Animals you cannot keep as pets in Florida

Bears are furry and cute, but of course, they can be dangerous. Bears are just one of the many animals that are not allowed to be owned as pets, and in the state of Florida, animals are categorized into classes.

Class I wildlife: These cannot be kept as personal pets, unless the animal was possessed on or before August 1, 1980, or on or before August 27, 2009 for cougars, panthers or cheetahs.

Class I species are:

• Baboons (genus Papaio)

• Bears (family Ursidae)

• Black caimans (Melanosuchus niger)

• Cape buffaloes (Syncerus caffer caffer)

• Cheetahs (Acinonyx jabatus)

• Chimpanzees (genus Pan)

• Cougars, panthers (Puma concolor)

• Crocodiles (except dwarf and Congo) (family Crocodylidae)

• Drills and mandrills (genus Mandrillus)

• Elephants (family Elephantidae)

• Gavials (family Gavialidae)

• Gelada baboons (genus Theropithecus)

• Gibbons and Siamangs (family Hylobatidae)

• Gorillas (genus Gorilla)

• Hippopotamuses (family Hippopotamidae)

• Hyenas and Aardwolf (family Hyaenidae)

• Jaguars (Panthera onca)

• Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis)

• Leopards (Panthera pardus)

• Lions (Panthera leo)

• Orangutans (genus Pongo)

• Rhinoceros (family Rhinocerotidae)

• Snow leopards (Panthera uncia)

• Tigers (Panthera tigris)

Class II wildlife: Permits are required for public exhibition, sale or personal possession of Class II wildlife. Substantial experience and specific cage requirements must be met.

Class II species are:

• African golden cats (Profelis aurata)

• African hunting dogs (Lycaon pictus)

• Alligators, caimans (family Alligatoridae)

• American badgers (Taxides taxus)

• Binturongs (Arctictis binturong)

• Bobcats (Lynx rufus)

• Caracals (Caracal caracal)

• Cassowary (Casuarius spp.)

• Clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa)

• Douc langurs (genus Pygathrix)

• Dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemus tetraspis)

• European and Canadian lynx (Lynx lynx)

• Fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrina)

• Giraffe and Okapi (family Giraffidae)

• Guenons (genus Ceropithecus)

• Guereza monkeys (genus Colobus)

• Honey badgers (Mellivora capensis)

• Howler monkeys (genus Alouatta)

• Idris (genus Indri)

• Indian dholes (Cuon alpinus)

• Langurs (genus Presbytis)

• Macaques and Celebes black apes (genus Macaca)

• Mangabeys (genus Cercocebus)

• Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis)

• Old World badgers (Meles meles)

• Ostrich (Struthio camelus)

• Patas monkeys (genus Erythrocebus)

• Proboscis monkeys (genus Nasalis)

• Sakis (genus Chiropotes and Pithecea)

• Servals (Leptailurus serval)

• Snub-nosed langurs (genus Phinopithecus)

• Tapir (family Tapiridae)

• Temminck's golden cats (Profelis temmincki)

• Uakaris (genus Cacajao)

• Vervet, Grivet or Green monkeys (genus Chlorocebus)

• Wild cattle; forest, woodland and aridland antelope; and similar species of *non-native hoofstock (family Bovidae)

• Wolverines (Gulo gulo)

• Wolves, coyotes, jackals (family Canidae)

Class III wildlife: A permit is required for personal possession, exhibition or sale of Class III wildlife. According to the FWC, there is no formal list of Class III species.

“Any non-domesticated wildlife species that do not appear on the list of Class I or Class II wildlife are considered Class III wildlife. This includes, but is not limited to, species such as parrots, finches, skunks, foxes, geckos, snakes, and frogs.”

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