The fuzzy yet agile racoons that live in a park near your house or dig through your neighborhood’s garbage might seem like a good pet. But are they legal to domesticate in Michigan?
Here’s what to know.
Is it legal to own a raccoon as a pet in Michigan?
The short answer: No, but there’s more to it.
There is no legal way to obtain a raccoon, said Casey Reitz, the wildlife permit programs coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
“It is not legal to take racoons from the wild or import them from another state/country,” Reitz said in an email to the Free Press. “Since we no longer have breeders there is not a legal way to possess them as a pet.”
All of the state’s raccoon breeders have gone out of business or stopped breeding in the last 10 years, Reitz said.
Michigan’s DNR requires a permit to “possess, propagate, sell, transport, or make any other commercial or personal use” of a wild animal, including raccoons.
Because there is no legal way to obtain a raccoon, the DNR automatically denies any raccoon permit application and issues a refund of the application fee to the requester, Reitz said.
The DNR does not recommend or encourage the possession of any wildlife species as pets, according to information about the permits, though applicants 18 and older can apply to legally own game animals for commercial or noncommercial purposes.
Why the DNR does not recommend raccoons, game animals as pets
One reason the DNR does not recommend owning a game animal as a pet is the lack of an approved rabies vaccine for use for wildlife, according to information about the permits.
Another is that wildlife pets can pose a “serious threat to human safety,” according to the DNR.
“Wild animals can be unpredictable even if they are raised in captivity,” Reitz said.
The commercial pet trade can encourage the illegal taking of animals from the wild, and some people want wildlife species as pets for the “wrong reasons,” according to the DNR.
“Some may think that having an unusual animal as a pet is chic, or that possessing these animals will improve some image they have of themselves, rather than truly caring for the welfare of the animal,” according to DNR information on permits to hold game in captivity. “Others acquire young wildlife species because they are cute and cuddly, but are not prepared for the responsibility of caring for the wild animal as it grows older and larger and sometimes becomes dangerous and deadly.”
The DNR recommends people looking for a pet should “strongly consider a homeless, domestic, dog or cat.”
“Certain species of wild animals should be appreciated in their natural habitat without being owned as pets,” according to the DNR.
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
Is it legal?
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The story has been updated with additional information.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Is it legal in Michigan to own a raccoon as a pet? Here’s what state law says.
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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