Where is the Asian small-clawed otter legal?

The department may not issue a permit for the capture, possession, import, or export of any game animal, including a hybrid of a game animal and a species listed in (b) of this section, for use as a pet

Not on the clean list and no pet permit is available under subsection (c). CITES Appendix I since 2019 is a separate bar on commercial international trade.

How this rule works: The strictest structure in the country and the clearest. Subsection (a) bars possessing live game without a permit, (b) is a short clean list of species needing no permit, and (c) then removes the escape hatch: the department may not issue a permit for any game animal for use as a pet. So an animal missing from the clean list cannot be kept, permit or not.

Species not listed in Addenda R1.01, R1.02, or R1.03 are prohibited until evaluated.

No otter is on any of the three lists, and the closing clause makes an unlisted species prohibited until the Commission evaluates it. The only mustelids named anywhere are the domestic ferret, cleared on R1.01, and the tayra on R1.02. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately.

How this rule works: Species exempt from Codes 09.02 (possession of non-native wildlife restricted), 09.07 (breeder/dealer permit) and 09.10 (importation permit), named individually with binomials. Read it out of the codebook rather than the compiled PDF AGFC posted at agfc.com in 2022, which is the version that circulates as "the Arkansas list" and is two revisions behind: it lacks the rosy boa and the whole Anoline Lizards entry with its Arkansas-native exception. The compiled PDF says so itself, that the codebook lists "take precedence".

Family Mustelidae-All species (D), except: a. Ambloynx cinerea (Oriental small-clawed otter)-(W)

The rule names this otter, under an old genus spelling, and the exception only moves it from the detrimental category to the welfare category. It is still restricted, and no California permit type covers pet keeping. Separately, the species has been on CITES Appendix I since 2019, which bars commercial international trade.

How this rule works: § 671(b) defines (D) detrimental and (W) welfare. § 671.1(a) lists permit types; none covers pet keeping. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession in California before January 1992.

Any species of wildlife that is not specifically listed in Chapter W-11 as Domestic or Unregulated or in Chapter W-07 as Appendix A or Appendix B, the species is regulated wildlife and a CPW license is required. CPW will not issue a license for private possession (eg pet) of regulated wildlife.

CPW's mammal list rules on Aonyx cinereus by name as regulated wildlife, not on the domestic or unregulated list. CITES Appendix I since 2019 bars commercial international trade separately. Chapter W-11 says noncommercial (pet) possession of regulated mammals has been prohibited since 1983, and its wildlife park licenses are commercial or closed to new entrants.

How this rule works: CPW's own page, with four downloadable lists, herpetofauna, mammals, birds, and fish and marine animals, each row giving a species and the regulation that decides it: Domestic, Unregulated, Appendix A or B, Appendix C, Regulated or Prohibited. Updated 1 May 2026. Not exhaustive, and CPW takes questions on unlisted species by email. This is the agency applying its own rule, which matters most where Appendix A turns on whether a species is native only to the tropics.

a person shall not import into the District, possess, display, offer for sale, trade, barter, exchange, or adoption, or give as a household pet, any living member of the animal kingdom, including those born or raised in captivity, except the following

None of the seven categories covers an otter. Ferrets are named in (F), and that category does not stretch to other mustelids. CITES Appendix I since 2019 is a separate bar on commercial international trade.

How this rule works: A closed list and one of the shortest in the country. Subsection (j)(1) bars importing, possessing, displaying, selling, trading or giving as a household pet "any living member of the animal kingdom, including those born or raised in captivity", except seven categories: domestic dogs, domestic cats, domesticated rodents and rabbits, captive-bred common cage birds, non-venomous snakes and fish and turtles, ferrets, and racing pigeons. No lizard, no amphibian and no invertebrate fits any of them. Read from the D.C. Code rather than from a reproduction: the seven categories and their exact wording are what every cell in this jurisdiction turns on.

Order Carnivora (weasels, ferrets, cats, bears, wolves, etc.) - All species, except that European ferret (Mustela putorius furo) may be sold, purchased, exhibited, or held as a pet without a license or permit

An otter is a mustelid and so a carnivore, and the ferret is the only mustelid the rule frees. The license under § 27-5-4(b)(1) goes only to dealers and exhibitors. The species has also been on CITES Appendix I since 2019, which bars commercial international trade.

