CONNECTICUT Laws

POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WILD ANIMALS

BANS potentially dangerous wild animals

• GRANDFATHERS: Nonhuman primates less than 35 pounds owned on 10/1/2010
  

• EXEMPTIONS:
  
  • municipal parks
    
  • public nonprofit aquaria or zoo
    
  • AZA or ZAA zoos
    
  • nature centers
    
  • museums
    
  • USDA exhibitors and research facilities
    
  • veterinarians
    

LIST:    

• Bears
  
• Canines
  
• Felines 
  
• Hybrids except TICA, CFA or ACFA domestic cat hybrids
  
• Nonhuman primates in Hominidae family
  

(Connecticut Statutes Ch. 490 Sec. 26-40a)

WILD ANIMALS

All wild animals are divided into categories. 

• EXEMPT:
  
  • Domestic animals
    
  • Ferrets
    
  • Hedgehogs (Atelerix)
    
  • Sugar gliders
    
  • Degus
    

BANS wild animals for activities listed in each category

• PERMIT issued for entities listed in each category
  

CATEGORIES:

• Category 1 (Potentially dangerous - BANS import and possession)
  
  • PERMIT for:
    
    • municipal park
      
    • AZA or ZAA zoo
      
    • public nonprofit aquarium
      
    • nature center
      
    • museum
      
    • USDA exhibitor
      
    • USDA registered laboratory or research facility
      
  • LIST:
    
    • Bears
      
    • Canines
      
    • Felines
      
    • Hybrids except TICA, CFA or ACFA domestic cat hybrids
      
    • Nonhuman primates in Hominidae family
      

• Category 2 (BANS import and possession)
  
  • PERMIT for:
    
    • Veterinarian
      
    • municipal park
      
    • AZA or ZAA zoo
      
    • marine mammal park
      
    • AZA or Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums aquarium
      
    • nature center
      
    • museum
      
    • exhibitor
      
    • Laboratory
      
    • Research facility
      
    • K-12 School
      
  • GRANDFATHERED: Nonhuman primates less than 35 pounds on 10/1/2003 IF registered, held to prevent breeding or human or animal injury, recapture plan, immediately notifies law enforcement of injuries or escapes, maintenance and disposition plan, maintain records for 5 years after death or transfer, identify with PIT tag if required, not breed or release, allow inspections, immediately notify department of deaths or status requests, only transfer to another person with adequate enclosures, municipal park, zoo, marine mammal park, aquarium, nature center, museum, exhibitor, laboratory or research facility
    
  • LIST: (names in parenthesis are examples)
    
    • US injurious wildlife
      
    • Elephants
      
    • Unlisted nonhuman primates
      
    • Wolverine
      
    • family Hyaenidae (hyenas and aardwolves)
      
    • Kangaroos and Wallabies: genera Dendrolagus (tree kangaroos), Dorcopsis and Dorcopsulus (forest wallabies), Lagorchestes (hare-wallabies), Onychogalea (nail-tailed wallaby) and Petrogale (rock wallaby); subgenus Osphranter (red kangaroo); subgenus Macropus (gray kangaroo); swamp wallaby
      
    • Quokka
      
    • genus Thylogale (pademelons)
      
    • Viverids (civets, binturong)
      
    • family Herpestidae (mongoose and meerkat)
      
    • family Dasypodidae (armadillo)
      
    • family Mephitidae (skunks)
      
    • family Procyonidae (racoon family)
      
    • suborder Suiformes (wild boar, warthog, hippopotamus, and peccary)
      
    • Bats
      
    • Rhinos
      
    • Rodents except guinea pig, Mongolian gerbil, long-tailed chinchilla, brown rat, house mouse, golden hamster, dwarf hamster (genera Phodopus and Cricetulus), Patagonia mara and American beaver
      
    • Mute swan
      
    • Monk parakeet
      
    • Crocodilians
      
    • Family Elapidae and Viperidae (venomous snakes)
      
    • Northern and Southern African python, reticulated python and amethystine python
      
    • Green, yellow and Bolivian anacondas
      
    • genera Boiga, Thelotornis, Enhydris, Dispholidus, Clelia, Rhabdophis, Hydrodynastes, Philodryas or Malpolon
      
    • family Helodermatidae (Gila monster and beaded lizards)
      
    • Nile, water, black-throated, white-throated and crocodile monitors
      
    • Komodo dragon
      

• Category 3 (BANS import and export)
  
  • PERMIT for:
    
