Where is the striped skunk legal?

Any of the following from any area outside the state of Alabama; any member of the family Cervidae (to include but not be limited to deer, elk, moose, caribou), species of coyote, species of fox, species of raccoon, species of skunk, wild rodent, or strain of wild turkey, black bear (Ursus americanus), mountain lion (Felis concolor), bobcat (Felis rufus)

"Species of skunk" from outside the state is barred, an Alabama-caught striped skunk is a protected wild animal under § (3), and the spotted skunk is on the protected nongame list as well. No pet route either way.

How this rule works: Alabama's prohibited list, not a permitted one, so absence from it means an animal is unrestricted. The official code site is a React app that serves nothing to a fetcher, but /api/rule/<number> returns the current rule as a PDF; use it, because Cornell LII's copy is the 2020 version and the current one differs. Two clauses do most of the work: everything the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act is banned by reference, and a block of mammals is banned when it comes from outside Alabama.

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

Every mammal is game, the skunk is not on the clean list, and subsection (c) bars a pet permit. Descenting does not change that.

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 Commission will not issue permits for breeding, sale, or importation of the following species other than in accordance with the exceptions listed in Codes 09.07, 09.10, 09.11, and Addenda F1.03, F1.04 (possession of some species may be allowed in accordance with Codes 09.02, 09.05, 09.08, and 09.14): ... Skunks (Genera: Mephitis, Spilogale)

Both native routes are shut. A skunk is a furbearer under Code 01.00, not nongame wildlife, so it is not among the animals 09.14(A) lets a household catch by hand. And the captive-born route in 09.14(B) needs a permitted breeder or an importation permit, which R1.03 says the Commission will not issue for skunks.

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".

Order Carnivora-Raccoons, Ringtailed Cats, Kinkajous, Coatis, Cacomistles, Weasels, Ferrets, Skunks, Polecats, Stoats, Mongoose, Civets, Wolves, Foxes, Coyotes, Lions, Tigers, Ocelots, Bobcats, Servals, Leopards, Jaguars, Cheetahs, Bears, etc.

The order heading names skunks. The section files them with the mustelids, which is where its caging standards put the striped skunk, and current taxonomy puts them in their own family, Mephitidae, which the section reaches through "All other Families-(W)". Either way the animal is restricted and no permit type covers a pet. Descenting does not change the species.

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.

B. The following terrestrial wildlife species or viable gametes (eggs and sperm) are hereby determined to be detrimental to existing wildlife and their habitat in Colorado, and except as authorized in writing by the Division after consideration of the criteria in Commission Regulation #1102(A)(4), their possession is prohibited. Persons who have proof of possession of those species listed in subsections 1 through 8 of this section prior to September 1, 1990, may possess the following species for the life of the animal(s). ... 8. Striped skunks.

Named on the prohibited list by common name, so the taxonomy question does not arise. Descenting does not help, and CPW names skunks among animals not allowed even where another state permits them. It is a Colorado native as well, and C.R.S. 33-6-109 bars keeping native wildlife taken from the wild.

Existing owners: Proof of possession before 1 September 1990 allows the animal to be kept for its life, tagged and reported, but not sold, traded or moved within Colorado.

How this rule works: The Commission's prohibited species list. Nineteen entries, and the grandfather clause in the opening paragraph reaches only subsections 1 through 8, so the later additions, monk parakeet and prairie dogs among them, have no route for existing owners.

(xx) A member within the family Mephitidae (including, but not limited to, striped skunk),

The striped skunk is the rule's own example, under the current family name, and the clause applies "notwithstanding changes in taxonomic nomenclature". Subsection (b)(3) allows a Category Two animal only to a treating veterinarian, a municipal park, zoo, marine mammal park, aquarium, nature center, museum, exhibitor, laboratory or research facility, so there is no private route.

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.

No live skunks or raccoons shall be sold or possessed in this State or transported into this State for any purpose without a permit from the Division.

§ 795 requires a Division permit for a live skunk for any purpose, and DNREC says that when people ask about buying a skunk from an out-of-state breeder it tells them "this is not allowed". The permit is for rehabilitators, not keepers.

