Walton County, FL Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 14-10(b) of Chapter 14, Parks and Recreation, adopted by Ordinance No. 2023-20 and amended by Ordinance No. 2024-25 on August 27, 2024, prohibits bringing non-domesticated or exotic animals, including cattle, mules, swine, sheep, goats, fowl or reptiles, onto Walton County park property, unless the animal is brought in connection with a project sponsored by a county department or the person first obtains a permit from the Parks and Recreation director. The same section, in subsection (a), separately addresses domesticated animals in parks: they are prohibited except for dogs the Board of County Commissioners allows by resolution, and service animals are always exempt; any permitted animal must stay leashed within six feet of its handler, wear a current rabies tag, and have its waste picked up by its owner.

This is a park-access rule, not a keeping ordinance: the Walton County Code does not contain a chapter restricting what non-domesticated or dangerous wild animals a resident may keep on private property. Ownership of captive wildlife such as venomous reptiles, large constrictors or Class I/II wildlife in Florida is instead licensed and inspected by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission under its captive wildlife rules, which apply the same way in unincorporated Walton County as anywhere else in the state; the county code's only textual reference to exotic or non-domesticated animals is this park-entry restriction, enforced by sheriff's deputies, code enforcement officers and designated park officials under Section 14-22.