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

Chapter 90's exotic-animal subchapter, adopted under G.S. §§ 153A-121, 153A-131, and 113-133.1, flatly bans keeping an INHERENTLY DANGEROUS EXOTIC ANIMAL anywhere in unincorporated Surry County. Section 90.131 defines the term by listing entire orders and families: among mammals, hippopotami, giraffes, camels, big cats such as lions and tigers (but not domestic cats), wolves and jackals (not domestic dogs), all bears, weasels and minks (not ferrets), hyenas, primates, elephants, anteaters, kangaroos, and most rodents other than guinea pigs, rats, mice, gerbils, hamsters, prairie dogs, and chinchillas; among reptiles, water and crocodile monitors, rock iguanas, boas over eight feet, several venomous snake families, gila monsters, and all crocodilians; and among arachnids, non-indigenous venomous spiders excluding tarantulas and all scorpions.

Section 90.132(A) makes owning, possessing, keeping, harboring, or bringing any of these animals into the county unlawful, though an owner who already had one before the chapter's effective date got one year to remove it from the county. Section 90.132(B) separately makes it unlawful to release or abandon such an animal to evade prosecution. Section 90.133 exempts veterinary clinics treating the animal, USDA-regulated and AZA-accredited institutions, law enforcement, licensed research or educational institutions, and transport through the county under 24 hours in secure confinement, though even an exempt possessor is liable for capture costs if the animal escapes.

The Animal Control Department enforces the ban under § 90.134 and may impound a violating animal under § 90.135, charging the possessor for capture, care, and up to 30 days of housing plus relocation, secured by a bond the possessor must post within 72 hours of impoundment.