How this rule works: Georgia sorts wild animals into three tiers and none of them is a pet tier. Rule .03 prohibits outright, and its only pet-relevant entry is the monk parakeet. Rule .04 is inherently dangerous animals needing a license AND liability insurance: all Felidae, four canid genera, bears, hyenas, kangaroos, great apes, crocodilians, the venomous snake families and a short list of fish and scorpions. Rule .05 requires a license, and it works by taxonomic order rather than by species, which is why it is so wide: all Carnivora, all hedgehogs, all lagomorphs, all marsupials, all primates, and all rodents except six named genera. The thing to read before any of it is O.C.G.A. § 27-5-4(b)(1), because it says who a license is issued to: the wild animal trade and public exhibitors, plus no-cost permits for science, education, a capuchin monkey for a person with a permanent disability, and grass carp for a pond owner. No pet. So an animal on .04 or .05 is not a permit animal for a keeper, it is a no, and the rule proves it by writing express "may be held as a pet without a license" exceptions for exactly two animals, the European ferret and the sugar glider.

Aonyx cinerea otter, Asian small-clawed

Named on Part A by the binomial in use when the list was drawn. The only otter on Part B, the private and commercial list, is the Malayan smooth-coated otter, Lutra perspicillata, so this species stays research and exhibition only. CITES Appendix I since 2019 is a separate bar on commercial international trade.

How this rule works: Part A animals may be brought in by a university or a licensed exhibitor under permit and may not be kept as pets. Part B, published separately as AR-71RB, is the private and commercial use list and was checked as well: it runs to hoofed stock, giraffes, otters, seals, macropods and three named parrots, and contains none of the animals in this dataset.

Family Mustelidae All Species in Family Mustelidae (Badgers, Otters, Weasels, and Relatives)

Otters are named in the Category 1 family entry, and § 7.06(3)(A)(1)(b) separately puts any CITES Appendix I species in Category 1, which this otter has been since 2019. Permits go only to exhibitors, rehabilitators and research facilities.

How this rule works: Maine is a closed-list state and § 7.06(4) is the sentence that makes it one: "A person may not possess any species that has not been categorized", and an uncategorized species "will not be eligible for a permit under this chapter". The four categories are the Unrestricted List, the Prohibited list at § 7.18(1), and Restricted Categories 1 and 2. Category 1 permits go only to exhibitors, rehabilitators, USDA-registered laboratories and accredited research facilities, so it is not a pet tier; Category 2 is open to "an individual with demonstrated experience". § 7.05 and § 7.06(5) are the route for getting an unlisted species classified.

A person may not import into the state, possess, or sell any exotic wildlife unless: (a) the importation, possession, or sale of the exotic wildlife is allowed by law or commission rule

Not native, so exotic wildlife, and no otter appears on any of the three lists. Under Montana's white list that means no rule allows it. CITES Appendix I since 2019 is a separate bar on commercial international trade.

How this rule works: Montana runs a white list, which is unusual. § 87-5-705(1) says a person may not import, possess or sell any exotic wildlife unless it is allowed by law or commission rule, so an animal that appears on none of the three lists is not permitted rather than unregulated. § 87-5-706 is the statutory noncontrolled list and § 87-5-702 puts rodents, cats, dogs and Eurasian ferrets outside the scheme as domestic animals.

001.08A Importation: the following wildlife may be imported:

The only otter Nebraska names is its native river otter, on the Captive Wildlife Permit list. This Asian otter is not on the closed import list, so it cannot lawfully be brought in except to an accredited or public zoo under § 001.08A1. CITES Appendix I since 2019 bars commercial international trade.

How this rule works: Nebraska renumbered its Game and Parks regulations: what used to be 163 NAC ch. 4 is now Title 166, and captive wildlife has its own chapter 8 rather than a subsection. Anything on this map citing "163 NAC ch. 4, § 008" is pointing at a title that is now called ADMINISTRATION. Chapter 8 has three operative parts. § 001.01B bars retaining any WILD BIRD or WILD MAMMAL in captivity except a listed set of Nebraska natives under a Captive Wildlife Permit. § 001.07A prohibits six species outright, none of them a pet: the Asian raccoon dog, white-tailed and mule deer, red deer, wild pigs and bighorn or thinhorn sheep. And § 001.08A is a closed importation list, which is what actually answers most exotic mammals here, because they are not wild mammals and so the permit scheme never reaches them. Chapter 10 does the same job for reptiles and amphibians and is limited to species native to Nebraska.

