Warren, MI Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Rescue Permits (2026)

Section 7-80 flatly prohibits confining a 'wild animal', defined at § 7-5 as any animal now or historically found in the wild within the United States, including deer, skunk, opossum, raccoon, mink, armadillo, coyote, squirrel, fox and wolf, on any premises in any zoning district in the city. There are only two carve-outs. The first covers organizations and entities accredited by the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AZA), essentially zoos and similar institutions. The second, which functions as Warren's wildlife-rescue authorization, applies to a person or organization holding a possession permit issued by the state department of natural resources as defined in the Wildlife Conservation Order, in good standing, and only for temporary noncommercial shelter and/or treatment for an injured or abandoned wild animal until the animal can feasibly be released from captivity.

There is no separate city-issued wildlife rehabilitation permit; Warren simply defers to, and requires proof of, that state DNR authorization before it will treat possession of an injured or orphaned wild animal as lawful, and the exception ends once the animal can be released. Chapter 7's general enforcement provision, § 7-3, makes unauthorized possession a misdemeanor unless the state permit is current and the sheltering stays temporary and noncommercial.