United States

Summary: Carrollton, Texas municipal code prohibited the keeping of more than three pets on property within the city limits. Yvette Garza, a member of an animal rescue organization, challenged the determination that she had violated the city code by keeping more than three dogs. She argued that the code was unconstitutionally vague and that her actions were necessary. The court held that although the term "keep" was not defined in the statute, a person of ordinary intelligence would understand the law because "keep" has a common sense meaning. Garza also failed to produce evidence proving when the scheduled euthanasia of the dogs was going to occur, she therefore failed to establish the elements of her necessity defense.

Summary: In 2014, Virginia amended its Protective Order laws to grant petitioners possession of any “companion animal," so long as the petitioner is considered the owner. Companion animals include any family pets, such as dogs, cats, hamsters, etc., but do not include farm animals. To be considered an owner, a petitioner must either have a property interest in the animal, keep or house the animal, have the animal in their care, or have acted as a custodian of the animal. This new provision is now included in Virginia's Emergency Protective Orders, Preliminary Protective Orders, and Protective Orders.

Summary: First, this paper details the various policy concerns that private exotic animal ownership presents to the public, the animals, and the environment. Next, this paper briefly lays out the few federal laws that apply and the effects they have on private exotic animal ownership. State laws are then analyzed under four regulatory schemes: bans on private wildlife possession, partial bans on certain wild or exotic animals, a licensing scheme for owning exotic or wild animals, and states with miscellaneous or no regulations, including an analysis of states that ban or regulate hybrids of domestic and exotic or wild animals. Then, a few local regulations are discussed, followed by the way these laws and regulations are enforced. Finally, trends over the last decade are discussed along with conclusions and possible recommendations for comprehensive protection.