Thornton, CO Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 6-36(c) makes it unlawful for any wild animal to be kept or maintained anywhere in the city. 'Wild animal' is defined broadly to include lions, tigers, cheetahs, panthers, cougars, mountain lions, ocelots, wildcats, bobcats, and other wild exotic cats; foxes, minks, skunks, and other fur-bearing wild animals; apes, monkeys, and other primates; bears; poisonous snakes and any nonpoisonous snake over six feet long; alligators or crocodiles; wolves or coyotes; and any hybrid between a wild and domestic animal. The definition specifically excludes domestic birds, aquatic animals, insects, and non-hazardous reptiles, and claimed domestication of a listed animal does not change its status under the ordinance.

Upon verbal or written notice from a police officer or animal control officer, the owner must immediately remove the animal from the city, and failure to do so subjects the animal to immediate impoundment. After impoundment the city may arrange safekeeping, and the animal may be sold, destroyed, or handled according to the owner's wishes, with the owner billed for impoundment and keeping costs. A wild animal found running loose in the city may be impounded or destroyed on the spot if it poses a threat to public health or safety, with no civil liability attaching to the city for the destruction.

The ban does not apply to animals on a farming operation, a licensed commercial enterprise, a veterinary hospital, an educational facility, or animals in their natural habitat, and it does not apply to a zoological garden, theatrical exhibit, or circus under the separate wild-or-vicious-animal display rule in Section 6-15.