Legal Pets in Ky

(d) A legal source outside the state if the applicant presents a valid transportation permit. A bump or two? In Kentucky, you can own both. These ungulates, popular in the Middle East, are no strangers to the United States — they once served in the U.S. Army`s Camel Corps. Camels are usually sweet and eat from your hand. You can also milk a camel, which is a rare commodity, but also sell illegally in the United States. Well-behaved females fetch a higher price, but it may be better to start with a cheaper calf, although you will have to wait a while before you can mount it to work. The Department does not license the possession (i.e., possession in Kentucky) of exotic animals; However, for the importation or transport of exotic wildlife from abroad, a wildlife transport permit is required. Exotic wildlife that is harmful to the environment and inherently dangerous is prohibited unless you are exempt. and certain species regularly kept as livestock or domestic animals are exempt from transport permits. (a) the lawful purchase or transfer of captive-bred animals from the holder of a commercial captive wildlife licence; I mean, it`s one thing to invite your dog to sleep in bed with you, but it`s another to do the same with an American bison.

Yes, you can legally own one in Kentucky, but Alberta bison growers don`t recommend it: And that`s okay. Monkeys are far too unpredictable to be kept as pets, and many of them are too dangerous to live in your home. And this is a contentious point; Kentucky banned monkey homeownership a few years ago. But if you want an exotic animal, you have options, although many of them are large in size. These carnivorous whiskers are native to North America and are classified as an invasive species in many areas. Mink are aggressive and brave and for this reason do not make very good pets. Most are domesticated because of their shiny fur. There are special rules for owning mink in Kentucky: adults must weigh more than 1.15 kilograms or the fur must be distinguished from wild mink. Domestically tended mink tend to be much larger than their wild counterparts and breeders have bred a range of color patterns, while wild mink are generally black. Be careful, they have glands like skunks. Ostrich possession is legal in Kentucky according to special definitions.

Ostriches are the largest and heaviest bird in the world and have the largest eyes of any land animal, twice the size of their brains. You can run up to 40 miles per hour and a kick could be fatal. Ostriches also eat everything in sight, but have a very advanced immune system. A special definition in Kentucky law classifies “ratites” as members of a bird family that do not have a keel and cannot fly. They must be bred for the production of feathers, meat, skins, animal by-products and breeding animals. They should be considered as agricultural products for the purposes of financial transactions. They must be treated like cattle and cannot be hunted. However, their eggs make quite an omelet. Before the change, residents could apply for licenses to own exotic animals as pets. Kentucky`s amendment now bans the possession of dangerous animals such as elephants, lions, bears, tigers, rhinos, leopards and some primates. People who owned exotic animals before the change were allowed to keep them as pets, but were not allowed to breed them or acquire new ones.

The ban does not apply to circuses or zoos. Speaking of large animals, I happen to KNOW that alpacas and llamas – which are closely related to each other – are good pets; I have known people who owned them. And one of our favorite things to do when I lived and went to school in Bowling Green was to go to one of the parts of town where a family kept llamas and watch them from the street. We never got in, but I confess that we wanted to. And they had a lot of them. Local ordinances can be stricter than state regulations, and some counties and cities prohibit additional species or restrict wildlife ownership beyond the state level. It is an individual`s individual responsibility to ensure compliance with all local regulations. Always make sure that a species you want to own is legal at all levels of government. They are also very territorial and aggressive animals.

Domestic ostriches are slightly smaller and more docile, but their temperament and relationship with humans do not make them very compatible as pets. IFAW announced on July 15, 2015 that Kentucky had passed an amendment that would make certain types of exotic animals illegal. The initiative is supported by IFAW and other animal welfare groups. In most cases, it is illegal to possess or transport an exotic animal unless you have given specific permits – usually to zoos or academic institutions – but there is a very specific list of unlicensed animals that do not require a permit to import, transport or possess. In the United States alone, an estimated 10,000 tigers are kept as pets, more than twice as many as in the wild worldwide. There is no federal law prohibiting the possession of a tiger or lion as a pet. IFAW works state-to-state to strengthen exotic pet ownership laws. Since 1990, tigers have killed 11 people and maimed 60 others. “Exotic pet ownership is out of control in the United States, and stricter laws and regulations – like the one Kentucky just passed – are the first step in addressing this,” said Sarah Wry, IFAW Program Manager.