(b) All species not specifically listed under the categories of non-controlled, prohibited, or controlled shall be designated as prohibited.

The only otter in the controlled table is the river otter, Lutra canadensis, and an unlisted species is prohibited by default. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately. Fis 804.03(a) issues no permit for a prohibited species, and the waiver in Fis 802.05 is closed to every permittee category but exhibitors.

How this rule works: Readopted in full by Document #14558, effective 21 April 2026. Four buckets and a closing rule. Fis 804.02 is the non-controlled possession list, Fis 804.03 the prohibited list, Fis 804.05 with Table 800.2 the controlled table, and Fis 804.04(b) then says "All species not specifically listed under the categories of non-controlled, prohibited, or controlled shall be designated as prohibited." Fis 803 runs the same three-way split for importation against Table 800.1. The number beside a species in either table is the permittee category from Fis 802.01: 1 is an individual, 5 an exhibitor, so a species marked 5 alone cannot be held privately. Fis 802.05 is the waiver for unlisted species and subsection (c) closes it to categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7, which leaves only exhibitors.

Any species of live non-domesticated animal not currently on the species importation list will be designated group IV until such time as another determination is made by the director.

The only otter on the list is the North American river otter, Group IV as a state protected species. The Asian small-clawed otter has no row, so the default clause designates it Group IV. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately. Group IV importation is prohibited for the general public and allowed only for scientific study, department approved restoration, zoological display, temporary events, use as a service animal, or by a qualified expert. 19.35.7 NMAC is an importation rule, so it governs bringing the animal into New Mexico rather than keeping one already here.

How this rule works: The roughly 1,300 row table that 19.35.7 NMAC points at and that earlier research could not obtain. Every row gives a family, a scientific name, a common name and a roman numeral group. Group I is semi-domesticated and needs no importation permit. Group II is not known to be invasive or dangerous and needs a permit. Group III presents minimal or manageable concerns and needs a permit with specific provisions attached. Group IV is prohibited to the general public. The list is reached from the download page rather than a direct file URL, and the site needs a User-Agent header.

All fur bearing mammals of the family Mustelidae, including, but not limited to, weasel, marten, mink, badger, ermine, skunk, otter, pole cat, zorille, wolverine, stoat and ferret.

"Otter" is named in the mustelid clause. CITES Appendix I since 2019 is a separate bar on commercial international trade. § 161.01(d) lets the Department consent to an owner removing a seized animal to a jurisdiction where it is not prohibited, which is the only relief in the article.

How this rule works: A city rule that is stricter than any state on this map, and it works in three layers. It opens with a standard rather than a list, deeming a wild animal to be "any animal which is naturally inclined to do harm and capable of inflicting harm upon human beings". It then adds, at (b)(ii), any wildlife protected or endangered under federal, STATE or local law, which imports New York State's protected wildlife scheme into the city wholesale. And it closes with 24 numbered clauses that work mostly by family: all cats other than Felis catus and their hybrids, all dogs other than Canis familiaris, all Mustelidae including the ferret by name, all squirrels, all marsupials, all large rodents, all Boidae, all Pythonidae, all Varanidae, all Iguanidae, all teiidae, all Chelydridae, all venomous spiders including the tarantula by name, and all turtles under four inches. § 161.01(c) is the short answer to what is left: gerbil, hamster, guinea pig, domesticated rabbit, and small birds such as parakeet, parrot, canary and finch.

(iv) Asian Small-clawed Otter | Mustelidae | Lutrinae Aonyx cinerea (also classified as Aonyx cinereus);

Oregon prohibits this otter by name, under both spellings of its binomial. OAR 635-056-0150 lets someone who held one before it was listed keep it for life, with no transfer, sale or transport inside Oregon. CITES Appendix I since 2019 is a separate bar on commercial international trade.

How this rule works: The ban list, and the one to check before assuming a common pet is fine in Oregon. It reaches the prairie dog, the capybara, the southern flying squirrel, the tiger salamander, the snapping turtle and the whole of Trachemys, all of which are ordinary pet-trade animals elsewhere on this map.

All exotic and native wild animals and hybrids of the order Carnivora for which there is no USDA conditionally licensed or unconditionally licensed rabies vaccine are expressly prohibited from importation or possession without the issuance of a valid permit by the Department. Possession is restricted to bona fide researchers, USDA licensed exhibitors authorized to possess animals of this order for short-term exhibition purposes, and Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) certified facilities.

