Pursuant to the authority granted in M.G.L. c. 131, § 23,
herewith is established a list of species which are exempt from the licensing
provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, § 23. This list includes wild (i.e.,
non-domesticated) vertebrate animals which may be imported, sold or possessed
without a permit. Note, however, that listing below does not affect other
licensing requirements which may be applicable under Federal, State or local
laws, including special endangered species and export restrictions of other
states.
(1) Purpose. The purpose of
321 CMR
9.01 is to list those species which are exempt from the licensing
provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, § 23, and which may be imported, possessed,
maintained, propagated, bought, sold, exchanged or offered for sale without a
license or permit from the Division. Species not listed, or which are expressly
listed as "require(s) a permit", are not exempt from the provisions of M.G.L.
c. 131, § 23. Notwithstanding a species being exempt from these licensing
provisions, such species shall be kept in a manner appropriate for their health
and safety, including being secured from escape.
(2) Definitions. For the purposes of 321 CMR
9.01 and unless the context requires otherwise, the following words or phrases
shall have the following meanings:
Aquarium means an enclosed indoor facility or an outdoor
holding facility that lacks an inlet or outlet, or such other holding facility
as approved by the Director.
Aquarium Trade Fish means those freshwater fish which cannot
survive year-round in a wild environment above 30º north latitude
(approximately from Jacksonville, FL west to Ensenada, CA) or below 30º
south latitude (approximately from Puerto-Alegre, Brazil west to La Serena,
Chile). Notwithstanding the foregoing, aquarium trade fish shall also include
the goldfish (Carassius auratus), koi or Japanese carp
(Cyprinus carpio), and guppies (Poecilia spp.), but shall not
include tilapia (Tilapia spp.) which require a permit.
Director means the Director of the Division of Fisheries and
Wildlife or his authorized agent.
Division means the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and
Wildlife, with principal offices at 251 Causeway Street, Suite 400, Boston, MA
02114.
Domestic or Domesticated means those species listed as domestic
pursuant to
321 CMR
9.02(3).
Exempt or Kept without a Permit means that the animal may be
imported, possessed, maintained, propagated, bought, sold, exchanged, or
offered for sale or exchange without a license or permit.
License or Permit means a license or permit issued pursuant to
the authority of M.G.L. c. 131, § 23.
Non-exempt or Require(-s) a Permit means that the animal may
not be imported, possessed, maintained, propagated, bought, sold, exchanged, or
offered for sale or exchange except by a person holding a current and valid
license or permit.
Person means any individual, partnership, profit or non-profit
corporation, firm, business, or other commercial or non-commercial entity,
club, organization, or association.
Species means an individual or individuals of any distinct
non-domestic vertebrate animal population whose members interbreed when mature
or are self-perpetuating through the production of viable offspring and can
include any subspecies or variety of vertebrate animal.
(3) Categorical Non-exemptions: No species in
any of the following categories may be exempted:
(a) Threatened or endangered species listed
pursuant to the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended;
(b) Species listed in the Red Book(-s) of the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature;
(c) Species appearing on the Massachusetts
list of endangered, threatened, and special concern species at
321 CMR
10.90.
(4) Exemption Criteria: Animals exempted
below are believed to meet the following criteria:
(a) Accidental release of the fish,
amphibian, reptile, bird, or mammal will not result in an adverse effect on the
ecology of the state;
(b) The
animal in captivity, or escaped therefrom, poses no substantial danger to
humans, either by injury or disease;
(c) Proper care of the animal is no more
demanding in any major respect than proper care of domestic animals;
(d) Trade in the fish, bird, mammal, reptile
or amphibian has no significant adverse effect on the wild population of such
animal in any of its native habitats.
(5) Sources of Acquisition. Except as
provided in
321
CMR
3.05, exempt animals may be obtained from
the following sources only:
(a) lawfully
propagated within Massachusetts, or
(b) lawfully taken or lawfully propagated
without Massachusetts, provided that the export, sale, or exchange of such
animals is lawful in the state or country in which animals are taken or
propagated.
(6)
Liberation. No person shall liberate or cause to be liberated any exempt
animal, except in accordance with a liberation permit issued pursuant to
321
CMR
2.15.
(7) Quarantine. Notwithstanding the
provisions of 321 CMR
9.01(1), the Director may examine, quarantine and destroy
exempt animals and may restrict or prohibit the importation thereof in
accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, §§ 19, 19A, 25A, and
25B, and the penalty for violation of such quarantine shall be as provided in
M.G.L. c. 131, § 25C.