    • municipal park
      
    • AZA or ZAA zoo
      
    • marine mammal park
      
    • AZA or Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums aquarium
      
    • nature center
      
    • museum
      
    • exhibitor
      
    • Laboratory
      
    • Research facility
      
    • K-12 School
      
    • Game breeders
      
    • Custodians of injured, sick or immature birds or quadrupeds and those authorized to keep them as pets or dog training
      
    • Sec. 26-56 permits for rabbits and hares and snowshoe rabbits or variant hares imported from New England states, Province of Quebec or maritime provinces of Canada legal without permit including release
      
    • Falconry
      
  • LIST: (Except those in other categories)
    
    • Cervids
      
    • American beaver
      
    • Mustelids (weasel family)
      
    • Harbor seal
      
    • American black duck, lesser and greater scaups, canvasback, long-tailed duck, hooded and common merganser, white-winged, black and surf scoter
      
    • Ruffed grouse
      
    • Chimney swift and ruby-throated hummingbird
      
    • Spotted and semipalmated sandpiper, sanderling, American woodcock, ruddy turnstone, black skimmer, willet
      
    • Great blue, green and black-crowned night-heron
      
    • Belted kingfisher
      
    • Yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos
      
    • Cooper’s, red-shouldered, and rough-legged hawks; northern goshawk; osprey
      
    • Red-throated loon
      
    • Virginia and clapper rails, sora
      
    • Baltimore and orchard oriole
      
    • Brown creeper
      
    • Purple finch
      
    • Rose-breasted grosbeak
      
    • Gray catbird
      
    • Red-breasted nuthatch
      
    • Cliff, bank and northern rough-winged swallow
      
    • Scarlet tanager
      
    • Veery; hermit, gray-cheeked, Swainson’s and wood thrush
      
    • Blue-gray gnatcatcher
      
    • Golden-crowned kinglet
      
    • Louisiana and northern waterthrushes; black-throated blue, bay-breasted, cerulean, yellow-rumped, prairie, blackburnian, magnolia, chestnut-sided, Cape May, black-throated green, worm-eating, black-and-white, blue-winged, Canada and hooded warblers; ovenbird; American redstart
      
    • Dark-eyed junco, eastern towhee, field sparrow and indigo bunting
      
    • Olive-sided flycatcher; eastern wood-pewee; least, willow, Acadian, and great crested flycatcher; and eastern kingbird
      
    • Yellow-throated, warbling, white-eyed and blue-headed vireos
      
    • Marsh and winter wren
      
    • Great cormorant
      
    • Northern flicker and pileated woodpecker
      
    • Horned and red-necked grebes
      
    • Great horned, snowy, eastern screech and barred owls
      
    • Spotted turtle
      
    • Eastern racer
      
    • Diamond-backed terrapin
      
    • Fowler's toad
      
    • Northern dusky salamander
      
    • Gray treefrog
      
    • Eastern newt
      
    • Wood frog
      

• Category 4 (Endangered, threatened, special concern - BANS import and possession)
  
  • PERMIT for:
    
    • As issued for specific animals
      
  • LIST:
    
    • endangered, threatened and special concern species
      

RESTRICTIONS: Museums and nature centers and zoos must have:

• USDA exhibitor license for mammals and last inspection report along with all other required permits
  minimum of 5,000 annual visitors
  Zoos: 50 public programs or within 1000 attendees in first 2 years and each year thereafter (or USDA license); Rest: regular public hours including 28 hours a week for at least 8 months
  Animals under control
  USDA housing and state and local building codes
  $1 million liability insurance
  Recapture plan and maintenance or disposition plan in owner’s absence or death
  Zoos: 1 year of husbandry experience or 300 hours of training of similar species (half may be substituted by Bachelor of Science or higher degree in biological science) that must be documented with 2 references
  Zoos: No wild animal law violation conviction
  Maintain records with species, sex, age, and lineage of animals, date of birth and acquisition, name and addressed of previous owner and date of transfer (if applicable) and disposal date
  

(Connecticut Statutes Ch. 490 Sec. 26-55; Connecticut Regulations Sec. 26-55-6)

 

IMPORT AND TRANSPORT

PERMIT required for:

• Import of wild hares and rabbits
  
• Transport or export of fish, bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian or invertebrate with a closed season except for with another permit
  
• Import and maintenance of captive cervids (pilot program for reindeer - may be imported for the holiday season)
  

(Connecticut Statutes Ch. 490 Sec. 26-56, 57, 57a)

GAME AND GAME BREEDERS

BANS breeding, propagating and selling skunks and raccoons

• GRANDFATHERED: Skunks purchased in retail establishments in 1979 and raccoons in 1985
  
• EXEMPT: 
  
  • Zoos
    
  • Nature centers
    
  • Museums
    
  • Laboratory
    
  • Scientific or educational institution research facilities
    

PERMIT (Game Breeders Permit) required to possess more than 1, breed or propagate wild game bird or wild game quadruped.