An otter is a carnivore with no licensed rabies vaccine. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately. § 3.9(B) adds that no permit shall be granted to a private person for an exotic carnivore without a licensed rabies vaccine.

How this rule works: One of the most species-specific schemes in the country. § 3.6 defines domestic animals, § 3.7 sets general prohibitions, § 3.9 governs permits, and § 3.17 is the long exempt list of animals that need no exotic animal possession permit. Anything not domestic, not native and not on the § 3.17 list needs a permit.

Unless specifically exempt from the permitting requirement as presented in regulation 6.1, all persons who would own or have custody of an exotic animal must first obtain a permit issued by the Department.

A nonnative wild mammal not on the exempt list, so 6.2 requires an Individual permit. Ferrets are the only mustelid exempted. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately. The $25 Individual permit from the Department of Agriculture is issued where possession will be in the public interest, and Delaware's only outright refusals under 4.7 are the gila monster, the beaded lizard and the komodo dragon. County and municipal ordinances are the more likely obstacle.

How this rule works: The regulation that actually decides Delaware, and it is much narrower than the list circulating in secondary sources. § 7201 requires a permit before anyone brings in, possesses, sells or exhibits a live wild mammal, a hybrid of a wild mammal, or a live reptile not native to Delaware, and bans non-native venomous snakes outright with no permit available. Regulation 6.1 then exempts a named list of pets from the permit entirely, and 6.2 says everything else needs one. The only species the State Veterinarian may not permit at all are at 4.7: gila monsters, beaded lizards and komodo dragons. Pythons, anacondas and boas appear only at 7.5.2.10, a restriction on what Sales Permit holders may breed, not a possession ban. The Delaware regulations site is a single-page app that serves no text to a fetcher, so this was read from a full reproduction and cross-checked against the Department of Agriculture's own exotic animals page.

(c) Class III: All other wildlife not listed herein, except those for which a permit is not required pursuant to Rule 68A-6.003, F.A.C.

No otter is named in Class I or Class II, and the badgers are the only mustelids there, so the Asian small-clawed otter is Class III. That means the no-cost Permit to Possess Class III Wildlife for Personal Use under 68A-6.003(8), and the animal is not on the 22-item no-permit list at 68A-6.003(14). CITES Appendix I since 2019 bars commercial international trade, which governs where a lawful animal can come from.

How this rule works: Florida sorts all wildlife into three classes and then exempts a list from the scheme entirely, and the exemption list is what most pet questions turn on. 68A-6.002 puts 24 taxa in Class I, which 68A-6.003(6) says may not be possessed for personal use at all, and 38 in Class II, which needs a $140 annual permit plus documented experience and caging. Class III is everything else, and 68A-6.003(8) requires a no-cost personal use permit for it. Then 68A-6.003(14) lists 22 categories needing no permit at all, and that list is the answer for most of this map: nonvenomous unprotected reptiles and amphibians, gerbils, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, rabbits, squirrels, ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, prairie dogs, chinchillas and parrots among them. Read the class lists without 68A-6.003(14) and Florida looks like a permit state for a bearded dragon. Read (14) without the class lists and it looks like a free-for-all for a capybara.

No person may import into Idaho, export from Idaho, transport, possess or otherwise hold in captivity, propagate, sell or release into the wild any live wildlife, except those animals exempted by Idaho Code or these rules, without a corresponding import, export, transport, captive possession (individual animal license or multiple animal license at a private, commercial or rehabilitation facility), sale or release license/permit from the Department.

Idaho Code § 36-202(g) defines wildlife as animal life "native or exotic, generally living in a state of nature", which an otter is, and the conventional pets list has no mustelid but the ferret, so a captive possession license from Fish and Game is required. It is not on the Agriculture deleterious exotic list. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately.

How this rule works: Section 010.06 defines conventional pets, which sit outside the wildlife permit regime. Unusually explicit: it names ferrets, hedgehogs and sugar gliders in the rule text.

The purpose of 321 CMR 9.01 is to list those species which are exempt from the licensing provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, § 23, and which may be imported, possessed, maintained, propagated, bought, sold, exchanged or offered for sale without a license or permit from the Division. Species not listed, or which are expressly listed as "require(s) a permit", are not exempt from the provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, § 23.