How this rule works: The DNREC statute that answers Delaware's native carnivores, which the Agriculture exotic animal chapter never reaches. § 789 bars selling, buying or possessing a live red fox, except at a State or local government animal exhibition; § 791 lets a holder of five or more foxhounds raise wild whelps under permit and release them by 15 August; § 795 bars selling or possessing a live skunk or raccoon "for any purpose without a permit from the Division".

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 a skunk. Ferrets are the only carnivore other than dogs and cats on the list, and a skunk is not a ferret.

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.

The following list of species native to Georgia may not be held as a pet regardless of its origin or morphology.

"Skunk" is on DNR's native list without a species qualifier, and the striped skunk is a Georgia native. The .05 license rule also reaches it as a carnivore, and its licenses go only to dealers and exhibitors, so a descented skunk from a breeder has no route either.

How this rule works: The agency page that answers the native half of Georgia, which the wild animal rule does not reach. It states the operative rule in one line, "By Georgia Law, most native species of wildlife cannot be held without permits or licenses. These licenses are not issued for the purpose of holding native wildlife as pets", and adds the sentence that closes the captive-bred argument: "These restrictions apply to the various species of animal, regardless of the origin or morphology." It then lists native species that may not be held as a pet, among them the corn snake, milksnake, garter snake, green anole, both hognose snakes, all four box turtles and the flying squirrel. Two limits are worth carrying: the list says of itself that it "does not include all native wildlife that is prohibited", and a separate paragraph names the natives Georgia does allow to be taken, "rats, mice, armadillos, coyotes, groundhogs, beaver, freshwater turtles, venomous snakes, frogs, spring lizards, fiddler crabs, freshwater crayfish, freshwater mussels, and nutria".

Mephitis (all species in genus) skunk

Part A takes the striped skunk's whole genus, filed under the mustelids on the older taxonomy. Research and exhibition only.

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.

No person shall possess, offer for sale, trade, barter, exchange or importation into the state of Idaho any fox, skunk or raccoon, except as provided in subsection (2) or (3) of this section.

The skunk is named in the statute, and it is predatory wildlife under § 36-201. The only exceptions are fur farms holding domestic fur-bearing animals and public parks, zoos, museums and educational institutions with an Agriculture permit, so there is no pet route.

How this rule works: An Agriculture statute that bars anyone from possessing, selling, trading or importing "any fox, skunk or raccoon", with two exceptions: fur farms holding domestic fur-bearing animals, and public parks, zoos, museums and educational institutions with an Agriculture permit. There is no pet exception and no species limit on "any fox". IDAPA 13.01.10.200.07(a) cross-references it.

(1) Except as established in Sections 2(7) and 7 of this administrative regulation, 301 KAR 2:075, and 301 KAR 3:120, a person shall not import, transport into Kentucky, or possess: ... (j) Rabies Vector Species: 1. Coyote (Canis latrans); 2. Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus); 3. Raccoon (Procyon lotor); 4. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes); 5. Spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius); 6. Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis); or 7. Any hybrid of rabies vector species.

Both the striped and spotted skunks are named as rabies vector species. § 1(3) defines native wildlife "regardless of ... being captive-bred or taken from the wild", so a captive-bred animal from another state is in the same position. KRS 65.877 lets local governments go further.

How this rule works: The companion to 2:082 and the rule that reaches any Kentucky native. § 1(3) defines native wildlife as species that have historically existed, currently exist or have naturally expanded their range into Kentucky, "regardless of ... origin or location of an individual animal" and of "being captive-bred or taken from the wild", so captive breeding is no exit. § 2(3) then requires a captive wildlife permit before acquiring one, with a five-per-species free allowance for native reptiles and amphibians at § 2(5) and nothing comparable for mammals. § 3(2) is the noncommercial permit, § 4 the transportation permit, § 6 the prohibited natives.

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

Either way the answer is no. On the older taxonomy the striped skunk is a mustelid and Category 1, open only to exhibitors, rehabilitators and research facilities. On current taxonomy it is in Mephitidae, which chapter 7 never names, so it is uncategorized and § 7.06(4) makes it ineligible for any permit. It is also a Maine native mammal with no wild-take exemption.