GAME LIST:    

• Anatidae (ducks/geese/swans)
  
• Phasianidae (quail, partridge, pheasant: blackneck, Chinese, English, Formosan, melanistic mutant and Mongolian)
  
• Ruffed grouse
  
• Wild turkeys
  
• Deer: sika, white-tailed and fallow
  
• Raccoon
  
• Otter
  
• Beaver
  
• Nondomestic rabbits and hares
  

REQUIREMENTS: 

• Records of each animal sold, transported or propagated
  
• Transport: name and license number, name of consignee and statement of contents
  

(Connecticut Statutes Ch. 490 Sec. 26-40)

 

PROTECTED BIRDS AND QUADRUPEDS CUSTODIANS

Allows appointing custodians for injured, sick or immature birds or quadrupeds until release

PERMIT issued to possess legally acquired wild birds or quadrupeds as pets or dog training AND department may regulated number and species, pen size and care and feeding 

(Connecticut Statutes Ch. 490 Sec. 26-54)

BIRD, QUADRUPED AND HERPTILE SALES

BANS buying, selling and exchanging wild and game birds, wild quadrupeds, reptiles and amphibians unless allowed.

• EXEMPT:  Those legally imported from another state  
  

BANS buying, selling, import and release of red-eared sliders.

• EXEMPT:
  
  • scientific or educational institution
    
  • distinctive aberrant color patterns which seller has record of purchaser name and address if not released
    

(Connecticut Statutes Ch. 490 Sec. 26-78)

 

SALAMANDERS AND TURTLES

Sets possession limit for salamanders and turtles as follows:

• 3 marbled salamanders
  
• 3 spotted salamanders
  
• 10 adult common snapping turtles
  
• 1 spotted turtle
  

(Connecticut Regulations Sec. 26-55-3)

 

TURTLE SALES (HEALTH CODE)

Requires turtle sellers to give buyers a copy of caution notice signed by buyer (or parent/guardian if underage) and proper care and feeding information

• SUBSTITUTION: CDC caution notice
  
• NOTICE: 
  
  • Be 8.5” by 11” or larger within 3’ of enclosure or display that is firmly attached and bottom not more than 3’ and top not more than 6’ from floor
    
  • Line 1: “Caution” centered in at least 60-point Times Roman Bold font
    
  • Line 2:  "Turtles may carry and transmit germs (including Salmonella) to people." In at least 25-point Times Roman font "Turtles may carry and transmit germs (including Salmonella) to people." with turtles and Salmonella bold
    
  • Line 3: "Preventive Measures." In at least 25-point Times Roman Bold font following by the following in bullets: "Wash hands after touching turtles or other reptiles or tank objects. Keep turtles in their tank to avoid contamination of surfaces in the home. Do not allow turtles or materials from their tank to contact food preparation areas. Households with people at increased risk for infection (e.g., immunocompromised persons, children less than 5 years of age, pregnant women) should consult a physician before purchase." 
    

Maintain written verification of being captive-bred at commercial fish farm or aquaculture facility and not from the wild and make it available for inspection
(19 Public Health Code Sec. 19a-102a)

WILD BIRDS

BANS catch, kill, purchase, sale and possession of wild birds unless otherwise allowed (protected)

• EXEMPT:
  
  • Game birds
    
  • English sparrows
    
  • Starlings
    

GAME LIST:    

• Anatidae (waterfowl)
  
• Rallidae (rails) including coot, gallinule, sora        
  
• limicolae (shore birds) including snipe and woodcock
  
• Gallinae including wild turkeys, grouse, prairie chickens, pheasants, partridge and quail
  
• corvidae (crows)
  

Depredation /Safety ONLY:  

• Crows
  
• Rock doves
  
• Monk parakeets
  
• Brown-headed cowbirds
  

(Connecticut Statutes Ch. 490 Sec. 26-92)

SNAKEHEADS

BANS purchase and sale of snakeheads
(Connecticut Statutes Ch. 490 Sec. 26-114a)

 

ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES

BANS transfer and sale of endangered and threatened species including fish

• EXEMPT:
  
  • scientific, educational, biological or zoological purposes
    
  • propagation for preservation
    

LIST:

• Endangered (11/3/15)
  
• Threatened (11/3/15) 
  
• Species of Special Concern (11/3/15) 
  

(Connecticut Statutes Ch. 490 Sec. 26-40c-f & Ch. 495; Connecticut Regulations 26-40d-1; 26-306)

Big 6 African Species (NEW Effective 10/1/21)

BANS import, sale, transport, and possession of big 6 African species.