Not on the exemption list, and 9.01(3) would bar adding it, because it is on the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable and § 23 says no animal "listed in any category" of the Red Data Books shall be exempted. It is also CITES Appendix I since 2019. The license under § 23 exists on paper, but MassWildlife says permits for non-exempt wildlife "are issued only for certain scientific, educational, commercial, or other specific reasons" and "You will not be issued a permit for keeping a wild animal as a pet."

How this rule works: Massachusetts runs a closed white list and says so in terms: a species not on it, or listed as requiring a permit, is not exempt from M.G.L. c. 131, § 23. Two structural points decide most of this state. First, 9.01(2) defines "species" as a "distinct non-domestic VERTEBRATE animal population", and § 23 itself reaches only fish, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, so terrestrial invertebrates are outside the scheme entirely. Second, 9.01(3) is a categorical override that most readings of this rule miss: no species may be exempted if it is listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, appears in the IUCN Red Book(s), or is on the Massachusetts endangered, threatened and special concern list at 321 CMR 10.90. Nearly every group listing in 9.01 repeats the cross-reference, so it operates as a live carve-out rather than as drafting furniture, and it is what pulls the Burmese python out of Boidae, the crested gecko out of Gekkonidae and the box turtle out of the turtle allowance.

it is unlawful, except by the written consent and approval of the Department, for any person at any time to receive, bring or have brought or shipped into this State, or remove from one stream or body of water in this State to any other...any aquatic life or wildlife

No otter or mustelid is on the prohibited list, and the only mustelids on the no-permit list are the European ferret and domesticated mink. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately. An animal on neither Nevada list is not unregulated: NRS 503.597 requires the Department's written consent to bring any wildlife into the state, and NAC 503.140 is the list of exemptions from that. NAC 503.140(4) preserves county and city ordinances, and Clark County, Las Vegas and Henderson are all stricter than the state.

How this rule works: The default nobody had pinned down. NRS 503.597 makes it unlawful without the written consent and approval of the Department for any person to receive, bring or have brought or shipped into the state any aquatic life or wildlife, so an animal that is neither prohibited by NAC 503.110 nor cleared by NAC 503.140 needs Department approval rather than being unregulated. NRS 501.097 defines wildlife as any wild mammal, wild bird, fish, reptile, amphibian, mollusk or crustacean found naturally in a wild state, which leaves insects and arachnids outside the Department's authority entirely.

Category 2 species of nontraditional livestock includes the following species and their hybrids, all nondomestic ungulates, including all deer (cervidae) and pronghorn, zebras, nondomestic cats not listed in category 3, waterfowl, shorebirds, upland game birds not listed in category 1, crows, wolverines, otters, bats, martens, fishers, kit or swift foxes, badgers, coyotes, mink, red and gray foxes

"Otters" is in the category 2 list without a species limit, so the license is required before acquiring one, with the premises inspected first. CITES Appendix I since 2019 bars commercial international trade.

How this rule works: The nontraditional livestock category system is alive and sits here, not in the repealed title 48. 48.1-09-01-02 sorts every nondomestic species held in confinement into three categories, category 1 needing no license and categories 2 and 3 needing one before the animal is acquired. Subsection 4 exempts arachnids and invertebrates from even the importation permit, along with a short list of small pets named one by one: gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats and sugar gliders. The Board of Animal Health's own page (https://www.ndda.nd.gov/divisions/animal-health/non-traditional-livestock) files that list under Exempt Animals and calls them exempt from non-traditional livestock requirements and importation requirements. Last amended April 1, 2026.

The following wildlife species are exempt from import and export permits, commercial wildlife breeders licenses, noncommercial wildlife breeders licenses and commercial hunting area license requirements

No otter is on the exemption list, so the import permit and the noncommercial wildlife breeder's license apply. CITES Appendix I since 2019 bars commercial international trade.