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, offer for sale, trade, barter, possess, breed, or exchange a live: (i) fox, skunk, raccoon, or bear; (ii) caiman, alligator, or crocodile; (iii) member of the cat family other than the domestic cat; (iv) hybrid of a member of the cat family and a domestic cat if the hybrid weighs over 30 pounds; (v) member of the dog family other than the domestic dog; (vi) hybrid of a member of the dog family and a domestic dog; (vii) nonhuman primate ...; or (viii) poisonous snake in the family groups of Hydrophidae, Elapidae, Viperidae, or Crotolidae.

Named in clause (i), so taxonomy does not matter and neither does descenting. There is no private permit: the exemptions run to zoos, sanctuaries, research and licensed exhibitors. Subsection (e) preserves stricter county and municipal rules.

Existing owners: Lawful possession on or before 31 May 2006 may continue, but only if the keeper gave written notification to the local animal control authority by 1 August 2006, with the number and type of animals and a photograph or a description of a tattoo or microchip. That window is long closed.

How this rule works: Maryland's dangerous animal list, on the General Assembly's own site. Eight clauses and nothing else: fox, skunk, raccoon or bear; caiman, alligator or crocodile; any cat other than the domestic cat; a cat hybrid over 30 pounds; any dog other than the domestic dog and any dog hybrid; non-human primates; and venomous snakes of four named families. A misdemeanor, and subsection (e) says in terms that counties and municipalities may go further. Note COMAR 15.11.16.01, titled List of Prohibited Animals, is an agriculture rule about feral swine and is not this provision.

F. Live nuisance animals may not be possessed except: 1. Coyotes in permitted coyote enclosures; 2. Fox in permitted fox enclosures

"Skunks" are nuisance animals by statute, and the exceptions in Rule 7.1(F) cover only coyotes, foxes and hogs. So no live skunk may be possessed at all, descented or not.

How this rule works: Recites that Miss. Code § 49-7-1 classes nutria, beaver, fox, skunks, coyotes and wild hogs as nuisance animals, and at (F) bars possessing a live one except coyotes and foxes in permitted hunting enclosures, short-term trapper transport to them, and hogs for slaughter. Cached as MS-ms-captivity-and-nuisance.txt.

(3) Live skunks may not be imported, bought, sold, transported, given away, or otherwise disposed of in this state.

Missouri closes every door on the skunk. It may not be imported, bought, sold or given away, the Wildlife Hobby Permit excludes skunks by name, and as a furbearer it is outside the take-five rule for natives.

How this rule works: Class I is native Missouri mammals, reptiles and amphibians plus birds native to the continental United States. Class II is the venomous natives, mountain lion, wolf and black bear. Class III is cervids. An animal that is none of these is outside the Wildlife Code entirely.

"Wild animal" means a skunk, fox, raccoon, or bat.

The skunk is the first animal the rabies law names, and § 50-23-102 bars possessing one outside a fur farm, a no-contact zoo exhibit or research. Descenting does not change the species, and the 1982 grandfather date means no pet route is left.

Existing owners: Held for at least 6 months before 1 January 1982.

How this rule works: Defines "wild animal" for this part as a skunk, fox, raccoon or bat and bars possessing one except in a fur-bearing enterprise, a zoo exhibit with no public contact, or research, or if held for 6 months before 1 January 1982. Cached as MT-mt-rabies-and-menagerie.txt.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, no person shall keep in captivity in this state any wolf, any skunk, or any member of the families Felidae and Ursidae.

Nebraska names the skunk in the statute's flat ban, beside the wolf and every cat and bear, with no permit behind it. The exceptions are public and accredited zoos and pre-1986 animals.

Existing owners: A person legally holding such an animal on 1 March 1986 may keep it for its lifetime under § 37-477(3), and may not trade, sell or dispose of it without the commission's written permission.

How this rule works: The statute does two things the regulation does not. § 37-477(2) is a flat ban with no permit behind it: "no person shall keep in captivity in this state any wolf, any skunk, or any member of the families Felidae and Ursidae", excepting only Felis domesticus, accredited zoos and public facilities, and lynx or bobcat fur producers. And §§ 37-245 and 37-246 define wild birds and wild mammals by geography rather than by wildness, as species "native to, migrating to or through, or having established free-ranging populations in the State of Nebraska". That definition is the hinge of the whole state: a Nebraska native is caught by the captive wildlife scheme and an exotic is not, which sends the exotic question to the importation list instead. § 37-247 defines wildlife far more broadly, reaching every arthropod and invertebrate, and that breadth sits awkwardly with an importation list containing only mammals and birds.

