Exotic pets have increasingly become more and more popular in the United States. With celebrities and influencers showing their exotic animals online, people have sought to buy their own weird animals. The problem is that exotic pets are not as easy to get as a puppy or a goldfish. Their acquisition often requires abuse and criminal-related activities, which is why Texas Laws have a list of animals you can’t own or that you can own only with special certificates. This is the list of illegal animals to own in the Lone Star State.
These endangered species are completely illegal in Texas as pets:
- Invasive species of fish and shellfish
- Wolves
- Indigenous birds
- Diamondback terrapins
- Bats
These other animals are illegal unless you have a Certificate of Registration (CPR) to own “dangerous wild animals”:
- Lions
- Tigers
- Ocelots
- Cougars
- Leopards
- Cheetahs
- Jaguars
- Bobcats
- Lynxs
- Servals
- Caracals
- Hyenas
- Bears
- Coyotes
- Jackals
- Baboons
- Chimpanzees
- Orangutans
- Gorillas
