Is it legal to have a pet raccoon in New Jersey?
By: Amanda Wallace
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... We've all seen them scurrying through our yards or maybe rummaging through our trash cans, but have you ever consider keeping a raccoon as a pet?
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Easily recognizable by their "bandit" masks and bushy ringed tails, raccoons can be found all over the state of New Jersey from woodlands to cities.
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One recent study found that raccoons living in urban areas are physically changing as a result of their life around humans, an early step in domestication, Scientific American reports.
..... Though it is not nearly as common as having a cat or a dog, many people have had domesticated raccoons as pets. President Calvin Coolidge even kept one at the White House.
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But is it legal in New Jersey? Here's what you need to know.
..... It is legal to have a pet raccoon, skunk or opossum in New Jersey, according to the Division of Fish and Wildlife. However, you must obtain the appropriate permits. To possess any game species in the state, you must obtain a captive game permit. Additionally, an importation permit must be obtained before any game animals are brought into New Jersey from another state.
..... The animals must be purchased from a licensed breeder and cannot be taken from the wild to be kept as pets.
..... Currently, according to Fish and Wildlife, there is one pet store in New Jersey that sells striped skunks. There are no breeders for raccoons or opossums in the state. Rabies vector species, which includes the striped skunk and raccoon, may be obtained only from breeders in states that have the same variants of rabies as new Jersey.
What about deer, other species?
..... New Jersey residents are not permitted to have pet deer, because they are considered a potentially dangerous wildlife species.
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Fish and Wildlife says a potentially dangerous species is defined as "any exotic mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians or non-game species which in the opinion of the division, is capable of inflecting serious fatal injuries or which has the potential to become an agricultural pest, or a menace to the public health, or indigenous wildlife populations."
..... Along with deer, potentially dangerous species include monkeys, bears, alligators and prairie dogs, among others.
..... The division of Fish and Wildlife,at its discretion, may issue a permit for possession of one of those species pending the meeting of very specific criteria.