How this rule works: One of the most permissive exemption lists in the country, naming the fennec fox, the sugar glider, the coatimundi, the wallaby and primates individually. Note what the exemptions are from: import and export permits and commercial and noncommercial wildlife breeder licenses, not a ban. Subsection (c) exempts non-indigenous reptiles and amphibians as a class, with a two-limb carve-out for species that could establish here and are injurious under federal rules. Oklahoma's own rules site, rules.ok.gov, returns 403 to this container, so this is read from Cornell LII and cited to the official section.

a furbearer, a member of the family Cervidae, a nondomestic member of the families Suidae (pigs), Tayassuidae (peccaries), Bovidae (bison, mountain goat, mountain sheep), coyote, bear, or turkey (genus Meleagris). Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

The furbearer list names "otter" without a species and is open ended, so an Asian otter reads as a furbearer needing the import permit. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately. § 50-16-20(B) lets the Department issue the permit only if the animal was taken lawfully where it came from and its possession is not expected to harm the state's wildlife, and § 50-16-60's pet-trade exemption does not list it.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

(1) Of the order Carnivora, all nondomestic members of the following families: ...(d) Mustelidae;

Otters are mustelids on every taxonomy, so this one needs the ten-dollar possession permit. CITES Appendix I since 2019 bars commercial international trade, which limits supply to captive-bred animals already in the country.

How this rule works: Two separate requirements sit in the same chapter and are easy to conflate. An entry permit, free and obtainable by telephone, is required to import any nondomestic animal. A possession permit, ten dollars per animal, is required only for the mammal families listed in 12:68:18:03. The only outright prohibition is the raccoon dog.

Species not found on the Restricted, Unrestricted or Domestic species lists are considered Restricted.

No otter is on any list; the only mustelid Vermont clears is the European ferret, on the Domestic list. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately. Restricted means a permit, and Regulation 881 § 5.2 leaves one open to a private keeper: for purposes other than research and education, the Commissioner shall not issue a permit "unless it has been determined that the wild animal or wildlife proposed to be brought into or possessed in the state does not conflict with the purpose of this regulation". That purpose is protecting wild and domestic animals, agriculture and livestock, and human health and safety, and the determination is the Commissioner's, case by case, with no published standard, so an application can be refused.

How this rule works: The list the whole Vermont answer turns on, and the one earlier research could not obtain. Anything on it may be kept with no permit. Its closing line is the important part: species not found on the Restricted, Unrestricted or Domestic species lists are considered Restricted, which makes Vermont an inverted-list state like Hawaii. Several entries are marked Captive Bred Only, which is a real condition rather than a note. The site refuses automated requests without a User-Agent header.

Mustelidae All Species Weasels, Badgers, Skunks and Otters (except Mustela putorius furo) Ferret*

Otters are named in the Mustelidae row, which frees only the domestic ferret, so a nonnative otter needs a special permit to import, possess or sell. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately.

Existing owners: Asterisked rows allow an animal held before 1 July 1992 and declared in writing by 1 January 1993 to be kept under a possession-only permit that renews every five years and cannot be transferred.

How this rule works: Virginia permits by table. Subsection A requires a special permit from the department for every animal listed in it, on the ground that the board has declared the species predatory or undesirable because releasing it would harm Virginia's native fish and wildlife. Subsection B grandfathers asterisked animals held before 1 July 1992 if they were declared in writing by 1 January 1993, renewable every five years and not transferable. Subsection C then carves the monk parakeet back out.

A permit may be authorized upon approval for other warm-blooded wildlife unless otherwise specified in this regulation.

Not on the domestic, domesticated or prohibited lists, and not listed under 50 CFR 17.11, so the discretionary § 13(d) permit applies. CITES Appendix I since 2019 bars commercial international trade.

How this rule works: Two closed lists do the work. Domestic animals and domesticated animals are both defined by enumeration, with the phrase for the purpose of this regulation, only the following animals are considered domestic. Anything on neither list is wildlife, and Section 13(d) leaves it to a permit that may be authorized upon approval.

(iii) A member within the family Mustelidae (including, but not limited to, short-tailed weasel, long-tailed weasel, mink, fisher, otter and marten),

Mustelidae is a Category Three family, and the entry is drawn by family rather than by native species, so it reaches an Asian otter as well as Connecticut's own. Category Three bars import and export except by institutions and persons authorized under the named statutes, and does not bar possession. So an animal already lawfully in the state may be kept, and one may not be brought in, which in practice is the whole of the pet trade. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately. Connecticut's statutes could not be read from here, so only the regulation is behind this.