• GRANDFATHERED: Specimens possessed on effective date if received certificate of possession from Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection within 180 days
  

LIST:

• African Elephant
  
• African Leopard
  
• African lion
  
• Black rhino
  
• White rhino
  
• African giraffe
  

EXEMPT:

• Ivory
  
• Section 1 in addition to 26-303 to 26-312 shall not apply to transport through
  
• tax exempt museums part of education or scientific institution
  
• beneficiaries of trust that obtain certificate of possession within 180 days
  
• live zoo or circus animals
  
• motion picture, television, or digital media production contracted with USDA dealer, exhibitor, carrier, intermediate handler, or unlicensed exhibitor registered
  
• transporters through state of endangered and threatened species with permit from another state
  

PENALTIES

• Law enforcement authority may execute search warrant and seize such animals in violation
  
• Allows specimens to be seized and held pending criminal proceeding
  
• Penalty is no penalty if unaware of violation for 1st offense, infraction if same person commits 2nd offense – 1st offense after infraction is Class B misdemeanor with up to $1000 fine and/or 6-month imprisonment – subsequent offense is Class D felony with $5000 fine and/or 5 years in prison
  
• Requires forfeiture if found guilty or entry of a judgement that prohibits person from such activities

(Connecticut Statutes Public Act 21-52 - NEW Effective 10/1/21)
 

 SPECIAL PERMITS

Issues the permits listed below

PERMITS:

• Rehabilitation Permit (rehabilitating injured, sick and immature protected birds and quadrupeds for release)
  
• Scientific and educational purposes
  
• Falconry
  

(Connecticut Statutes Ch. 490 Sec. 26-54, 60, 67e)

 

NUISANCE AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES

BANS import, release and possession of listed nuisance aquatic invertebrates.

• Quagga mussel including veligers
  
• Zebra mussel including veligers
  
• Chinese mitten crab
  
• New Zealand mud snail
  
• US import prohibited species 
  
• Rare, threatened or endangered species 
  

PERMIT issued for control, eradication, research or educational purposes

BANS import and release of listed nuisance aquatic invertebrates.

• Asian clam
  
• rusty crayfish
  

PERMIT issued for research or educational purposes

(Connecticut Regulations 26-55-5)

IMPORT, TRANSPORT AND RELEASE OF FISH

BANS import and possession of list of species.

• EXEMPT:
  
  • Import of common aquarium species
    
  • Research or public display purposes for ban list species
    
  • As allowed in sportfishing laws for ban list species
    

• INCLUDES:
  
  • Import of piranha (Serrasalmus, Serrasalmo, Pygocentrus, Teddyella, Rooseveltiella and Pygopristus) and walking catfish except permits for public display
    
  • triploid grass carp except as otherwise provided
    

• LIST:
  
  • bowfin
    
  • gars
    
  • gizzard shad
    
  • white bass
    
  • freshwater drum
    
  • snail carp or black carp
    
  • silver carp
    
  • big head carp
    
  • tench
    
  • rohu
    
  • calbasu
    
  • catla
    
  • mrigal
    
  • mahseer
    
  • crucian carp
    
  • rudd
    
  • European whitefish, orfe or ide
    
  • US import prohibited species
    
  • rare, threatened or endangered species
    
  • potentially dangerous or established fish or established aquatic plants
    
  • Snakehead
    
  • Sturgeon
    

PERMIT required for import of other live fish.

(Connecticut Regulations 26-55-1)

IMPORT (AGRICULTURE)

The Department of Agriculture regulates import of certain animals such as camelids, cervids, domestic rabbits, zoological and pet birds, buffaloes, ratites and poultry (includes game birds and waterfowl). 

PERMIT required from Department of Agriculture for import:

• Pet Bird or Poultry Importation Permit (poultry, zoological or pet birds)
  
• Livestock Importation Permit (hoofstock and camelids)
  

REQUIREMENTS: Click for specific requirements

Certificate of veterinary inspection required for buffalos, Cervidae, camelids, ratites, and poultry (chickens, turkeys, guineas, waterfowl, and pet zoological or psittacine birds) along with domestic livestock

Connecticut Revised Statutes

Connecticut General Statutes