1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the importation, transportation or possession of the following species of live wildlife or hybrids thereof, including viable embryos or gametes, is prohibited: ... (d) Mammals: ... (12) Skunk............................................... All species in the genera Spilogale, Mephitis and Conepatus

Every skunk genus is on the prohibited list. Permits for prohibited species go only to accredited zoos, universities, scientific institutions, commercial aquaculture and nonprofit educational exhibitors. 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: Two lists: 503.110 prohibits, 503.140 names species that may be possessed, transported, imported and exported without a permit. Nevada counties and cities are frequently stricter than the state, notably Clark County, Henderson and Las Vegas.

Skunk, Striped Mephitis mephitis 5

The striped skunk is in the controlled table with category 5 alone. Permittee category 5 is the exhibitor category, with no category 1 for an individual, so a private keeper cannot be issued a possession permit.

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.

Mammal | Skunk | Mephitidae all species | Skunk (any type) | IV

The list takes the whole skunk family under its current name, so there is no taxonomy question. 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.

no person shall import, transport, possess, purchase, barter, transfer, sell, offer for sale, exchange, propagate or release or cause to be released within New York State any of the following live native or non-native dangerous animals including those which are captive bred in any of the following orders, families and individual species or subspecies including all subspecies and hybrids thereof: ... (6) Skunks in the Family Mephitidae;

180.1 uses the current family name, so there is no taxonomy question, and § 11-0511 names the skunk among animals that need a license to possess. The skunk is also small game. Licenses under 180.1(c) issue only for scientific, educational, exhibition, zoological or propagation purposes, and the 180.1(d)(2) exemption for this species is for licensed rehabilitators.

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.

A person may not keep a skunk or raccoon in captivity. This section does not apply to a zoo licensed by the animal care program of the animal and plant health inspection service of the United States department of agriculture.

Banned by statute alongside the raccoon, with an import bar "for any purpose" in the board's rule. The only exception is a USDA-licensed zoo, so descenting or captive breeding makes no difference.

How this rule works: The chapter names only three restrictions relevant to pets: skunks and raccoons may not be kept at all, mountain lions and wolves need a tattooed identification number, and the board is to make rules on primates. § 36-01-08.1 says the board may require a license for nontraditional livestock, meaning any wildlife held in confinement. The wording is permissive but the board has used it: see NDAC article 48.1-09 for the three categories and the license, and § 36-01-00.1(3) for a definition of domestic animal that runs only to dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, bison, farmed elk, llamas, alpacas and swine.

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.

"Skunk" is named in the mustelid clause, which follows the older taxonomy that filed skunks in Mustelidae. Naming it by common name makes the family question moot. § 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.

In the family Mustelidae. All species of the skunks.

Every skunk is on the prohibited list, filed under Mustelidae on the older taxonomy, and that is the line the ferret cell shows is the only mustelid entry. The skunk is a native here, so § 137.31(a) and § 137.1(a)(11) close the wild-caught and out-of-state routes too. Descenting does not change the answer.

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.

The possession of native mammals is restricted to those institutions identified within § 3.7(C) of this Part, and as exempted per § 3.8 of this Part. Terrestrial mammals considered native either currently or historically to Rhode Island and which possession as pets is prohibited include the following: ... (40) Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis),

Named on the native mammal list, and skunks are rabies target species. Rhode Island's native definition applies "regardless of where the animal originated", so a captive-bred animal from out of state is no different, and § 3.7(A) separately restricts every carnivore without a licensed rabies vaccine to researchers, USDA exhibitors and AZA facilities.

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.

It is unlawful for any person to import, possess, or cause to be imported into this state any type of live skunk, or to sell, barter, exchange or otherwise transfer any live skunk, except that the prohibitions of this section shall not apply to bona fide zoological parks and research institutions.

