Exotic pet laws in Washington

RCW 16.30.010(2)(b)(ii); RCW 16.30.030

(ii) Order crocodilia, all species, such as crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gavials.

Alligators are named in the crocodilian entry. RCW 16.30.030(1) bars owning, possessing, keeping or bringing one into the state, and (2) bars breeding; the exemptions in 16.30.020 are for zoos, sanctuaries, exhibitors, research and similar bodies.

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

WAC 246-100-197(5)(a), (b)

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 fox without a species, so an arctic fox is caught the same as a native one: no acquisition or import except by zoos, exhibitors, research facilities and rehabilitators.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 77.15.120(1); WAC 220-610-010

(a) The person hunts for, fishes for, possesses, maliciously harasses, or kills fish or wildlife, or possesses or intentionally destroys the nests or eggs of fish or wildlife; (b) The fish or wildlife is designated by the commission as endangered; and (c) The taking of the fish or wildlife or the destruction of the nests or eggs has not been authorized by rule of the commission, a permit issued by the department, or a permit issued pursuant to the federal endangered species act.

Washington lists the North American lynx, Lynx canadensis, as endangered, and possessing endangered wildlife without a commission rule or department or federal permit is a crime. Those permits serve research and recovery, not pets. The lynx is federally threatened as well.

How this rule works: Possessing wildlife the Fish and Wildlife Commission designates as endangered is unlawful taking in the second degree unless authorized by commission rule, a department permit or a federal Endangered Species Act permit. WAC 220-610-010, at https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=220-610-010, is the list, and it names the North American lynx, Lynx canadensis.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 16.30.010(2)(a)(iii); RCW 16.30.030

(iii) Order primates, all nonhuman primate species;

Every nonhuman primate is a potentially dangerous wild animal. RCW 16.30.030(1) bars owning, possessing, keeping or bringing one into the state, and (2) bars breeding; the exemptions in 16.30.020 are for accredited zoos, sanctuaries, research facilities, circuses, shelters, vets, rehabilitators and fairs.

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 16.30.010(2)(b)(i)(C); RCW 16.30.030

(C) Family elapidae, all species, such as cobras, mambas, kraits, coral snakes, and Australian tiger snakes;

Cobras are named in the elapid entry, which reaches the king cobra too. RCW 16.30.030(1) bars owning, possessing, keeping or bringing one into the state, and (2) bars breeding; the exemptions in 16.30.020 are for zoos, sanctuaries, exhibitors, research and similar bodies. The king cobra and the Asian Naja species are on CITES Appendix II, which governs import and export, not keeping.

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 16.30.010(2)(a)(iii); RCW 16.30.030

(iii) Order primates, all nonhuman primate species;

Every nonhuman primate is a potentially dangerous wild animal. RCW 16.30.030(1) bars owning, possessing, keeping or bringing one into the state, and (2) bars breeding; the exemptions in 16.30.020 are for zoos, sanctuaries, exhibitors, research and similar bodies.

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 16.30.010(2)(a)(i)(A); 16.30.020(1)(k); RCW 16.30.030

(A) Family felidae, only lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards, and clouded leopards;

The statute names "captive-bred cougars" in terms. A wild cougar is native wildlife subject to Title 77, which 16.30.020(1)(k) exempts from the chapter, but taking any live wildlife from the wild needs a department permit under WAC 220-450-030(1), so neither door leads to a pet. RCW 16.30.030(1) bars owning, possessing, keeping or bringing one into the state, and (2) bars breeding; the exemptions in 16.30.020 are for zoos, sanctuaries, exhibitors, research and similar bodies. 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.

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

WAC 246-100-197(5)(a), (b)

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 Department of Health's rabies rule names the fox without a species, so a fennec is caught the same as a native one: no one but a zoo, exhibitor, research facility or rehabilitator may acquire one, and (5)(b) lets only a zoo, exhibitor or research facility import one, under an entry permit. RCW 16.30, the dangerous wild animal statute, does not reach it, since its canid entry is wolves only.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 16.30.010(2)(a)(i)(A); RCW 16.30.030

(A) Family felidae, only lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards, and clouded leopards;

Lions are the first cat the felid entry names. RCW 16.30.030(1) bars owning, possessing, keeping or bringing one into the state, and (2) bars breeding; the exemptions in 16.30.020 are for zoos, sanctuaries, exhibitors, research and similar bodies. 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.

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

WAC 246-100-197(5)(a), (b)

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.

Washington's answer for the raccoon comes from the Department of Health rather than Fish and Wildlife. The rabies rule bars any person but a zoo, a USDA exhibitor, a research facility or a rehabilitator from acquiring a raccoon by any means, and bars importing one except by those bodies on an entry permit, so a captive-bred animal from another state has no route either.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

WAC 246-100-197(5)(a), (b)

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 fox without a species, and bars anyone but zoos, exhibitors, research facilities and rehabilitators from acquiring or importing one. It reaches the native red fox whatever Title 77 would say about lawful acquisition.

