Exotic pet laws in South Dakota

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(c); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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

Bears are on the possession permit list and nowhere on the prohibited list, so a black bear takes the same ten-dollar permit as a serval. The board must find the facilities adequate, but the rule writes no pet exclusion.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(b); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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

Same as the fennec fox: a canid, so a possession permit at ten dollars an animal, renewed annually.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(d); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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

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

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

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

12:68:18:03(1)(a)

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(a); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

(1) Of the order Carnivora, all nondomestic members of the following families: (a) Felidae;

Every nondomestic felid needs the ten-dollar possession permit, the same route the serval takes. The bobcat is also a South Dakota furbearer, but Game, Fish and Parks has no captive wildlife rule that adds to this.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(a); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

(1) Of the order Carnivora, all nondomestic members of the following families: (a) Felidae;

A felid, so the ten-dollar possession permit. The Canada lynx is federally threatened in the lower 48, which adds a federal permit for moving one across state lines in commerce; South Dakota's rule itself draws no distinction.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(5); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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: ... (5) Of the order Primates.

The whole order Primates is on the possession permit list, so a capuchin needs the board's permit. A possession permit under 12:68:18:03.03(4) costs ten dollars an animal, to a maximum of one hundred, and the board must find the facilities adequate. The rule writes no pet exclusion, and the only outright prohibition in the chapter is the raccoon dog.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(5); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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: ... (5) Of the order Primates.

The whole order Primates is on the possession permit list, so a marmoset needs the board's permit. A possession permit under 12:68:18:03.03(4) costs ten dollars an animal, to a maximum of one hundred, and the board must find the facilities adequate. The rule writes no pet exclusion, and the only outright prohibition in the chapter is the raccoon dog.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(a); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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: (1) Of the order Carnivora, all nondomestic members of the following families: (a) Felidae;

Every nondomestic felid is on the possession permit list, so a cougar takes the same permit as a serval. A possession permit under 12:68:18:03.03(4) costs ten dollars an animal, to a maximum of one hundred, and the board must find the facilities adequate. The rule writes no pet exclusion, and the only outright prohibition in the chapter is the raccoon dog. 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: 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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

12:68:18:03(1)(b)

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

Canidae is one of the mammal families that need a possession permit under 12:68:18:03, so a keeper must obtain one for a fennec fox.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(a); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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: (1) Of the order Carnivora, all nondomestic members of the following families: (a) Felidae;

Every nondomestic felid is on the possession permit list, so a lion takes the same permit as a serval. A possession permit under 12:68:18:03.03(4) costs ten dollars an animal, to a maximum of one hundred, and the board must find the facilities adequate. The rule writes no pet exclusion, and the only outright prohibition in the chapter is the raccoon dog. 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: 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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(b); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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

Same answer as the fennec fox. Canidae is on the possession permit list, so a red fox needs a possession permit at ten dollars an animal, renewed each year, plus the free entry permit if it comes from out of state.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(5); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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: ... (5) Of the order Primates.

The whole order Primates is on the possession permit list, so a ring-tailed lemur needs the board's permit. A possession permit under 12:68:18:03.03(4) costs ten dollars an animal, to a maximum of one hundred, and the board must find the facilities adequate. The rule writes no pet exclusion, and the only outright prohibition in the chapter is the raccoon dog. 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: 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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(a)

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: (1) Of the order Carnivora, all nondomestic members of the following families: (a) Felidae;

The hybrid words sit in the operative sentence, so a serval hybrid needs the same possession permit as a serval: ten dollars an animal from the Animal Industry Board, renewed each year. No generation line is drawn, so a late-generation Savannah reads the same as an F1, which is also how the Bengal is answered here. The board's prohibited list names only the raccoon dog, so this is a real route for a private keeper.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

12:68:18:03(1)(a)

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: (1) Of the order Carnivora, all nondomestic members of the following families: (a) Felidae;

A possession permit costs ten dollars an animal and must be renewed annually by January 1st.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(5); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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: ... (5) Of the order Primates.

The whole order Primates is on the possession permit list, so a squirrel monkey needs the board's permit. A possession permit under 12:68:18:03.03(4) costs ten dollars an animal, to a maximum of one hundred, and the board must find the facilities adequate. The rule writes no pet exclusion, and the only outright prohibition in the chapter is the raccoon dog.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(a); 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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: (1) Of the order Carnivora, all nondomestic members of the following families: (a) Felidae;

Every nondomestic felid is on the possession permit list, so a tiger takes the same permit as a serval. A possession permit under 12:68:18:03.03(4) costs ten dollars an animal, to a maximum of one hundred, and the board must find the facilities adequate. The rule writes no pet exclusion, and the only outright prohibition in the chapter is the raccoon dog. 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: 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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(2); 12:68:18:03.02; 12:68:18:03.03(4)

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: ... (2) Of the order Artiodactyla, all nondomestic members;

Every nondomestic member of Artiodactyla is on the possession permit list, so a white-tailed deer needs the board's permit, ten dollars an animal. The east-of-the-Missouri restriction in 12:68:18:03.02 names red deer, sika, sambar, Pere David's and axis deer, not the whitetail. The rule writes no pet exclusion.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(b)

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

The wolf is a nondomestic canid and the operative sentence reaches "any of its hybrids", so a wolfdog needs the same possession permit as a wolf. No generation or percentage is written, so a low-content animal reads the same as an F1.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

ARSD 12:68:18:03(1)(d)

(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.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.