How this rule works: Connecticut's official eRegulations text, served as a PDF. This is the operative rule for every animal on this map, and it sorts wild animals into four categories. Category One (four mammal families) and Category Two (a long specific list) may be possessed only by institutions; Category Three, which is Connecticut's own native species, bars import and export but not possession; Category Four, the state endangered, threatened and special concern species, needs a permit. An animal in none of the four is not restricted by this section. The definitions in subsection (a) do more work than the lists: 'wild animal' reaches invertebrates, and 'domestic animal' is defined in a way that takes the pet rabbit and the ferret out of the scheme entirely.

All species of the order Carnivora

All of Carnivora is restricted, which reaches every otter, so it needs a special license. CITES Appendix I since 2019 bars commercial international trade separately.

How this rule works: The operative rule. Restricted live wildlife needs a special license, and the lists run by order and family rather than by species, so the whole of Carnivora is caught while most of the pet reptile trade is not. Two exceptions are written in by name: the genus Atelerix, the pet hedgehogs, and the genus Oryctolagus, which the rule says are not wildlife at all. Two subsections do quiet work: (D) exempts domestic animals, defined at R12-4-401 as a species that does not exist in the wild, and (E) pulls hybrids back in whenever one parent species is on the list. Note that the AZGFD commission rules PDF circulating as Supp. 13-2 is a 2013 edition and predates the Atelerix and Oryctolagus exceptions; read the current text, not that one.

Except as otherwise listed, all species are presumed prohibited. All species not listed will require an assessment before collection, importation, or possession will be authorized.

No otter is in Table 3b-1. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately. Unlisted birds and mammals are presumed prohibited and need a division assessment before possession is authorized, so this is neither cleared nor expressly banned; it is an application to DWR with no published answer, the serval's position.

How this rule works: Five sections: domestic mammals and birds not covered by the rule, noncontrolled mammals and birds, controlled mammals, and prohibited mammals. The header sets an inverted default: 'Except as otherwise listed, all species are presumed prohibited. All species not listed will require an assessment before collection, importation, or possession will be authorized.' The prohibited section adds that 'personal possession will not be authorized'.

"Small game" means game birds, gray squirrel, fox squirrel, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, jack rabbit, raccoon, lynx, bobcat, short-tailed weasel, long-tailed weasel, wolf, red fox and gray fox, fisher, pine marten, opossum, badger, cougar, wolverine, muskrat, mink, otter, and beaver.

Not a regulated animal. The small game definition names "otter" with no species, and small game is a protected wild animal that § 97A.501 bars possessing without a special permit. Read as Minnesota's river otter, an Asian otter is untouched; read literally, it needs the § 97A.401 permit. A wild animal is one "wild by nature", which a captive-bred otter still is. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately.

How this rule works: Two subdivisions decide most Minnesota questions. Subd. 55 defines wild animals as creatures 'wild by nature' and includes reptiles and amphibians, with no geographic limit, so a ball python is a wild animal here. Subd. 39 makes snakes, salamanders, lizards, turtles and frogs protected wild animals as categories rather than as native species lists. Invertebrates other than crustaceans and mollusks are outside the definition entirely.

A permit shall be required for any other exotic mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians or nongame species not specifically exempted by N.J.A.C. 7:25-4.4.

By the rule alone this is a hobby permit animal: it is an exotic mammal, it is not on the 4.8 dangerous table, and the 4.5 catch-all requires a permit for anything not exempted. Against that, the Division's restricted species notice says it classifies an animal as endangered when it is on "any relevant State or Federal endangered species list, including ... IUCN Red List", and endangered species may not be kept as pets for any reason. The Asian small-clawed otter is IUCN Vulnerable and has been CITES Appendix I since 2019. Whether a Vulnerable rating counts is the same unresolved question as the African grey cell.

How this rule works: NJDEP's own courtesy copy of the whole of N.J.A.C. 7:25. Subchapter 4 starts at 7:25-4.1 and carries the definitions, the permit requirement at 4.2, the three species lists at 4.3, 4.4 and 4.8, the pet bar at 4.9(a)3 and 4.15(b), and the state endangered list at 4.13. The three list PDFs the Division hands out are extracts of this.

"Small game" means ... raccoon, opossum, or weasel, skunk, bobcat, lynx, muskrat, mink, except mink born in captivity, fisher, otter, beaver, sable and marten but does not include coydogs.

The exotic side is clear: the only mustelids on 180.1 are the wolverine and the badgers, and no mustelid is on the closed wild animal list. What is not clear is the small game definition, which names "otter" with no species and no nativity qualifier, where the same sentence writes "native" in front of every herp group. Read as New York's own river otter, this animal is unregulated; read literally, it is small game, and § 11-0107(2) bars possessing small game "whether taken within the state or coming from without the state". DEC has published nothing on it. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately.