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.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 16.30.010(2)(a)(iii); RCW 16.30.030

(iii) Order primates, all nonhuman primate species;

Every nonhuman primate is a potentially dangerous wild animal. RCW 16.30.030(1) bars owning, possessing, keeping or bringing one into the state, and (2) bars breeding; the exemptions in 16.30.020 are for zoos, sanctuaries, exhibitors, research and similar bodies. 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).

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 16.30.010(2)(b)(ii); RCW 16.30.030

(ii) Order crocodilia, all species, such as crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gavials.

Caimans are named in the crocodilian entry. RCW 16.30.030(1) bars owning, possessing, keeping or bringing one into the state, and (2) bars breeding; the exemptions in 16.30.020 are for zoos, sanctuaries, exhibitors, research and similar bodies.

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 16.30.010(2)(a)(iii); RCW 16.30.030

(iii) Order primates, all nonhuman primate species;

Every nonhuman primate is a potentially dangerous wild animal. RCW 16.30.030(1) bars owning, possessing, keeping or bringing one into the state, and (2) bars breeding; the exemptions in 16.30.020 are for zoos, sanctuaries, exhibitors, research and similar bodies.

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

WAC 246-100-197(5)(a), (b)

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.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 16.30.010(2)(a)(i)(A); RCW 16.30.030

(A) Family felidae, only lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards, and clouded leopards;

Tigers are named in the felid entry. RCW 16.30.030(1) bars owning, possessing, keeping or bringing one into the state, and (2) bars breeding; the exemptions in 16.30.020 are for zoos, sanctuaries, exhibitors, research and similar bodies. 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.

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

WAC 220-450-030(2), (8)

It is unlawful to import into the state, hold, possess, propagate, offer for sale, sell, transfer, or release live specimens of or the gametes and/or embryos of the following species in the family Cervidae . ... White-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus

Washington names the white-tailed deer among its native cervids that may not be imported, held, possessed or propagated. The only route the rule writes is subsection (8), written department approval for scientific research by an approved institution or display by an AZA, ZAA or similarly accredited member, and (9) for federally listed species does not apply. No pet route.

How this rule works: The sentence that decides most of Washington is subsection (74): "Wildlife means all species of the animal kingdom whose members exist in Washington in a wild state." The list that follows is inclusive down to invertebrates, so the taxonomic reach is total, and the qualifier is geographic: a species that does not live wild in Washington is not Washington wildlife at all. Subsection (72) does the same for "wild animals", class Mammalia, and expressly drops feral domestic mammals and old world rats and mice. The other half of the scheme is subsection (13), deleterious exotic wildlife, which is a designated list rather than a category: WAC 220-640-200 designates the mute swan, mongooses, wild boar, javelina, six bovid genera and a run of cervids, and nothing else.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

WAC 220-450-030(1), (3), (4), (5); RCW 16.30.010(2)(a)(i)(C), 16.30.020(1)(k)

It is unlawful to possess or hold in captivity live wild animals, wild birds, or game fish unless lawfully acquired. Any person possessing or holding wild animals, wild birds, or game fish in captivity must provide proof of lawful acquisition and possession for inspection if asked to do so by a department employee.

RCW 16.30 lists "Family ursidae, all bears" as potentially dangerous, but 16.30.020(1)(k) exempts "native wildlife subject to Title 77 RCW", and the black bear is a Washington animal, so the dangerous animal ban does not reach it. Title 77 then asks only for lawful acquisition: no taking from the wild without a permit, a health certificate to import, documented proof of source, and no sale of a captive animal or its progeny except as rule allows. That is a thin answer for a bear and turns on the native-wildlife exemption doing what it says.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: The sentence that decides most of Washington is subsection (74): "Wildlife means all species of the animal kingdom whose members exist in Washington in a wild state." The list that follows is inclusive down to invertebrates, so the taxonomic reach is total, and the qualifier is geographic: a species that does not live wild in Washington is not Washington wildlife at all. Subsection (72) does the same for "wild animals", class Mammalia, and expressly drops feral domestic mammals and old world rats and mice. The other half of the scheme is subsection (13), deleterious exotic wildlife, which is a designated list rather than a category: WAC 220-640-200 designates the mute swan, mongooses, wild boar, javelina, six bovid genera and a run of cervids, and nothing else.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

WAC 220-450-030(1), (3), (4), (5); RCW 16.30.020(1)(k)

It is unlawful to possess or hold in captivity live wild animals, wild birds, or game fish unless lawfully acquired. Any person possessing or holding wild animals, wild birds, or game fish in captivity must provide proof of lawful acquisition and possession for inspection if asked to do so by a department employee.