(8) List
of Fish. All aquarium trade fish may be kept without a permit except species
categorically non-exempt pursuant to 321 CMR
9.01(3), and except that the
following species are prohibited without a permit:
(a) Grass Carp or White Amur
(Ctenopharyngodon idella)
(b) Piranha (Pygocentrus
spp. and Serrasalmus spp.)
(c) Rudd (Scardinius
erythrophthalmus)
(d)
Walking Catfish (
Clarias spp. and all members of the family
Clariidae).
Notwithstanding the above, the fathead minnow
(Pimephales promelas) may be kept without a permit as a pet or
for sale as a pet, but require a permit when sold as bait fish pursuant to
321
CMR 4.09.
(9) List of Amphibians. All amphibians may be
kept without a permit except species categorically non-exempt pursuant to 321
CMR
9.01(3).
(10) List of Reptiles.
(a) Turtles: all species of turtles may be
kept without a permit, up to a limit of 100 turtles and/or eggs, in any
combination, of each species, except for the following species for which a
permit is always required:
1. Species
categorically non-exempt pursuant to 321 CMR
9.01(3).
2. Argentina or Chaco Tortoise
(Geochelone chilensis).
3. Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus
polyphemus) and all other species in the genus
Gopherus.
4.
Pancake Tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri).
5. Spotted Turtle (Clemmys
guttata).
6. Red-eared
Slider (Trachemys scripta, including all subspecies and
forms.)
(b)
Snakes: All venomous snakes require a permit. The following snakes may be kept
without a permit:
1. All species of boas and
pythons (family
Boidae), except those species categorically
non-exempt pursuant to 321 CMR
9.01(3), and except the African Rock Python
(
Python sebae), Reticulated Python (
Python
reticulatus) and all species of Anaconda (
Eunectes
spp.), which require a permit.
2.
Shield-tailed Snakes, Sunbeam Snakes, and others in the families
Uropeltidae and Xenopeltidae.
3. Worm Snakes, Thread Snakes, and others in
the families Typhlopidae, Leptotyphlopidae, and
Anomalepidae.
4.
Snakes of the family
Colubridae, as follows:
Asian Ratsnakes (Elaphe spp. and
Ptyas spp. and Zaocys spp.)
Trans-Pecos Ratsnake (Bogetophis spp.)
Brown and Redbelly Snakes (Storeria
spp.)
Diadem Snakes (Spalerosophis spp.)
Garter and Ribbon Snakes (Thamnophis
spp.)
Glossy Snakes (Arizona spp.)
Gopher and Pine Snakes (Pituophis spp.)
Green Snakes (Opheodrys spp.)
Ground Snakes (Sonora spp.)
House Snakes (Boaedon [Lamprophis]
spp.)
Kingsnakes and Milk Snakes (Lampropeltis
spp.)
North American Ratsnakes (Pantherophis spp.)
except the Black RatSnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis other
than albinistic and leucistic individuals) which requires a permit.
Mole Snake (Pseudaspis cana)
Puffing Snakes (Pseustes spp.)
Texas Indigo Snake (Drymarchon corais
erebennus)
Tropical Rat Snakes (Spilotes spp.)
Water Snakes (Nerodia [Natrix] spp.)
Western Hognose Snake (Heterodon
nasicus)
(c) Lizards: The Gila Monster and Beaded
Lizard (
Heloderatidae) require a permit. The following lizards
may be kept without a permit:
1. All Skinks
(
Scincidae) except for the following which require a permit:
Species categorically non-exempt pursuant to 321 CMR
9.01(3).
Florida Sand Skinks (Neoseps spp.)
Solomon Island Ground Skink (Tribolonotus
spp.)
2. The following
Girdle-tailed Lizards (
Cordyloidea) may be kept without a
permit:
False Club-tailed Lizards (Pseudocordylus
spp.)
Girdle-tailed Lizards (Cordylus spp.)
Plated Lizards (Gerrhosaurus spp. and
Zonosaurus spp.)
Rock Lizards (Platysaurus spp.)
3. All Teiids
(
Teiidae), including Jungle Runners (
Ameiva
spp.) and Tegus (
Tupinambis spp.), may be kept without a
permit except for the following which require a permit:
Species categorically non-exempt pursuant to 321 CMR
9.01(3).
Desert Tegus (Dicrodon spp.)
4. The following Lacertid Lizards
(
Lacertidae) may be kept without a permit:
Fringe-fingered Lizards (Acanthodactylus
spp.)
