Legislative alert: LB747

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Read what Nebraska LB747 will do if it passes!

The Current Legalities of Owning an Exotic or Hybrid Cat in Nebraska

There are usually laws, statutes, ordinances, and regulations from all levels of government regarding the ownership of exotic and hybrid cats. Keep in mind that if any level of government with jurisdiction over you prohibits you from having a particular kind of animal, it is illegal for you to own one.

For example, if you live in Blair (Nebraska), you can be prohibited from owning a particular animal (or have your ownership of it regulated) by any one (or all) of the following:

the Federal Government
the state of Nebraska
Washington County
the City of Blair

In addition to governmental restrictions, you may also face legally enforceable restrictions by homeowners' associations and covenants--depending on where you live. But here we'll primarily focus on state and local law in Nebraska that restrict private ownership of small exotic cats and their hybrids.

Nebraska State Law

Nebraska state law governing exotic cats is currently very simple. Unless you fit into one of a very few (and very limited) categories, it is illegal for you to own any exotic or hybrid cat in the state of Nebraska--regardless of its species, regardless of the danger (or lack of) that it poses to anyone, regardless of how tame it is, and regardless of your ability to properly care for it. This is set out in Statute 37-477, shown below:

Section 37-477
Certain animals kept in captivity; permit required; exceptions; rules and regulations.

(1) No person shall keep in captivity in this state any wild birds, any wild mammals, any nongame wildlife in need of conservation as determined by the commission under section 37-805, or any wildlife determined to be an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act or section 37-806 without first having obtained a permit to do so as provided by section 37-478 or 37-479.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, no person shall keep in captivity in this state any wolf, any skunk, or any member of the families Felidae and Ursidae. This subsection shall not apply to
(a) the species Felis domesticus,
(b) any zoo, park, refuge, wildlife area, or nature center owned or operated by a city, village, state, or federal agency, or
(c) any person who holds a captive wildlife permit issued pursuant to section 37-479 and who raises Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) or bobcats ( Lynx rufus ) solely for the purpose of producing furs for sale to individuals or businesses or for the purpose of producing breeding stock for sale to persons engaged in fur production.

(3) Any person legally holding in captivity, on March 1, 1986, any animal subject to the prohibition contained in subsection (2) of this section shall be allowed to keep the animal for the duration of its life. Such animal shall not be traded, sold, or otherwise disposed of without written permission from the commission.

(4) The commission shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations governing the purchase, possession, propagation, sale, and barter of wild birds, wild mammals, and wildlife in captivity.

Source:
Laws 1957, c. 151, § 1, p. 490
Laws 1971, LB 733, § 9
Laws 1986, LB 558, § 1
Laws 1987, LB 379, § 1
R.S.1943, (1993), § 37-713
Laws 1998, LB 922, § 187
Laws 1999, LB 176, § 56

So (according to state law) private citizens are prohibited from owning all species of cats except Felis domesticus (the domestic cat) unless you're raising bobcats or Canada lynx solely for fur production. There may be room for interpretation in the phrase "any zoo, park, refuge, wildlife area, or nature center owned or operated by a city, village, state, or federal agency" but that goes beyond the scope of this website.

A more subtle aspect of this state statute results from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's (NGPC's) interpretation of it. That interpretation goes something like this:

a) Section 37-477 bans all cats from private ownership in the state except felis domesticus (domestic cat).

b) A hybrid cat produced by breeding a wild cat to a domestic cat is not felis domesticus.

c) Therefore, all hybrid cats are included in the ban, and are illegal.

In September of 2007 I wrote to the NGPC asking a number of questions regarding the legal status of exotic and hybrid cats in Nebraska. They referred the questions to the Nebraska Attorney General's office. On April 7, 2008 I finally got the response to my questions. The Attorney General's office will not give an opinion on these matters unless there is a case pending--in other words, someone will have to put their cat(s) at risk and start a legal case in order for the State of Nebraska to clarify this statute for its citizens. And until someone is willing to do that, the NGPC's interpretation is that all generations of all hybrid cats are illegal in the state of Nebraska.

In that same letter, I asked if the generation (F1, F2, ...F5, etc.) of hybrid made any difference, and the NGPC's response was that it makes no difference to them what generation the hybrid is--it is still not felis domesticus, and is therefore not allowed in the state.

Local Laws Vary by Locality

Local laws and ordinances governing the keeping of exotic cats are redundant, but they do exist. It's possible there could be old laws that are still on the books from before the enactment of 37-477 (in 1986). And local laws regulating or prohibiting hybrid cats are becoming frighteningly common across the country, with us having our share here in Nebraska.
Bellevue
Blair
Columbus
Grand Island
Hastings
Lincoln
Norfolk
North Platte
Omaha
Scottsbluff
South Sioux City
York

NOTE: The information contained in the above links is meant to be used as a preliminary check only. You must check with the local relevant authorities and verify what the official law is currently before you start the process of getting a cat. One of the cities even says right on its website (where their city code is posted) not to rely on their online information--to check their official copy (which is always kept updated when changes are made). In general, you'd be well-advised to treat most online information legal-type information that way.

These Laws are Probably Just the Tip of the Iceberg

The local ordinances and laws cited here are just what I've found so far that are easily available on-line: there is likely a minefield of other local laws, ordinances, and codes that are not searchable on-line (and ones that are available on-line, but I haven't gotten to yet). Right now the issue is moot for exotic cats--they're illegal in the whole state anyway, but there are apparently jurisdictions around the state that are not aware of NGPC's interpretation of 37-477 that says hybrids are also illegal in the state.

Right now it's best not to buy a hybrid cat if you live in the State of Nebraska. If you already have one, be aware that its "legal" status could easily change overnight if your local animal control finds out about NGPC's interpretation and decides to enforce it. I would suggest that you keep all papers for your cat that you got when you bought it. They might give some legal leverage if your local animal control agency comes to confiscate your cat.

And so we can put together a group of people around the state to get the law changed to allow unrestricted ownership of all generations of hybrid cats