Are exotic pets legal in Toronto?

April 11, 2015

Are exotic pets legal in Toronto?

Some of you animal loving Torontonians might be wondering whether or not certain exotic animals are legal in Toronto and how exactly you can get your hands on certain animals.  Well, we here at PetsBookToday can help you with the first part of that, but the more mischievous details will have to left up to you and your own research abilities.  Often, the means by which many of these exotic animals are brought in to the country and transported between jurisdictions is kind of shady and not always the most ethical, so we’re going to leave those kind of specifics out of this post. 

So, what is considered exotic?

You might be wondering what actually constitutes an exotic animal in Toronto, and actually the definition is quite generalized and basic.  Quite simply, exotic animals (pets) are any animal that does not naturally originate in your country.  So, even some more common pets like degus, chinchillas or hedgehogs are considered exotic animals; and these would all make perfectly legal and wonderful pets.

Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY!

Okay, so exotic pets are actually a lot more common than you would probably expect as outlined above, but what about those that are much less common and far more controversial, like lions, tigers and bears?

Don’t worry, these animals actually aren’t legal as pets in Toronto.   It’s sort of a rule of omission when it comes to determining what is and isn’t legal by way of exotic pets, and since Felidae (giant cats) and Ursidae (bears) are actually listed under the prohibited mammals section of the Toronto municipalities website, they are by all technicalities illegal; although, people have been known to try and break these rules.  People who don’t abide by these legalities certainly end up paying for it, so we wouldn’t recommend trying to sneak around these legalities and besides anyone who is transporting and selling these animals is sure to be doing so in a way that is incredibly unethical.

The Municipal Dealings of Exotic Animals

Of course most of the expected animals like the larger members of the Felidae family, Ursidae (bears) and then others like Primates and Marsupials are wholly illegal in Toronto to house as pets.  Although, there are certain ways in which people obtain these animals through zoo licenses and some of these legalities do not hold weight in other parts of Ontario and Canada.  In fact, laws surrounding the keeping of various exotic animals are not dealt with at a Provincial level, but rather these responsibilities are with the municipalities; such as Toronto’s Municipal Code – Chapter 349.

Some animals that you might not expect to be on the prohibited animals list include hares, minks and hybrid wolf-dogs; in fact, when out walking my pooch I’ve met a hybrid wolf-dog before and while they’re perfectly gorgeous, it appears as though that individual was breaking the law and may not have been aware of it!

You can check out the full list of illegal animals on Toronto’s municipal website. But, in general – just be smart about getting a pet all around, make sure it’s legal of course, but also make sure you have the means to take care of it properly and that you’re not unknowingly contributing to any unethical practices in the collection and transport of unique animals.

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Author: Aileen Schultz

Photo Credit: Mr. Hedgehog via photopin (license)