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

14(B)(1) prohibits owning, possessing, keeping, harboring, breeding, or bringing into the county any 'potentially dangerous exotic animal' from a specific list: Panthera felids (lions, tigers, jaguars) and hybrids, lynx species and hybrids, non-domesticated canids (wolves, coyotes) and hybrids, great apes, old-world monkeys, polar and grizzly bears, elephants, rhinos, hippos, venomous reptiles, komodo dragons, water/crocodile monitors, crocodilians, and several python and anaconda species. Exemptions cover animal control/law enforcement, licensed veterinary hospitals temporarily treating one, and accredited research, medical, or educational institutions. 14(F). Registration costs a $5 one-time fee per animal.

Non-prohibited exotics are still regulated: owners must register, file a recapture plan, and carry $100,000 in liability insurance, and may not breed, exhibit, or sell one without a USDA Animal Welfare Act license. Secure enclosures must be escape-proof, use a double-gated safety entrance and a lockout/shift cage for cleaning, and stay locked when unattended. Owners must post a warning sign (max 1 ft by 2 ft, two square feet), may not show the animal at any public, commercial, or retail property except for licensed veterinary transport, and must let Animal Control inspect at reasonable times. Any escape must be reported to 911 immediately, and intentional release is a separate violation; the possessor pays all recapture costs either way.