How this rule works: New York answers exotic and native animals through two entirely separate mechanisms, and the famous one is the smaller. § 11-0103(6)(e) is a closed "wild animal" list, six clauses long, that § 11-0512 then bars keeping as a pet: primates, Felidae, Canidae, Ursidae, a named set of large constrictors and monitors plus all venomous reptiles, and Crocodylia. It carries two express carve-outs that decide cells on this map, for registered Felis catus hybrids five generations clear of wild parentage and for captive bred fennec foxes. The other mechanism is the one that catches natives, and it is a definition rather than a list: § 11-0103(2)(c) makes native frogs, salamanders, turtles, lizards and snakes SMALL GAME, therefore game, therefore protected wildlife under § 11-0103(6)(c), and § 11-0107(2) bars possessing protected wildlife "whether taken within the state or coming from without the state". The only license, § 11-0515, is for propagation, banding, scientific or exhibition purposes, so there is no pet route behind it.

(7a) Fur-bearing Animals. - Beaver, mink, muskrat, nutria, otter, skunk, and weasel; bobcat, opossum, and raccoon when lawfully taken with traps. ... (7c) Game Animals. - Bear, fox, rabbit, squirrel, white-tailed deer, and, except when trapped in accordance with provisions relating to fur-bearing animals, bobcat, opossum, and raccoon.

The fur-bearer definition names "otter" with no species, and § 113-129(16) extends the wildlife definitions to animals of wild species kept in captivity, so on a literal reading an Asian otter is a fur-bearing wild animal needing a captivity license that is not issued for a pet. Read as North Carolina's river otter, nothing statewide reaches it. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately.

How this rule works: The definition that decides North Carolina and is easy to miss, because the answer is not in the captivity license section but in what that section can reach. Wild animals are game animals, fur-bearers, feral swine and other wild mammals, and then reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates only where they are on the federal endangered or threatened list. Everything else in those three groups is outside the Wildlife Resources Commission's jurisdiction, which is why North Carolina has no state reptile law worth the name.

"Fur-bearing animals" includes minks, weasels, raccoons, skunks, opossums, muskrats, fox, beavers, badgers, otters, coyotes, and bobcats.

Not on the dangerous wild animal list. The fur-bearing definition names "otters" with no species or nativity limit, inside a definition of wild animals that reaches "all other wild mammals", so it arguably puts an Asian otter under the § 1533.71 captivity license; read as Ohio's river otter, it needs nothing. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately.

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

In the family Mustelidae. All species of the skunks.

The only mustelid line on the list reaches skunks, so an otter is not named. It is not listed by the Department of the Interior as threatened or endangered, so § 137.1(a)(8) misses it as well, and the answer turns on the same § 137.1(a)(11) catch-all for out-of-state captive-bred wildlife that the fennec fox does. CITES Appendix I since 2019 bars commercial international trade but is not a Pennsylvania rule.

How this rule works: The Game Commission's actual prohibited list, and the document most Pennsylvania exotic pet questions turn on rather than the § 2961 definition. Eleven categories, of which three matter most here: all Felidae except house cats, the monk parakeet by name, and a catch-all barring possession of any wildlife held in captivity or captive bred in another state or nation.

"Fur-bearing animal" means wild beaver, otter, mink, ring-tailed cat, badger, skunk, raccoon, muskrat, opossum, fox, or nutria.

Not on the dangerous wild animal list. The fur-bearing definition names "otter" with no species, and § 71.005(c) requires a propagation license to possess any live fur-bearing animal, so the question is whether "wild ... otter" reaches a captive-bred Asian otter or only the Texas river otter. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately.

How this rule works: The definition at § 71.001(1) reads "wild beaver, otter, mink, ring-tailed cat, badger, skunk, raccoon, muskrat, opossum, fox, or nutria", and the bare word "fox" is what makes people read Texas as a fox ban state. It is not one. Chapter 71 and the proclamation at 31 TAC §§ 65.371-65.375 govern taking, trapping, pelts and fur dealing; § 65.375(a)(2) says there are no bag or possession limits for fur-bearing animals; and nothing in either bars keeping one. The series is also headed by "wild", which a captive-bred animal is not.