Where is the Bengal cat legal?

The following species, not including a hybrid of a game animal and a species listed in this subsection, may be possessed, imported, exported, bought, sold, or traded without a permit

Cat, Felis catus, is on the clean list but hybrids of a listed species and a game animal are carved straight back out, and subsection (c) then bars any pet permit for such a hybrid by name. The rule sets no filial generation cut off, so it gives no comfort to a late generation Bengal the way Iowa and New York do.

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.

The definition expressly reaches 'any hybrid or cross between an animal listed as prohibited and a domestic animal and offspring from all subsequent generations', so unlike New York there is no generation at which a Bengal falls out.

How this rule works: 'Regulated animal' is all members of Felidae except the domestic cat, all bears, and all non-human primates, plus any hybrid or cross between a listed animal and a domestic animal and all subsequent generations. Possession is unlawful unless held on or before 1 January 2005 in compliance with the federal Animal Welfare Act. A knowing violation is a gross misdemeanour: up to two years imprisonment or a $5,000 fine.

All cats other than domesticated cats (Felis catus), including ... any hybrid offspring of a wild cat and domesticated cat.

How this rule works: § 161.01 is the list of animals that may not be kept in the five boroughs. It binds regardless of what New York State allows, which is why the city and the state answer differently for several species.

a permit as described in § 12:68:18:03.03 is required to possess in South Dakota any nondomestic mammal, or any of its hybrids, listed in this section

The words or any of its hybrids sit in the operative sentence rather than in a separate clause, so a Bengal is caught by the Felidae entry. No filial generation cut off is given.

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.

The bengal must be the fourth or later filial generation of offspring with the first filial generation being the offspring of a domestic cat and an Asian leopard cat, and each subsequent generation being the offspring of a domestic cat.

F4 and later are carved out of the definition. F1 to F3 are dangerous wild animals and are banned.

How this rule works: § 717F.3 bars owning, possessing, breeding or importing a dangerous wild animal. § 717F.1(5) defines the class by family and order rather than by species name, so the boundaries are read off the taxonomy. § 717F.4 grandfathers animals already owned on 1 July 2007.

hybrid of a member of the cat family and a domestic cat if the hybrid weighs over 30 pounds

Maryland draws the line by weight rather than by generation. A Bengal under 30 lb is outside the prohibition, which most Bengals are.

How this rule works: Misdemeanour: a fine up to $1,000 for an individual, $10,000 otherwise, and the animal may be seized immediately with costs falling on the keeper unless the seizure proves unjustified. Counties and municipalities may be stricter. Note COMAR 15.11.16.01, which is titled List of Prohibited Animals, is an agriculture rule about feral swine only and is not the exotic pet provision.

Felidae hybrids are wild animals except registered hybrids with no wild felid ancestry for five or more generations, so an F5 or later Bengal qualifies. NYC bans all wild-cat hybrids regardless.

How this rule works: A closed definition: 'includes and is limited to' nonhuman primates and prosimians, Felidae and hybrids, Canidae, Ursidae, venomous reptiles plus named large pythons and monitors, and Crocodylia. § 11-0512 then bars possessing a wild animal as a pet, grandfathering animals held when the section took effect if licensed within six months.

Domestic Cat (Felis catus) excluding hybrids with wild felines,

An F1 cross is plainly excluded from the domestic animal list and then caught by the § 3.9(B) bar on permits for Carnivora hybrids. A late generation Bengal is the offspring of two domestic cats, so on the § 3.6(A)(13) definition of hybrid it arguably is not one. The regulation sets no filial generation cut off the way Iowa and New York do. Ask the Division of Agriculture before buying.

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.