§ 47-5-50 — Prohibition on sale of wild carnivores as pets; sale of domesticated ferrets.

(A) No carnivores, which normally are not domesticated, may be sold as pets in this State. A carnivore kept by an individual must not be allowed to run at large and then returned to confinement. A normally wild animal indigenous to this State, if held captive for a period of time, may be released to the wild. This section does not apply to domesticated ferrets. However, no ferret may be sold in this State without proper and current vaccination against rabies. Evidence of rabies vaccination is a certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian. A person who purchases or possesses a domesticated ferret shall maintain proper vaccination treatment for it annually. (B) Purchasers of a domesticated ferret must be provided with a notice not less than eight inches by eleven inches which shall bear the following inscription in letters not less than three-fourths inch high: "FERRETS HAVE A PROPENSITY TO MAKE UNPROVOKED ATTACKS THAT CAUSE BODILY INJURY TO A HUMAN BEING". (C) Each business establishment in this State, to which has been issued a retail sales tax license, which offers ferrets for sale must prominently display a notice not less than eight inches by eleven inches which shall bear the following inscription in letters not less than three-fourths inch high: "FERRETS HAVE A PROPENSITY TO MAKE UNPROVOKED ATTACKS THAT CAUSE BODILY INJURY TO A HUMAN BEING". (D) This section does not apply to the sale, purchase, donation, or transfer of ownership of carnivores between publicly owned zoos or animal dealers located in this State and licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Animal Welfare Act on the effective date of this chapter. These exemptions do not allow for the sale, purchase, donation, or transfer of ownership to private individuals in this State. Any public displays, showings, or exhibitions of wild carnivores, primates, or any other animal will default to the Animal Welfare Act 9 CFR 2.131—Handling of Animals.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 6-124.1; 1971 (57) 301; 1979 Act No. 134 SECTION 2; 2000 Act No. 217, SECTION 1, eff February 25, 2000; 2002 Act No. 343, SECTION 1, eff July 3, 2002; 2017 Act No. 86 (H.3531), SECTION 2, eff January 1, 2018. Editor's Note 2017 Act No. 86, SECTION 4, provides as follows: "This act takes effect January 1, 2018, and applies to acts committed on or after that date." Effect of Amendment 2017 Act No. 86, SECTION 2, in (D), substituted "animal will default to the Animal Welfare Act 9 CFR 2.131—Handling of Animals" for "animals for which a USDA licensed rabies vaccine does not exist are allowed only when these displays, showings, or exhibitions prevent any possible contact by these animals with the members of the general public", and made a nonsubstantive change.