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

Section 4-28 of the Onslow County Code of Ordinances declares that all wildlife animals in the county fall under the authority of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and it makes it unlawful for anyone to possess a wildlife animal without the proper NCWRC or USFWS license, permit, or authorization. That default prohibition effectively bars keeping native wild animals, such as raccoons, foxes, opossums, birds of prey, or reptiles taken from the wild, as unlicensed household pets anywhere in the unincorporated county.

The section carves out three narrow exceptions. First, any member of the public may seek immediate medical help for a wounded or orphaned wild animal and hold it temporarily, for 24 hours or less, while arranging that care. Second, licensed veterinarians may hold wildlife temporarily to provide emergency stabilization care. Third, wildlife rehabilitators may keep wildlife only so long as they maintain current, valid state or federal permits authorizing rehabilitation. The chapter's definitions section defines "wildlife/fowl" as any animal or fowl indigenous to North Carolina that is not a domestic animal, including any hybrid that is part wild animal.

Onslow County Animal Services enforces the general prohibition, and violations fall under the chapter's general enforcement provision in section 4-29, since section 4-28 states no separate penalty of its own.