The bobcat is a Washington wild animal, so RCW 16.30, which exempts native wildlife subject to Title 77 and lists only big cats anyway, does not reach it. Title 77 does not ban keeping one: WAC 220-450-030 requires a permit to take one from the wild, a health certificate to import one, and proof of lawful acquisition naming species, origin and source for any held animal, and bars selling a captive one or its progeny except as department rule allows. A captive-bred bobcat lawfully acquired and documented is the condition.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: The sentence that decides most of Washington is subsection (74): "Wildlife means all species of the animal kingdom whose members exist in Washington in a wild state." The list that follows is inclusive down to invertebrates, so the taxonomic reach is total, and the qualifier is geographic: a species that does not live wild in Washington is not Washington wildlife at all. Subsection (72) does the same for "wild animals", class Mammalia, and expressly drops feral domestic mammals and old world rats and mice. The other half of the scheme is subsection (13), deleterious exotic wildlife, which is a designated list rather than a category: WAC 220-640-200 designates the mute swan, mongooses, wild boar, javelina, six bovid genera and a run of cervids, and nothing else.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

RCW 77.08.010(72), (74); WAC 220-450-030(1), (3), (4), (5)

It is unlawful to possess or hold in captivity live wild animals, wild birds, or game fish unless lawfully acquired. Lawful acquisition and possession include department permits and any other applicable authorization.

The eastern gray squirrel is an introduced animal that lives wild in Washington, so it is a "wild animal" under RCW 77.08.010(72), which turns on whether a species exists in Washington in a wild state rather than on where it came from. Title 77 then asks for lawful acquisition: no taking from the wild without a director's permit, a health certificate to import, documented proof of source, and no commercial use of a captive animal or its young except as rule allows. RCW 16.30 names no rodent.

How this rule works: The sentence that decides most of Washington is subsection (74): "Wildlife means all species of the animal kingdom whose members exist in Washington in a wild state." The list that follows is inclusive down to invertebrates, so the taxonomic reach is total, and the qualifier is geographic: a species that does not live wild in Washington is not Washington wildlife at all. Subsection (72) does the same for "wild animals", class Mammalia, and expressly drops feral domestic mammals and old world rats and mice. The other half of the scheme is subsection (13), deleterious exotic wildlife, which is a designated list rather than a category: WAC 220-640-200 designates the mute swan, mongooses, wild boar, javelina, six bovid genera and a run of cervids, and nothing else.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 16.30.010(2)(b)(i)(F), 16.30.020(1)(k), 16.30.030; WAC 220-450-030(1), (4)

(F) Family viperidae, all species, such as rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, bushmasters, puff adders, and gaboon vipers;

Every viper is a potentially dangerous wild animal, and the statute names rattlesnakes, so a rattlesnake from outside the state is barred, with possession before July 22, 2007, grandfathered. The exception is Washington's own western rattlesnake: 16.30.020(1)(k) exempts native wildlife subject to Title 77, and Title 77 asks only that a captive animal be lawfully acquired, with a department permit needed to take one from the wild. That is the same reading the black bear gets, and it is thin for a venomous snake.

Existing owners: A person in legal possession before July 22, 2007, may keep the animal for the rest of its life, with veterinary records or acquisition papers proving the date, but may not breed it.

How this rule works: An enumerated definition. Felidae is limited to lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards; Canidae to wolves excluding wolf-hybrids. § 16.30.030: 'A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal', grandfathering lawful possession before July 22, 2007.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

RCW 77.08.010(72), (74); WAC 220-450-030(1), (3), (4), (5)

It is unlawful to possess or hold in captivity live wild animals, wild birds, or game fish unless lawfully acquired. Lawful acquisition and possession include department permits and any other applicable authorization.

The Virginia opossum is an introduced animal that lives wild in Washington, so it is a "wild animal" under RCW 77.08.010(72). Title 77 asks for lawful acquisition: no taking from the wild without a director's permit, a health certificate to import, documented proof of source, and no commercial use of a captive animal or its young except as rule allows. RCW 16.30 names no marsupial.

How this rule works: The sentence that decides most of Washington is subsection (74): "Wildlife means all species of the animal kingdom whose members exist in Washington in a wild state." The list that follows is inclusive down to invertebrates, so the taxonomic reach is total, and the qualifier is geographic: a species that does not live wild in Washington is not Washington wildlife at all. Subsection (72) does the same for "wild animals", class Mammalia, and expressly drops feral domestic mammals and old world rats and mice. The other half of the scheme is subsection (13), deleterious exotic wildlife, which is a designated list rather than a category: WAC 220-640-200 designates the mute swan, mongooses, wild boar, javelina, six bovid genera and a run of cervids, and nothing else.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.