Ohioans love theirs dogs and cats, but what about Buckeyes who want a pet with a ringed tail, black circles around its eyes and paws that look like hands?
While Ohio cracked down on exotic animal ownership after the 2011 Zanesville zoo massacre, there are still many unique pets Ohioans can have, including raccoons. But there are restrictions.
Here are the rules around owning exotic animals in Ohio.
Can I own a pet raccoon in Ohio?
Ohio residents may own a pet raccoon as long as they obtain a $25 permit from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and get the animal from a licensed dealer such as a breeder. These permits are available to those who solely want to keep a raccoon as a pet, not sell them.
Ohio law bans residents from keeping animals obtained in the wild. Any injured or orphaned animals should be taken to a permitted wildlife rehabilitator.
What exotic animals can I own in Ohio?
Besides raccoons, there are several other exotic animals you may own. Although, many of them require a permit, and you may never keep animals obtained from the wild.
Here’s a list of some of the allowed animals:
Deer, elk and some other cervids
Wild horses and wild donkeys
If you want a pet monkey in Ohio, you are limited to a few species: marmosets, capuchins, lemurs and squirrel monkeys. They all require a permit. You may also own a service spider monkey trained by a nonprofit.
What exotic animals aren’t allowed in Ohio?
In Ohio, you may own a dog, and you may own a raccoon, but you can’t own a raccoon dog. That animal is illegal in the U.S. because they are considered “injurious wildlife” under federal law. That list also includes brushtail possums.
Specifically in Ohio, most residents can’t own the following dangerous wild animals:
Gray wolves, excluding hybrids
Big cats including lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards and cheetahs
Cougars (aka pumas or mountain lions)
Servals, excluding hybrids with domestic cats commonly called savannah cats
Alligators and crocodiles
Caimans, excluding dwarf caimans
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Does Ohio allow raccoons as pets? What are the laws on exotic animals