Carpet Python (Morelia spilota)
Reptile keepers are subject to a dizzying maze of laws, regulations and by-laws at all levels of government that aim to regulate and control the human use of exotic species. Most keepers, however, do not have the background or training to understand, much less navigate, these laws.
This page is an attempt to summarize the legal situation for reptile keepers in Ontario and Quebec. It draws on my three years’ experience at the Department of Justice, where I worked as a legislative revisor, correcting the grammar and style of the lawyers who drafted laws and regulations. That means that I think I can read legislation and understand what it means; it does not mean, however, that I’m a lawyer or that anything I say in this page is definitive or even correct.
You owe it to yourself to get the facts about any law that directly applies to you. That means contacting the city, provincial department or federal agency in question. Don’t be afraid to do so; answering questions like that is part of their job, and for the most part they’d rather help you stay above the law than bust you.
This page will be added to all the time; at the moment it’s got a few gaps here and there.
Federal Laws
The two Canadian federal statutes of interest to reptile and amphibian keepers are the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA). The former addresses species native to Canada; the latter regulates species covered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
SARA regulates migratory birds and endangered species on federal lands, and would not normally affect private individuals. WAPPRIITA deals with species listed on Appendix I, II or III of CITES. A number of commonly kept species are listed on Appendix II (boas, pythons, chameleons), but the stringent requirements are for Appendix I species (such as Dumeril’s boas).
Provincial Laws
Provincial laws generally regulate wildlife found in that province, but in some cases can also regulate the keeping of exotic animals in captivity.
Ontario
Species native to Ontario are regulated under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997. A licence is required to keep native species that have been designated as specially protected or game: most native reptile and amphibians are specially protected; bullfrogs and snapping turtles are game. Such licences are not usually easy to come by.
The exceptions to the above: common garter, ribbon, brown, red-bellied and ringneck snakes; newts; mudpuppies; green, leopard, mink, pickerel and wood frogs; chorus frogs and spring peepers. However, frogs are regulated as bait, and a small game hunting licence would be required to collect even the unprotected species.
Ontario reptile and amphibian keepers who live in a rental unit benefit from section 14 of the Residential Tenancies Act, which renders void any lease provision that prohibits animals; landlords cannot force you to move or get rid of your animals except under certain conditions. Note that one of the conditions is that your pet is dangerous, so you can be evicted for keeping a cobra. But when you consider that no-pet lease provisions are more likely to have an impact on reptile keepers than any municipal by-law, this is a very good thing.
Quebec
In Quebec, the keeping of animals in captivity is regulated by the Règlement sur les animaux en captivité, issued under the authority of the Loi sur la conservation et la mise en valeur de la faune. The Regulations apply to both exotic and native species.
Exotic species are straightforward. Under Schedule II to the Regulations, all exotic reptiles and amphibians may be kept in captivity without a licence, with the exception of crocodilians, venomous lizards and snakes, sea turtles and soft-shelled turtles. For the most part (see below), this is province-wide: most municipalities’ lists of banned animals follow Schedule II.
A number of native species may be kept in captivity without a licence: these include American toads, wood frogs, mink frogs, northern leopard frogs, green frogs, bullfrogs, mudpuppies, eastern newts, and common garter snakes. No more than 10 of these animals may be kept in captivity, including no more than two bullfrogs. The law does not appear to distinguish between captive-bred and wild-caught specimens.
No other native species may be kept in captivity without a licence, and Licences aren’t available to private individuals; they’re meant for public displays and zoos. There is no provision to allow someone to keep a native turtle or milk snake, or a venomous snake, in a private home.
Municipal By-laws
Ontario
Ontario municipalities almost always have an animal control by-law on their books, and frequently that by-law establishes restrictions on the keeping of reptiles and amphibians. The most frustrating thing for reptile keepers is that there is no consistency: one municipality may ban all reptiles, no matter how harmless; the municipality next door may not have any restrictions at all, which means that even venomous snakes may be kept legally. It’s very hard to understand why this is the case: whether or not there is an outright ban may come down to a particularly ophidiophobic animal control officer, or a particularly persuasive reptile educator.
Reptile keepers who work with dangerous species invariably figure out which municipalities are safe to live in, but nevertheless keep a low profile: the quickest way to get a venomous reptile ban passed by a municipal council is for them to discover someone keeping them in their midst.
The most commonly banned combination of reptiles is boas and pythons, venomous reptiles and crocodilians: these are prohibited in Brantford, Burlington, King Township, Richmond Hill and, I believe, Timmins. Kitchener bans venomous and poisonous animals, crocodilians, tuataras and caecilians; Peterborough bans venomous reptiles and crocodilians; boas and pythons require a permit, and other snakes may require registration.
Several cities ban animals on the basis of size or by taxonomy. Toronto’s by-law is simplest, banning, in addition to venomous reptiles and crocodilians, snakes over three metres and lizards over two metres. Stratford is similar, banning snakes longer than two metres, lizards with a snout-vent-length greater than 65 cm, venomous reptiles, crocodilians, tuataras and caecilians.
(What is it about caecilians? And frankly, if you’re caught with a tuatara, you have bigger problems than a municipal by-law.)
Ottawa’s by-law is even more complicated: snapping turtles, iguanids and teiids are banned, as are monitors longer than one metre. Boas and pythons over two metres are out, as are other snakes longer than three metres. Naturally, venomous reptiles and crocodilians are also prohibited.
Woodstock bans all reptiles.
Quebec
Gatineau and Montreal follow the provincial lead, banning crocodilians, venomous lizards and snakes, sea turtles and soft-shelled turtles, and allowing all other exotic species. I imagine that most Quebec municipalities do the same thing. On the other hand, the Pontiac MRC’s municipalities have collectively passed a by-law banning boas and pythons, among other things implicitly allowed by provincial law; it’s my belief that by-laws like this are unenforceable, but I wouldn’t want to have to test that in court.
Last updated: October 18, 2009.