Sauk County, WI Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Chapter 27 defines an 'exotic domestic animal' as any wild animal not native to Wisconsin that may have been domesticated, such as ferrets and primates, and separately defines a 'wild animal' as one of a wild nature normally found in the wild that is not domestic. Sec. 27.010(1) requires that containment be of 'proper size and strength' to prohibit escape, but sets no minimum dimensions and no list of banned species. Sec. 27.010(2) expressly leaves species-specific regulation, including any local ban on the sale or keeping of exotic animals, to each individual city, town or municipality within Sauk County, so a ban that exists inside Baraboo or Lake Delton has no bearing on the unincorporated county.

If county personnel must respond to contain, capture or humanely destroy an escaped exotic animal, Sec. 27.010(2) makes the owner responsible for those costs regardless of outcome. The provision was amended by Ord. No. 8-2025, effective August 19, 2025. Enforcement runs through the Sauk County Sheriff's Department and animal control officer under Sec. 27.012, and the Health Department's abatement authority under Sec. 27.011 can also reach an exotic animal that becomes a human health hazard.