Richland, WA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted statutes
- RCW 16.30.005 through .070
- Named example
- Bobcats (Lynx rufus) and hybrids
- Sale ban
- RMC § 7.03.025(C) bars sale too
- Penalty class
- Civil infraction under RMC § 7.03.360
- Enforcing agency
- Richland animal control / poundmaster
Summary
In the City of Richland, Washington, RMC § 7.03.355 adopts state law banning possession of potentially dangerous wild animals, including bobcats and any hybrid or cross-mix of them, as pets. The city incorporates RCW 16.30.005 through 16.30.070 directly into its animal control chapter and enforces them as part of Chapter 7.03.
§ 7.03.355. RCW sections adopted – Possession of potentially dangerous wild animals prohibited. The following sections of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) pertaining to prohibiting possession of potentially dangerous wild animals, including bobcats (Lynx rufus, member of the Class mammalian, Order carnivore, Family felide, or any hybrid or cross-mix thereof) as now or hereafter amended are hereby adopted by reference as part of this chapter in all respects as though such chapter were set forth in full: RCW 16.30.005, 16.30.010, 16.30.020, 16.30.030, 16.30.040, 16.30.050, 16.30.060, and 16.30.070.
Full Breakdown
RMC § 7.03.355 folds Washington's dangerous wild animal statute straight into Richland's own code: the city adopts RCW 16.30.005, 16.30.010, 16.30.020, 16.30.030, 16.30.040, 16.30.050, 16.30.060 and 16.30.070 by reference, as amended, "in all respects as though such chapter were set forth in full." The section names bobcats specifically, defined in the ordinance as Lynx rufus, a member of the Class mammalian, Order carnivore, Family felide, or any hybrid or cross-mix of one, as an example of the potentially dangerous wild animals the adopted statutes prohibit possessing.
Because the state statutes are written into RMC § 7.03.355 rather than merely cross-referenced for context, the city's own animal control officers and poundmaster, part of the Tri-Cities animal control authority Richland shares with Pasco and Kennewick, can investigate and cite violations locally rather than leaving enforcement solely to the state. RMC § 7.03.025(C) reinforces the ban by barring anyone from selling or harboring a dangerous wild animal prohibited under RMC § 7.03.355, even outside the direct possession context, closing off a sale-based workaround. The city's household pets definition in RMC § 7.03.010 is itself limited to dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons, so a bobcat or similar wild animal was never an ordinary permitted pet to begin with.
Violations of RMC § 7.03.355 are civil infractions under RMC § 7.03.360, since the section is not among the three sections excepted from that infraction schedule, RMC §§ 7.03.130, 7.03.170 and 7.03.320.
Violations & Fines
Possessing a potentially dangerous wild animal under the adopted RCW sections is a civil infraction under RMC § 7.03.360, since § 7.03.355 is not among the three sections excepted from that infraction schedule. Penalties escalate from up to $100 for a first violation to up to $400 for a fourth or later violation, plus costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I own a bobcat or similar wild animal in Richland?
Can someone sell me a prohibited wild animal even if I can't legally keep it?
What's the penalty for keeping a banned wild animal?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Richland
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