(A) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to own, keep, or harbor any unusual animal within the corporate limits of the city, unless the animals are registered with the City Clerk, except that this section shall not be construed to prohibit a public zoo, circus, humane society or a carnival from displaying unusual animals as exhibits, or to prohibit primary and secondary schools or colleges and universities from using the unusual animal for research and teaching, or to prohibit any wildlife rescue organizations with appropriate permits from the State Game and Parks Commission from rehabilitating or sheltering unusual animals or authorized individuals from sheltering animals belonging to a public zoo which require extensive care or rehabilitation.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, give away, transfer or import into the city any unusual animals as defined in this chapter, unless registered, excluding a public zoo doing business with another zoo.
(C) In the event that a city police officer determines an unusual animal is being owned, kept or harbored by any person in violation of this chapter, the city may have the person prosecuted for the violation.
(D) Unusual animal shall mean any poisonous or potentially dangerous animal not normally considered domesticated and shall include animals prohibited by the city, state or federal requirements, and also:
(1) Class mammalia; order carnivora, family felidae (such as lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards and cougars) except commonly accepted domesticated cats and hybrids involving same; family canidae (such as wolves, coyotes and fox) except domesticated dogs and hybrids involving same; family mustehdae (such as weasels, martins, fishers, skunks, wolverines, mink and badgers) except ferrets; family procyonidae (such as raccoon); family ursidae (such as bears); order primate (such as monkeys and chimpanzees); and order chiroptera (such as bats);
(2) Class reptilia:
(a) Poisonous reptiles; cobras and their allies (elapidae, hydrophiidae); vipers and their allies (crotiladae, viperidae); boonslang and kirtland’s tree snake; and gila monster (heleodermatidae); and
(b) Non-poisonous reptiles; reptiles large enough to inflict serious injury or death by biting or constriction including boa constrictors and pythons.
(3) Amphibious reptiles and aquatic reptiles such as alligators and crocodiles, but not including, small chameleons and lizards.
(Prior Code, § 6-202.02) (Ord. 2-97, passed 7-7-1997) Penalty, see § 98.999
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see Neb. RS 17-526