Sampson County, NC Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Sampson County Code § 4-1-02.H treats wild and exotic animals as inherently dangerous no matter how long an owner has kept them, citing their vicious propensities, the gravity of harm from an attack and their unpredictability despite domestication attempts. Wild animals banned as pets include every member of the Canidae family (wolves, coyotes and their hybrids), the Ursidae family (bears) and wild cats such as cougars, mountain lions and panthers. Exotic animals banned under the same section include poisonous or constricting reptiles longer than ten feet, nonhuman primates heavier than twenty-five pounds, non-domestic felines including lions, tigers and leopards, and crocodilians such as alligators and crocodiles.

The ordinance expressly carves out wolf-dog cross breeds, foreign rodents like guinea pigs and chinchillas, most reptiles and amphibians not named above, Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, horses, cattle and deer, so those species stay legal to keep. Section 4-1-02.H(d) makes it unlawful to keep, harbor, breed, sell or trade any listed wild or exotic animal for any purpose, with one narrow exception: a person licensed by the state Wildlife Resources Commission as a wildlife rehabilitator. Sampson County Animal Control, run jointly by the Sheriff's Office, the Animal Shelter and the Health Department under § 4-1-01, enforces the ban and can seize a prohibited animal.

Because the section sits inside the county's general Animal Control ordinance, chapter-wide penalties under § 4-1-04.B/4-1-07 apply: a civil citation starting at $50 for a first offense, rising to $100 and $200 for repeat violations within twelve months, plus a Class 3 misdemeanor charge if a fine goes unpaid for thirty days.