Exotic pet laws in Alaska

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A native big game animal, not on the clean list, and subsection (c) bars a pet permit. The 5 AAC 92.029 framework has no bear exception.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

The arctic fox is an Alaska native and a furbearer, but that only confirms it is game; the clean list has no fox, and subsection (c) bars a pet permit.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(b), (c)

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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 felid but Felis catus is off the clean list, and subsection (c) bars a pet permit. The bobcat does not range into Alaska, which does not matter under a definition that reaches any mammal.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A native Alaska furbearer, so game, and the only cat on the clean list is the house cat. Subsection (c) bars a pet permit. Alaska's lynx is not federally listed, unlike the lower 48 population, but that changes nothing here.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet. The only primate exception was for chimpanzees already held as pets before January 31, 2010.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c)

The department may not issue a permit for the capture, possession, import, or export of any game animal... for use as a pet

Not on the clean list.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (b), (c)

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

Reptiles are game in Alaska, and the clean list clears only "Any nonvenomous reptile", so a cobra stays under § 92.029(a), and subsection (c) bars a pet permit. The king cobra and the Asian Naja species are on CITES Appendix II, which governs import and export, not keeping.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet. The only primate exception was for chimpanzees already held before January 31, 2010.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet. Federally, the Big Cat Public Safety Act of 2022 (16 U.S.C. § 3372(e)) bars any person outside a licensed exhibitor, sanctuary or state institution from breeding or possessing a cougar unless the animal was born before December 20, 2022, and registered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within 180 days, so no new pet is lawful anywhere in the country whatever the state rule says. The Florida panther subspecies is also endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c)

The department may not issue a permit for the capture, possession, import, or export of any game animal... for use as a pet

The clean list clears the guinea pig, the cavy, the chinchilla and two gerbils. The degu is not among them.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c)

The department may not issue a permit for the capture, possession, import, or export of any game animal... for use as a pet

The only canid on the clean list is Canis familiaris.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c)

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

Alaska is a clean list and Glaucomys volans is not on it. A flying squirrel is a mammal, so it is game under AS 16.05.940(19), § 92.029(a) then bars possessing or importing live game without a permit, and § 92.029(c) forbids the department from issuing that permit for a pet at all. The clean list does carry nine exotic mammals, from the chinchilla to the African pygmy hedgehog, so a mammal can get on it; the route is § 92.029(h), which requires clear and convincing evidence to the board. Alaska has its own flying squirrel, the northern, but that changes nothing here, because the bar runs on absence from the list rather than on nativity.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

No procyonid is on the § 92.029(b) clean list, and an unlisted mammal cannot be permitted as a pet under subsection (c). The route onto the list is a petition to the Board of Game under § 92.029(h).

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet. Federally, the Big Cat Public Safety Act of 2022 (16 U.S.C. § 3372(e)) bars any person outside a licensed exhibitor, sanctuary or state institution from breeding or possessing a lion unless the animal was born before December 20, 2022, and registered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within 180 days, so no new pet is lawful anywhere in the country whatever the state rule says.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c)

The department may not issue a permit for the capture, possession, import, or export of any game animal... for use as a pet

Not on the clean list.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

Game in Alaska is "any species of bird, reptile, and mammal" found or introduced in the state, so nativity does not matter. The raccoon is not on the § 92.029(b) clean list, and subsection (c) bars any permit for keeping game as a pet.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (b), (c)

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

Reptiles are game in Alaska, and the clean list clears only "Any nonvenomous reptile", so a rattlesnake stays under § 92.029(a), and subsection (c) bars a pet permit. Venom, not size, is the line.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A native furbearer and game under AS 16.05.940(19). The only canid on the clean list is the domestic dog, and subsection (c) bars a pet permit, so a captive-bred red fox is in the same position as one taken from the wild.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet. The only primate exception was for chimpanzees already held before January 31, 2010. Lemur catta is on CITES Appendix I, which bars commercial international trade, so a pet lemur here can only come from captive breeding inside the country, and the whole family Lemuridae is listed endangered under the Endangered Species Act (50 CFR 17.11).

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

5 AAC 92.029(b), (c)

(c) 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

Same answer as the Bengal. Felis catus is on the clean list at (b), but the list opens by excluding "a hybrid of a game animal and a species listed in this subsection", and (c) then bars a pet permit for exactly that hybrid. Game under AS 16.05.940 is any mammal found or introduced in the state other than a domestic one, which takes in a serval, so a Savannah is the hybrid both subsections describe. No generation cutoff, so an F5 stands where an F1 does.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c)

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

The only cat on the clean list is Felis catus.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet. The only primate exception was for chimpanzees already held before January 31, 2010.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c)

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

Absent from the clean list, and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet. This is the trap in Alaska: it is not a list of banned animals, it is a list of allowed ones.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet. Federally, the Big Cat Public Safety Act of 2022 (16 U.S.C. § 3372(e)) bars any person outside a licensed exhibitor, sanctuary or state institution from breeding or possessing a tiger unless the animal was born before December 20, 2022, and registered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within 180 days, so no new pet is lawful anywhere in the country whatever the state rule says.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). Absent from the clean list in § 92.029(b), and subsection (c) closes the permit route for anything kept as a pet.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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 subsection (c) bars a pet permit for any game animal. Alaska counts every mammal as game whether it is native or not.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(a), (c); AS 16.05.940(19)

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

A mammal, so game under AS 16.05.940(19). The clean list's only cervids are reindeer and elk, the elk only outside feral and wild animals, so a white-tailed deer is absent from it, and subsection (c) bars a pet permit.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 92.029(b), (c)

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

Alaska names this case. The dog is on the clean list, but subsection (b) carves out "a hybrid of a game animal and a species listed in this subsection", and the wolf is game, so a wolfdog drops off the list and subsection (c) then bars a pet permit for exactly that hybrid. No generation or percentage is written.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.