Caldwell, ID Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Rescue Permits (2026)

Section 10-12-03-3(7) bans possessing a long list of wild mammals, reptiles and pest insects within Caldwell, but subsection (7)(C) carves out a specific exception for people and organizations doing legitimate wildlife work. S. S. Department of Agriculture. The same exception in subsection (7)(B) extends to animals listed as threatened or endangered at the state or federal level, meaning a permitted rehabilitator handling a protected species is not automatically in violation just because the species also appears on Idaho's or the federal government's protected list. The exception is narrow: it does not legalize keeping a prohibited animal as a personal pet, and it requires the operator to actually hold a current, proper license or permit from one of the named agencies rather than simply claiming rehabilitation intent.

Because the underlying prohibition sits in the zoning code's animal regulations rather than a separate animal control chapter, a wildlife rehabilitation operation in Caldwell also has to satisfy whatever zoning district, setback and enclosure standards apply to the property under the rest of Section 10-12-03-3 and the accessory use standards in Section 10-12-03-1.