Prescott Valley, AZ Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 6-02-020(A) is a ban with a licensing exception. No person can keep, harbor or maintain any wildlife or exotic animals within the corporate limits of the Town, except those animals defined in Title 3, Chapter 16, Arizona Revised Statutes, unless the person has received a special license from a duly-authorized employee of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission. Section 6-01-010(K) defines an exotic animal as wildlife or offspring of wildlife that is not native to North America. Wildlife in subsection Z means all wild mammals, wild birds and their nests or eggs, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans and fish, including eggs or spawn.

A lawful possessor must at all times provide a proper enclosure and post the premises with a clearly visible warning sign that wildlife or exotic animals are on the property, plus a conspicuously posted sign with a warning symbol that informs children (Section 6-02-020(B)). A proper enclosure is secure indoor confinement or an enclosed and locked pen or structure that children cannot reach, with secure sides and a secure top.

Subsection C requires immediate confiscation by an Animal Control Officer, and a class 1 misdemeanor charge for the owner, if the owner fails to present sufficient evidence of a valid special license from the Arizona Game and Fish Commission or of a valid exemption, if the animal is not in the proper enclosure, or if it is outside the enclosure and not under the physical restraint of a responsible person.

If wildlife or an exotic animal aggressively attacks and causes severe injury or death to a human, the owner is charged with a class 1 misdemeanor, the animal is confiscated and quarantined, and the Animal Control Officer immediately notifies the Director of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission and disposes of the animal on the Director's written direction. Severe injury means broken bones or lacerations requiring multiple sutures or cosmetic surgery.

Subsection E exempts accredited zoo and aquarium institutions, nonprofit animal protection organizations that house animals at the written request of the Animal Control Officer, animal control or law enforcement agencies, licensed veterinary hospitals providing care, and any lawfully operated circus or rodeo. Releasing such an animal is unlawful, and an exhibition or parade within the Town requires a permit from the Chief of Police.