Warwick, RI Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Sec. 4-13(a) provides that "no wild animal may be kept within the city limits, except under such conditions as shall be fixed by the animal control officer," making the officer the gatekeeper for any exotic or wild-animal pet ownership rather than a flat prohibition with no path to compliance. The same subsection allows wild animals to be kept for exhibition by circuses, zoos, and educational institutions, but only under regulations the animal control officer establishes for that purpose. If a wild animal kept under this section escapes and is found at large, the animal control officer or any city police officer is authorized to destroy it, a materially harsher outcome than the impoundment-and-reclamation process that applies to dogs and cats elsewhere in the chapter.

This section sits in the same article as the city's other animal-nuisance and impoundment rules, and general chapter violations are punishable under Sec. L. 1956, § 4-13-1, with each day of continued violation a separate offense. Because the standard is conditional rather than an absolute ban, a resident who wants to keep an exotic species must first obtain conditions or approval from the animal control officer; keeping one without meeting those conditions is a violation of this section, independent of any state or federal wildlife permitting requirements that may also apply.