Taylor, MI Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Taylor Code Sec. 6-1 defines 'wild or exotic animal' as any animal not domesticated and incapable by its nature of being domesticated, normally found in the wild, and lists dozens of examples from alligators, badgers, bears, beavers, bobcats and cougars through raccoons, skunks, tigers, weasels, wolverines and wolves, plus any wild hybrid or the offspring of an animal bred to a wild animal, and it folds in poisonous, predatory and endangered species as well. Sec. 6-2(a) then makes the prohibition operative: no wild or exotic animals, fowl, farm animals or livestock are permitted in a kennel, household or otherwise anywhere in the city.

That single sentence closes off exotic pet ownership city-wide, whether the animal is confined to a cage, a fenced yard or a private kennel operation. Sec. 6-3 treats any keeping of an animal contrary to Chapter 6 as a nuisance per se, and Sec. 6-4 assigns enforcement jointly to the director of the department of public works, the animal control officer and the Taylor Police Department; any of the three can act on a complaint. Sec. 6-1 separately defines 'domestic animal' to include dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, parakeets, canaries, non-breeding rabbits, small non-venomous reptiles under three feet and similar traditional household pets, drawing the line the ordinance actually enforces: if an animal falls outside that domestic list and inside the wild-or-exotic list, it cannot be kept in Taylor regardless of how it was acquired or how long it has been owned.