A specific statute bars the animal, and it controls over the five-class scheme that would otherwise file a native furbearer in Class II on a $10 permit. "Any type of live skunk" reaches a descented, captive-bred one. The only routes are a bona fide zoological park or research institution, and a wildlife rehabilitation permit holder receiving skunks from the wild for rehabilitation and release only. A violation is a Class C misdemeanor.

How this rule works: A one-section statute in the hunting and trapping part, outside the five-class exotic animal scheme. (a) makes it unlawful to import, possess, sell, barter, exchange or otherwise transfer any live skunk, with bona fide zoological parks and research institutions the only exemption; (b) lets a permitted wildlife rehabilitator receive skunks from the wild for rehabilitation and release only; (c) makes a violation a Class C misdemeanor. Tennessee has no free official code and FindLaw (current as of 2 January 2024) was the one reproduction this container could read, so cite the section number.

To hunt, trap, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture, or kill, possess, deliver for transportation, transport, cause to be transported, by any means whatever, receive for transportation or export, or import, at any time or in any manner, any wild bird or wild animal or the carcass or any part thereof, except as specifically permitted by law and only by the manner or means and within the numbers stated.

The striped skunk is a Virginia native wild animal. Because it is a Virginia native, it is not a nonnative (exotic) animal, so the permit table at 4VAC15-30-40 is not its rule, even though the table names its family; § 29.1-521(A)(10) is, and it bars possessing a wild animal except as specifically permitted. The one-per-address allowance at 4VAC15-360-10(A) reaches no mammal, and Chapter 290's permits are for exhibits and scientific collection, the reasoning the flying squirrel cell sets out.

How this rule works: Subsection (A)(10) makes it unlawful to possess, transport or import any wild bird or wild animal except as specifically permitted by law.

All persons are prohibited from acquiring, selling, bartering, exchanging, giving, purchasing, distributing, or trapping to retain any bat, skunk, fox, raccoon, or coyote, except a zoological park, animal exhibitor, research facility, or wildlife rehabilitator.

The rabies rule names the skunk, and bars anyone but zoos, exhibitors, research facilities and rehabilitators from acquiring or importing one. Descented or not makes no difference.

How this rule works: The rule that answers the rabies-vector carnivores in Washington, and it is a health rule rather than a wildlife one. Subsection (5)(a) bars all persons from acquiring, selling, bartering, exchanging, giving, purchasing, distributing or trapping to retain any bat, skunk, fox, raccoon or coyote, except a zoological park, animal exhibitor, research facility or wildlife rehabilitator, and (5)(b) bars importing one except by those bodies under an entry permit from the Department of Agriculture. "Fox" is unqualified. The rule also defines a canid hybrid, including any animal its owner represents to be a wolf hybrid, and orders a hybrid that bites someone euthanized and tested, but does not bar keeping one.

Fox, skunks, bats, raccoons, or whitetail deer taken from the wild shall not be possessed as personal use wildlife and shall be possessed only in accordance with permits issued under Rules 68A-9.002, 68A-9.006, F.A.C., or Section 379.3761, F.S.

Skunks are in neither Class I nor Class II, so they are 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). 68A-6.003(13) names skunks among the animals that may never be personal pets if taken from the wild, which leaves the captive-bred animal on the free permit.

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.

Before any individual shall hold, possess or engage in the breeding or raising of live fur-bearing mammals, he shall first procure a fur-bearing mammal breeder permit. Fur-bearing mammal breeder permits shall be issued by the Department. The annual fee for each fur-bearing mammal breeder permit shall be $25.

The striped skunk is named among Illinois's protected fur-bearing mammals in § 2.2 as Mephitis mephitis, and § 2.2 makes possessing one unlawful except as the Wildlife Code provides. § 3.25 provides it: a fur-bearing mammal breeder permit, $25 a year, required of anyone who holds a live fur-bearer, breeding or not. The protection follows the species, not the animal's origin, so a captive-bred animal from out of state needs it too. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter and often decides it.

How this rule works: § 2.2 says the Act applies only to wild birds and wild mammals, then lists the protected species by name and family. Parrots are not among them; the flying squirrel is. § 3.23 (DocName 052000050K3.23) carries the Class A noncommercial breeder permit that lets a private keeper hold a protected species, plus the two named-species clauses that decide the rabbit and the monk parakeet.

(9) Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis).

