Arizona Exotic Animal Laws consist of 5 laws or regulations that determine how exotic animals are kept legally in the State of Arizona. These laws dictate what animals are considered exotic and what is necessary for the owner of the animal to remain in compliance with these exotic animal laws. Basically what this boils down to is that in order for anyone to possess an animal on the list located on these laws, they must have a permit or license for that particular animal. In some cases, they may be required to register the exotic animal with the proper authorities as well.
Arizona Exotic Animal Laws pertain to restrictive wildlife. Restrictive wildlife, as determined by these laws, are American opossums, moles and shrews, bats, gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, armadillos, anteaters, sloths, rabbits, hares, pikas, rodents, prairie dogs, marmots, chipmunks, squirrels, pocket gophers, beavers, porcupines, nutrias, coypus, and hutias. All species of the order Carnivora are included in this list except domestic dogs, cats and ferrets. Even-toed ungulates, including peccaries, moose, white-tailed deer, mule deer, red deer, wapiti, pronghorn are included as well. Animals that belong to the family Bovidae are also on this list, such as sheep, goats, gazelle, antelope, duiker, oxen, bison, buffalo and cattle, with the exception of water buffalo, American bison, domesticated goats, sheep and cattle.
Birds are also included in the restrictive live wildlife list. These are pheasants, grouse, turkeys and quail and among these are Chukar, California or valley quail, Gamble’s quail, scaled quail, northern bobwhite in certain areas, Montezuma or Mearn’s quail, blue grouse, ringneck and whitewing pheasants. Thick-billed parrots are also included in this list.
Reptiles included in this list are crocodiles, gavials, alligators, caimans, tortoises including gopher tortoises and the desert tortoises, turtles including snapping turtles as well as Mexican bearded lizard, Gila monster, cobras, coral snakes, Australian elapids, mambas, kraits, sea snakes, all vipors, asps, boomslang, bird snake, twig snake, keelbacks, clawed frogs and toads.
Fish included in this list are American grayling, bass, bighead carp, bony tongue, bowfin, catfish, crucian carp, electric catfish, electric eel, European white, freshwater drum, freshwater stingray, gars, goldeye, herring, Indian carp, lampreys, mooneyes, Nile perch, pike,piranha, shad, all sharks, silver carp, snakehead, South American parasitic catfish, sunfish, tetras, tiger fish, trout, white amur, walking catfish, walleye, white perch, yellow perch, and rudd.
Crustaceans included in this list are Asiatic mitten crab and Australian crayfish and Mollusks included are Zebra mussel.
Arizona Exotic Animal Laws state that any person possessing any of the wildlife mentioned previously must have a permit to legally possess said animal. Persons who are issued these permits are anyone who moving into the state of Arizona who legally possess any restrictive live wildlife, who intend to use the restrictive live wildlife for educational purposes such as a display, who wish to use them for science advancement and persons who have fostered one of these exotic animals that cannot be returned to its native habitat. Anyone already living in Arizona is prohibited from possessing any restricted live wildlife unless a permit is granted. None of these animals can be possessed simply as “pets”.
