Yolo County, CA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

304(c), the county's land-use table for Agricultural Commercial and Rural Recreational Uses, governs which activities are allowed by right, by Site Plan Review, or by Use Permit across the five agricultural zones: A-N (Agricultural Intensive), A-X (Agricultural Extensive), A-C, A-I, and A-R (Agricultural Residential). Footnote (2) to that table addresses wild animals directly: keeping, caring for, or sheltering one requires a Minor Use Permit whenever the animal already needs a permit from the State Department of Fish and Wildlife under the Fish and Game Code.

That reaches state-regulated species; a resident cannot build an enclosure and start keeping one without the county's Planning Division signing off through the Minor Use Permit process first. The same table draws a sharp line around ordinary livestock and pets: footnote (1) makes clear that farm animals kept solely for pasturing, grazing, or breeding are allowed by right and unregulated, and that 4-H, FFA, and other youth animal-farming projects are exempt from the table's permit requirements entirely. A Minor Use Permit is reviewed administratively by the Planning Division rather than the Planning Commission, but unlike a ministerial permit it involves a discretionary finding, so neighbors can raise compatibility concerns during review.

Because the requirement is written into the agricultural use table, it applies only to land zoned A-N, A-X, A-C, A-I, or A-R; a wild animal kept in a residential zone instead falls under the county's separate animal-keeping standards in Sec. 506(j), which bar wild, dangerous, exotic, or prohibited species outside the RR-5 zone.