Named by binomial on the Class II list, so the same five-day permit as the raccoon, with inspection, proof of lawful acquisition and a vet's statement.

How this rule works: Three classes by risk. Class I is rabbits and squirrels, Class II is a long and specific list of small wild cats plus Indiana's furbearers, Class III is wolves, bears, all other wild cats, venomous reptiles and large crocodilians. Both the Class II and Class III lists end with the same sentence exempting hybrids with a domestic dog or cat, which is the clearest hybrid answer any state gives.

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.

No skunk is on the mammal exemption list or the domestic list. It is also a Massachusetts native, and the only animals MassWildlife lets a person take from the wild are certain reptiles and amphibians. 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.

badger, bobcat, red and gray fox, raccoon, coyote, beaver, otter, muskrat, mink, squirrels, striped skunk, woodchuck, opossum, ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail, Hungarian partridge, ducks, geese and wild turkeys

The striped skunk is on the closed list of game that may be held under the DNR's Permit to Hold Game in Captivity, so a keeper needs that permit. It covers captive-bred animals only, so one taken from the wild cannot be brought under it. The list names the striped skunk specifically.

How this rule works: Michigan's route for keeping a native mammal or game bird, and it is a closed list of species rather than a general exotic pet permit. It authorizes captive-bred animals only, so a wild-caught animal cannot be brought under it. Non-native species are outside it entirely, which is why a native red fox needs this permit and a fennec fox does not.

"Individual Hobby" may be issued to persons holding game animals for hobby purposes or as pets;

The striped skunk is named at 10.6(a)14 as a game animal needing a possession permit, and the Individual Hobby permit at 10.7(a)1 covers pets; the Division's own synopsis uses a pet skunk as its worked example. It must be captive bred under 10.8(a)1. The rabies vector policy bars importing a skunk from any state with a non-raccoon rabies variant, and the Division's example is that no skunk may come in from Texas even from a breeder.

How this rule works: The rule that answers New Jersey's native furbearers, which subchapter 4 never reaches because it governs only exotic and nongame species and these have trapping seasons. 10.5(a) bars possessing any game animal without a permit, 10.6(a) names the raccoon, striped skunk, red and gray fox, coyote, black bear and bobcat, and 10.7(a)1 offers an Individual Hobby permit "for hobby purposes or as pets". 10.8(a)1 requires the animal not to be of wild origin. 10.10 makes nondomestic dogs, bears and nondomestic cats potentially dangerous, and 10.11(a)6 says they "may not be kept as a household pet except when compelled by the infancy of the animal".

the wild animal or wild bird was not acquired unlawfully or merely as a pet

The striped skunk is a North Carolina fur-bearing animal, so it is a wild animal under § 113-129(15), and (16) carries the definition to animals of wild species raised or kept in captivity. Holding one alive needs a captivity license, and § 113-272.5(a) tells the Executive Director not to issue it unless the animal "was not acquired unlawfully or merely as a pet", the reasoning the flying squirrel cell rests on.

How this rule works: North Carolina's captivity-license statute, which bars issuing a license for a wild animal acquired merely as a pet.

"Noncommercial propagating license" permitting the licensee to propagate game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, or fur-bearing animals and to hold the animals in captivity. Game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, and fur-bearing animals propagated or held in captivity by authority of a noncommercial propagating license are for the licensee's own use and shall not be sold. The fee for such a license is twenty-five dollars per annum.

Skunks are named fur-bearing animals under R.C. 1531.01(W), so a pet skunk needs the $25 noncommercial propagating license under § 1533.71(A)(2), for the licensee's own use and not for sale.

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.

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

Native and not on the exemption list, so the import permit and noncommercial wildlife breeder's license apply. § 7-502(B)(4) keeps a captive-bred pet outside the statutory possession bar. No Oklahoma text read singles out skunks on rabies grounds.

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 skunk is named as a furbearer, so importing one needs a Department permit. § 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.

No person may capture or possess a live fur-bearing animal for any purpose, except as otherwise authorized by this code, unless he has acquired and possesses a fur-bearing animal propagation license.

