Owning These Wild Animals In Louisiana Is Totally Illegal

If you've ever thought you might like to keep a polar bear as a pet, roaming around your backyard in search of another baby penguin for lunch, it's totally against the law in Louisiana.

Cheryl Ramalho

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Okay, all sarcasm aside, you really might have wondered before about which specific animals were illegal to keep as pets in Louisiana?

The list isn't terribly long, but Louisiana law is specific in this area defining why these animals are precluded from being considered as options in the pet department.

All these animals list a clear and present danger to humans and thus are not considered as options for ownership as pets for private owners. The rules are slightly different for fur bearing farms, zoos, circuses, animal exhibitions and veterinary clinics, but for the general public, they are certainly not an option.

According to brla.gov, there are certain exceptions when a private citizen might be given a "temporary permit" by the Director of the Animal Control and Rescue Center, while they keep injured or infant wild animals. But again, that is ONLY after they've been issued the temporary permit.

Going to the website lasc.libguides.com, we see the actual Louisiana law regarding these animals.

Sec. 18-7. - Wild or exotic animals as pets prohibited.
No person shall keep or permit to be kept any wild, or exotic animal as a pet.

And before you say it, I know that you know someone who's had a pet squirrel or maybe a deer, and while some of those animals can be kept WITH A SPECIAL PERMIT, they are among the animals highlighted as specifically forbidden by law.

Take a look at the following which is just some of the more well known "Wild Animals Illegal To Keep As Pets in Louisiana".

Wild Animals Illegal To Keep As Pets in Louisiana

While a person might consider it novel to keep lions, tigers or bears as a pet in Louisiana, they are among the list of wild animals forbidden to be kept by private citizens as pets. These are just some those animals Louisiana law completely forbids from ownership.

LOOK: Here are the pets banned in each state

Because the regulation of exotic animals is left to states, some organizations, including The Humane Society of the United States, advocate for federal, standardized legislation that would ban owning large cats, bears, primates, and large poisonous snakes as pets.

Read on to see which pets are banned in your home state, as well as across the nation.

Gallery Credit: Elena Kadvany

Source: Owning These Wild Animals In Louisiana Is Totally Illegal