Wausau, WI Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

010(a) bans possessing or controlling any dangerous or wild animal, insect or reptile within the City, whether bred in the wild or in captivity, and lists specific groups as examples rather than an exhaustive catalog: venomous species except non-medically-dangerous rear-fanged snakes, bears, bison, camelids, canids such as wolves and coyotes (domesticated dogs excepted), cervids like white-tailed deer and elk, primates, felids such as lions and cougars (domesticated cats excepted), and reptiles over ten feet including boa constrictors, pythons, alligators and crocodiles. Caged birds, rodents, turtles, tortoises and fish bred in captivity fall outside the ban.

A Humane Officer or Law Enforcement Officer may impound any violating animal and seek legal process to enter private property to do it. Limited exceptions cover licensed veterinarians, itinerant carnivals or circuses, educational and research institutions, and animals in transit through the City for no more than 24 hours. 010(f) also lets the City Clerk grant a narrow, case-by-case annual permit waiving only the ten-foot reptile length ban, after an inspection and a showing the specific animal poses no danger to the public or neighborhood.