The striped skunk is a fur-bearing animal under § 71.001(1), and § 71.005(c) requires a fur-bearing animal propagation license to possess a live one "for any purpose", so the license is a keeper's license as well as a breeder's; the fee is $50.75. The definition is headed "wild", which is the argument a captive-bred animal is outside it, but the word reads as describing the species rather than the animal's history. Not on the dangerous wild animal list.

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.

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

No skunk is on the Unrestricted or Domestic list, so it is Restricted by default. It is also a Vermont native, and 10 V.S.A. § 4709 bars possessing a live wild animal without authorization. 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.

The director may issue a permit to a person to keep and maintain in captivity as a pet, a wild animal or wild bird that has been acquired from a commercial dealer or during the legal open season. The fee therefor shall be $2.

The striped skunk is native, so the same Chapter 20 path applies as for the raccoon: § 20-2-4(a) bars keeping a wild animal except as the chapter provides, and § 20-2-51 provides a pet permit for one from a commercial dealer or the open season. No West Virginia text read singles the skunk out on rabies grounds.

How this rule works: The director may issue a $2 permit to keep in captivity as a pet a wild animal or wild bird acquired from a commercial dealer or during the legal open season.

The department shall issue a Class B captive wild animal farm license to operate a captive wild animal farm that grosses less than $10,000 in annual sales to any person who files a proper application for the license and who pays the applicable fee.

The striped skunk is a native fur-bearing wild animal under § 169.01(14), and the seventeen native animals § 169.04(4)(a) frees from licensing stop at weasels and opossums, so § 169.04(1)(b) requires a license. The one that fits a keeper is the Class B captive wild animal farm license, which the department must issue to any applicant and which NR 16.15(1) applies to hobbyists as well as businesses; it names the species held, and pens must meet NR 16.30 to 16.38. The statute is direct about the skunk: § 169.04(2)(e) bars descenting one unless the owner holds a Class A or Class B license, and tells a veterinarian to say that "possession of a live skunk is illegal" without one.

How this rule works: § 169.01(37) defines wild animal; § 169.11(1)(a) designates harmful wild animals as cougars, ursidae, wild and feral swine. § 169.04(4)(b) exempts most non-native species from licensing.

1. Except as otherwise provided by law, a licensed game breeder whose original stock is obtained from a lawful source may possess any game bird, game animal, or fur-bearing animal, or any of their parts. Possession and use of the game birds, game animals, or fur-bearing animals obtained from a licensed game breeder are lawful.

The striped skunk is one of Iowa's named fur-bearing animals, and § 481A.38 bars possessing one except as the chapter provides. The chapter provides two things: a licensed game breeder may hold it, and possession of a fur-bearer "obtained from a licensed game breeder" is lawful. So the condition is the source, an Iowa-licensed game breeder, and § 481A.61(4) bars a breeder from acquiring fur-bearers taken from the wild in Iowa. It is not a dangerous wild animal under chapter 717F. The list also names the spotted skunk.

How this rule works: The native side of Iowa, and the half that 717F never reaches. § 481A.1(36) defines a wild animal as "a wild mammal, bird, fish, amphibian, reptile, or other wildlife found in this state", a geographic qualifier that puts an exotic pet outside the chapter. § 481A.1(21) defines game as a closed list of taxa and (f) is "The Sciuridae: such as gray squirrels and fox squirrels", the family rather than the two examples. § 481A.38 then bars possessing game or protected nongame except as the chapter provides, § 481A.42 makes protected nongame "wild fish, wild birds, wild bats, wild reptiles, and wild amphibians" and no invertebrate, and §§ 481A.60 and 481A.61 are the game breeder license, which is the only route by which a person may possess a live game animal.

The following wildlife may be possessed without a permit if captured in the state, but no importation is allowed. ... (b) Mammals declared as pests by W.S. 11-5-101 through W.S. 11-5-119, or animals defined in W.S. 23-1-101 as predatory animals.

"Skunk" is on the statutory predatory animal list without a species limit. A skunk from out of state is barred at the border by Chapter 10 § 12, and one captured in Wyoming may be kept with no permit under § 14(b). A descented pet-trade skunk is always an import, so in practice that route is closed.

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.

All species of the order Carnivora

All of Carnivora is restricted, and the skunk is a carnivore on any taxonomy, so it needs a special license. It is also an Arizona native, and taking one alive from the wild is a separate regime under R12-4-404, R12-4-405 and Commission Order 43 that needs a hunting license.

