywhere in the unincorporated area of the county. This ties the local prohibition directly to the state's restricted-species list. Under California Fish and Game Code 2118, it is unlawful to import, transport, or possess listed wild animals alive except under a revocable, nontransferable permit, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife does not issue those permits to keep restricted animals as pets - they are reserved for limited purposes such as research, public exhibition, education, or shelter. As a result, animals commonly marketed as 'exotic pets' - including ferrets, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, certain monkeys, and others on the restricted list - are not legal to keep as pets in California, and the County Code mirrors that ban locally. The County Animal Shelter's summary likewise states that no exotic (zoo-type) animals are permitted in single-family or multiple-residential zones. Note that ordinary domesticated pets (dogs, cats, common caged birds, rabbits, etc.) are not 'wild species' and are governed by the regular animal-keeping rules, not this prohibition.