St. Joseph County, IN Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 90.09 of the St. Joseph County Code is a single sentence of law with a second sentence about paperwork: no wild or exotic animal may be kept in the county without the required county, state and federal permits, and a county permit is issued for each animal. A household with two permitted animals holds two county permits. The ordinance applies only in the unincorporated parts of the county, because the definitions section defines the county as all unincorporated areas of St. Joseph County, Indiana.

The definitions in § 90.01 decide who is caught. A controlled/exotic animal is any animal not defined as a domestic animal in the chapter, with the exception of small, nonpoisonous reptiles, small cage birds and psittacine birds. It also includes any animal whose ownership is controlled by federal or state law or by county licensing rules. The list in the code runs to 24 entries: poisonous animals including insects, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and rear-fang snakes; the great apes and baboons; bears; nondomestic canines such as wolves, coyotes and wild dog hybrids; nondomestic felines; constrictor snakes including boa, python and anaconda; crocodilians; elephants; hippopotami; hyenas; Komodo dragons; monitor lizards over six feet long; old and new world monkeys; piranha; rhinoceroses; sharks; snow leopards; poisonous spiders and insects; walking catfish; fur-bearing animals raised for the fur trade; and gamecocks and other fighting birds. The list is expressly not exhaustive.

The real permit rule sits in § 90.60(A). The default is a ban on harboring, holding for sale, selling, keeping or maintaining any controlled animal. The animal control commission can issue a controlled animal permit when, in its judgment, a compelling reason for harboring the animal can be given. The applicant pays a nonrefundable application fee listed in the appendix schedule of fines and fees. Protected or endangered species, wild animals native to Indiana and any nondomestic animal each need the right state or federal permits plus a county license. Once a permit is granted, the owner must present an annual Indiana veterinary health certificate covering health, shelter, diet, environment and vaccinations.

Under § 90.63, applications go to the county animal control agency with the applicant's name, address, phone number, a description and number of animals, and the state and federal permit numbers. The agency can deny a permit to anyone convicted of animal cruelty, to anyone without proper facilities under § 90.02, to applicants who cannot show experience with that species, and to anyone with a record of inadequate care. Applicants must agree in writing to on-site inspections before issuance and during the term. Permits run one year unless state law sets another term, and the agency issues a durable tag stamped with the permit number and year for each controlled animal permit. Colleges, zoological parks holding valid permits and licensed circus or carnival operators are carved out of § 90.60(A).