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.

The striped skunk is on none of Table 3b-1's five sections. 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'.

(b) Live furbearers legally taken during a furbearer season may be possessed only through the last day of the season in which taken.

K.S.A. 32-1002(a)(2) bars possessing any wildlife unless a regulation permits it, and the striped skunk is a Kansas furbearer. The only regulation that permits a live furbearer is 115-5-2(b), and it lets a Kansas-caught animal be held only to the end of the season it was taken in, so a wild-caught pet is out. What is not settled is a captive-bred animal bought in another state: 32-1002(b) lifts the possession bar for animals "legally taken outside this state", and no Kansas text says whether that reaches one bred in captivity. The handoff records this as the one question Kansas has never closed.

How this rule works: Subsection (b) is the possession rule for a live Kansas furbearer: one legally taken during a furbearer season "may be possessed only through the last day of the season in which taken", which rules out keeping a wild-caught raccoon, fox, skunk or bobcat as a pet. Coyotes alone may be held live without limit in time under (d). Read from Cornell LII, since ksoutdoors.gov is blocked to this container.

ii.A raccoon or skunk that is sick, injured, or orphaned may also be possessed pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph upon notification to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries of possession of the wildlife and upon receipt of information regarding rabies vector species and a list of available wildlife rehabilitators.

Same position as the raccoon. The skunk is a nongame quadruped and a rabies vector species, the rescuer rule lets a sick, injured or orphaned skunk be held and, if non-releasable, kept for life on a special purpose permit, and pet-trade use of such an animal is barred. No text read decides a captive-bred, descented skunk bought as a pet.

How this rule works: D.3 lets an individual hold a sick, injured or orphaned squirrel, opossum, rabbit or chipmunk, and on notice a raccoon or skunk, for up to 90 days, and keep it for life on a special purpose and possession permit once trained and a vet finds it non-releasable. Pet-trade use is barred. Cached as LA-la-fox-and-quadrupeds.txt.

Black bears, cougars, bobcats, wolves, raccoons and skunks held in captivity require a Wildlife Holding or Wildlife Exhibitor/Animal Entertainment Industry or Wildlife Sanctuary Permit and associated fees paid for those species held.

The rule covers "Skunk (Mephitis spp.)" by genus and reads two ways, as the raccoon does. 0460(1) lists a Wildlife Holding Permit among the permits that cover a skunk and 0460(6)(b) writes sterilization conditions for held skunks, while 0450(3) says an exhibitor or sanctuary permit is required for any 0460 species, 0470 frames pets as grandfathered from 20 January 2017, and ORS 498.029 as cited in 0460(4)(d) bars offering a skunk for sale as a household pet in Oregon. Any skunk held must come from an out-of-state USDA breeder.

Existing owners: An animal legally held as a pet on 20 January 2017, with a Wildlife Holding Permit applied for by 21 January 2018, may be kept for its life under OAR 635-044-0470. It may not be bred, and may be transferred only to an AZA, exhibitor or sanctuary facility.

How this rule works: The ODFW division that answers Oregon's native carnivores, which neither ORS 609.305 nor division 56 reaches. 0460 requires a Wildlife Holding, Exhibitor/Animal Entertainment Industry or Sanctuary permit for black bears, cougars, bobcats, wolves, raccoons and skunks, sourced from an out-of-state USDA breeder, and 0460(3) confines black bears, cougars, bobcats and wolves acquired after 20 January 2017 to AZA, exhibitor and sanctuary facilities. 0470 grandfathers pets legally held on 20 January 2017 whose owners applied by 21 January 2018. 0460(5) puts the burden of proving a wolf-cross or bobcat-cross is a hybrid on the owner. 0430(1)(a) protects every federally listed species. 0430, 0440, 0450 and 0470 are at the same address with their own rule numbers.

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

The rule dates from 1993, when skunks were classed in Mustelidae, and current taxonomy puts them in their own family, Mephitidae, which the list does not name. Read with the taxonomy of its day the skunk needs a ten-dollar possession permit; read with today's it needs nothing beyond the free entry permit. Either way there is no ban.

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.