Wall Lizards (Eremias spp.
andGallotia spp.)
Sand Lizards (Lacerta spp. and
Psammodromus spp.)
Asian Grass Lizards (Takydromus spp.)
5. The following Lateral-fold
Lizards (
Anguidae) may be kept without a permit:
Alligator Lizards (Gerrhonotus spp.)
Glass Lizards (Ophisaurus spp.)
Slowworm (Anguis spp.)
European legless lizard (Pseudopus
apodus)
6. All
Geckos (
Gekkonidae) may be kept without a permit except for
the those species that are categorically non-exempt pursuant to 321 CMR
9.01(3)
and the Big Bend Gecko (
Coleonyx reticulatus).
7. The following Iguanid Lizards
(
Iguanidae) may be kept without a permit:
Basilisks (Basiliscus spp.)
Collared and Leopard Lizards (Crotaphytus
spp.)
Common or Green Iguanas (Iguana i.
iguana)
False or Spring-tailed Iguanas (Ctenosaurus
spp.)
Tree Iguanas (Liolaemus spp.)
New World Chameleons (Anolis spp. and
Ctenotus spp.)
Spiny Lizards (Sceloporus spp.)
Tree and Bush Lizards (Urosaurus spp.)
Diving Lizards (Uranoscodon spp.)
Zebra-tailed Lizards (Callisaurus spp.)
8. The following Agamid Lizards
(
Agamidae) may be kept without a permit:
Dragon Lizards (Amphibolorus spp.)
Forest, Garden and Bloodsucker Lizards(Calotes
spp.)
Sailfin Lizards (Hydrosaurus spp.)
Bearded Dragons (Pogona spp.)
Water Dragon (Physignathus spp.)
Frilled Lizards (Chlamydosaurus
spp.)
Uromastyx Lizards (Uromastyx spp.)
9. All Night Lizards
(Xanusidae, Xantusia spp.) may be kept without a permit,
except for the Utah Night Lizard (Xantusia virgilis utahensis)
which requires a permit.
10. All
true Chameleons (
Chamaelenoidae) may be kept without a permit,
except species categorically nonexempt pursuant to 321 CMR
9.01(3).
11. The following Monitor Lizards
(Varanidae) may be kept without a permit: Spiny-tailed or
Ridge-tailed Monitor (Varanus acanthurus).
(11) List of Birds.
(a) The following groups of birds are
prohibited without a permit:
1. Species
categorically non-exempt pursuant to 321 CMR
9.01(3).
2. Migratory birds listed in the Code of
Federal Regulations,
50 CFR
10.13.
3. Any other bird native to the United States
and Canada.
(b) Except
for species listed in 321 CMR
9.01(11)(a), the following birds or groups of
birds may be kept without a permit:
1. Blue or
Button Quail (Coturnix chinensis)
2.
Columbidae (pigeons and
doves)
3.
Estrildidae (Waxbills and allies)
4.
Fringillidae (Finches and
allies)
5.
Ploceidae (Weaver Finches except the Red-billed,
Black-fronted, and Sudan Diochs) which require a permit.
6.
Psittacidae (parrots and
their allies)
7.
Ramphastidae (Toucans, Aracaris, and Toucanets)
8.
Sturnidae (Starlings and
Mynahs, except the Rose-colored Starling (Pink Starling or Rosy Pastor)
(Sturnus roseus) which requires a permit.
9. Emu (Dromaius
novaehollanding)
10. Rhea
(Rhea spp.)
11.
Ostrich (Struthio camelus)
(12) List of Mammals.
(a) The following mammals may be kept without
a permit:
1. Four-toed (African pygmy)
hedgehog (Erinaceus albiventris) (=Atelerix
pruneri)
2. Chinchilla
(Chinchilla spp.) derived from captive stock
3. Deer Mouse and White-footed Mouse
(Peromyscus maniculatus and P.
leucopus)
4. Degu
(Octodon degus)
5.
Egyptian Spiny Mouse (Acomys cahirinus)
6. House Mouse (Mus
musculus)
7. Jerboas
(Dipus spp.)
8.
Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus)
9. Paca (Cuniculus
spp.)
10. Southern Flying Squirrel
(Glaucomys volans)
11. Striped hamster (
Cricetulus
barabensis), also known as the Chinese or Siberian dwarf hamster.
NOTE: the golden hamster (
Mesocricetus auratus) may be kept
without a permit pursuant to
321 CMR
9.02
12. Sugar Glider (Petaurus
breviceps)
13. American
Bison (Bison bison)
