Peoria, IL Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Sec. 4-3(a) prohibits any person from keeping, harboring, possessing, or claiming a right of property in a wild animal, with exceptions only for legally licensed zoos, veterinary hospitals, animal shelters, and corporations, plus individuals fostering or training documented service animals for people with disabilities. Sec. 4-3(b) then carves out a licensable category: non-domestic members of the cat family Felidae, all bears (Ursidae), all hyenas (Hyaenidae), non-domestic dog-family members (Canidae), elephants (Elephantidae), any non-human primate, or hybrids of these, none of which may be kept without an annual $25 license issued under Sec.

4-32, applied for at least 30 days before the animal arrives in the city. Sec. 4-32 layers on additional conditions for any such licensed animal: the keeper must supply current USDA permits and a performance itinerary if the animal is exhibited, bar public contact with the specific species listed in Sec. 4-3(b), carry $1,000,000 in liability insurance naming the city as an additional insured, and promptly report any escape to police and the animal shelter. Keeping a listed wild animal without the license is a violation carrying a fine of not less than $500 upon conviction.

Sec. 4-3(c) gives the animal shelter manager or delegate authority to impound any animal kept in violation, following the same procedures used for dangerous-animal impoundment under Sec. 4-23, and the owner can only redeem it after the shelter verifies proper licensing and confirms the owner can meet the section's requirements going forward.