Wikipedia

Skunks as pets

(Redirected from Domestic skunk)

Although capable of living indoors with humans similarly to cats or dogs, pet skunks are somewhat of a novelty, and still relatively rare, mostly due to restrictive local and regional laws and the complexity of their diet, habits and care.

A pet skunk

In certain parts of the United States, rescued or surrendered pet skunks can be adopted from licensed animal shelters, non-profit skunk educational organizations, or even licensed breeders who have been certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.[citation needed] The possession of skunks without proper licensing and inspection remains widely prohibited across America.

Skunks are probably best known for their ability to shoot foul-smelling liquid from their anal glands as a defense mechanism against potential predators. Most wild skunks will only resort to spraying as a final option if injured by a predator, cornered or otherwise provoked; to save energy, most skunks attempt to appear larger by flaring their tails as a warning, combined with hissing or growling, before fleeing.[citation needed] The thiol-emitting scent glands are usually removed in captive-bred or rescued skunks between two and five weeks of age.[1] However, since 2007, the practice of scent-gland removal has been banned in the UK.[2]

History

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Man with leashed pet skunk in 2007

Skunks are native to the Americas, where several regional forms, species and subspecies are found. Farmers valued skunks for their ability to kill insects and rodents.[3] Skunk pelts were also used for coats and frequently passed off as marten fur. Prior to the passage of the Fur Products Labeling Act in 1951, skunk fur was often sold under ambiguous names such as "American sable"[4] and "Alaskan sable".[3] The skunk fur market subsequently collapsed. Since then, skunks have been mainly bred as pets, or as animals in show.

In the 20th century, most U.S. states outlawed the keeping of wild animals as part of their efforts to stem the spread of rabies.[citation needed] Only about one-third of states continue to allow possession of skunks.

Temperament

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Skunks have playful temperaments and can be highly sociable when raised in captivity.[5] Skunks tend to be highly curious and will open cupboards that are left unlocked.[1] Pet skunks may also engage in destructive behaviors such as digging at carpeting and stealing objects.[5]

Rabies

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Skunks and other mammals can contract rabies by being bitten by an infected animal or eating the carcass of an infected animal.

In the United States, there is no government-approved rabies vaccine or quarantine period for skunks. In Canada, Imrab 3 was used in a study for off-label use as a skunk rabies vaccine and to date it is not approved for skunk use.[6]

Many countries, such as Japan, require all newly imported skunks to be quarantined.[7] In 2003, The Guardian reported that the UK lacks sufficient quarantine kennels licensed to hold skunks.[8]

Legality

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Canada

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Import permits will not be issued for foxes, raccoons and skunks purchased for import to Canada as a personal pet.[9]

United States

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American laws on skunk ownership vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Most states prohibit keeping skunks as pets.

Legal status of skunks as pets
  Illegal
  Legal with permit
  Legal without permit
  Legal in some areas

American skunk dealers earning more than $500 a year on the skunk trade are regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS), which has established three classes of licensed skunk dealers.[10] A class A license allows one to breed skunks; a class B license allows one to sell skunks; and a class C license allows one to display them to the public.

Legality of skunk ownership in the United States
State Legality Statute
Alabama Illegal [11]
Alaska Illegal [12]
Arkansas Illegal [citation needed]
Arizona Illegal [13]
California Illegal [citation needed]
Colorado Illegal [citation needed]
Connecticut Illegal [citation needed]
Delaware Illegal [citation needed]
Florida Legal, with permit [11]
Georgia Illegal [14]
Hawaii Illegal [citation needed]
Idaho Illegal [15]
Illinois Illegal [citation needed]
Indiana Legal, with permit [11]
Iowa Legal [11]
Kansas Illegal [citation needed]
Kentucky Legal in some counties [16]
Louisiana Illegal [citation needed]
Maine Illegal [citation needed]
Maryland Illegal [17] §10-621(b)(1)
Massachusetts Illegal [citation needed]
Michigan Legal with permit; outside
cage must be built;
must be bred in Michigan		 [18]
Minnesota Illegal [19]
Mississippi Illegal [citation needed]
Missouri Illegal [20]
Montana Illegal [21]
Nebraska Illegal [22]
Nevada Illegal [23]
New Hampshire Legal, with permit [24]
New Jersey Legal, with permit. [25][26]
New Mexico Legal, with permit [27]
New York Illegal [28]
North Carolina Illegal [29]
North Dakota Illegal [30]
Ohio Legal, with permit [11]
Oklahoma Legal, but must have import
permit and health certificate.		 [11]
Oregon Legal, if bought outside of
Oregon, with import permit
and health certificates.
Illegal to sell or trade skunks.		 [11]
Pennsylvania Legal, with permit [11]
Rhode Island Illegal [citation needed]
South Carolina Permit required since 2004;
previously owned remain legal,
but no more will be permitted.
Illegal to buy or sell skunks.		 [31]
South Dakota Legal without permit;
only one skunk per person.		 [11]
Tennessee Illegal [32] TC 70-4-208
Texas Illegal [citation needed]
Utah Illegal [33] R657-3
Vermont Illegal [11]
Virginia Illegal [34]
Washington
State		 Illegal [35]
West Virginia Legal, with permit [citation needed]
Wisconsin Legal, with permit [36]
Wyoming Legal (classified as predatory
animals; as such may be kept as
pets, with no license required)		 [37]
Washington, DC   Illegal [citation needed]

Politics

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In 2001, Del. George W. Owings III introduced a bill in the Maryland legislature to legalize pet skunks in that state.[38] Several officials spoke in opposition to the measure before the Environmental Matters committee. Mike Slattery, testifying on behalf of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, criticized the idea, saying it would encourage "Bambi syndrome", the tendency to domesticate wild animals. State health officials pointed out that the bill, HB 91, required rabies vaccinations when there is no federally approved rabies vaccine for skunks.[39]

In Canada, Mike Freeman of Freeman's Exotic Skunks was ordered in 1999 by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to destroy his entire stock of 100 adult and 700 baby skunks. Although the agency had approved his farm in 1997, the 1998 Fish and Wildlife Act outlawed breeding. Natural Resources Minister John Snobelen ultimately gave him six months to sell or give away the animals in the U.S., saying, "No one wants to see these animals euthanized and that won't have to happen".[40]

In the United Kingdom, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons recommended in 1987 that elective skunk scent gland removal be classified as an unacceptable procedure.[41]

References

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  1. 1 2 vea, tanner (20 November 2008). "Is That Skunk? ~ Do Skunks Make Good Pets? | Nature | PBS". Nature. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "Skunk pack 'spotted' in English countryside". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 Merriam, C. Hart(Clinton Hart) (1886). The mammals of the Adirondack region, northeastern New York. U.S. Geological Survey. New York : Henry Holt and Co.
  4. ↑ "The Striped Skunk: America's Misunderstood Neighbor". Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. 10 June 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  5. 1 2 Johnson-Delaney, Cathy (1 October 2014). "Pet Virginia Opossums and Skunks". Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine. Unusual Exotic Pets. 23 (4): 317–326. doi:10.1053/j.jepm.2014.07.011. ISSN 1557-5063.
  6. ↑ "Canada Rabies Study". Archived from the original on 25 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Detention Period of Dogs, Cats, Raccoons, Foxes and Skunks In accordance with the Rabies Prevention Law" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  8. ↑ "Infectious disease time-bomb". Archived from the original on 21 December 2004.
  9. ↑ "Importing or Travelling with Foxes, Skunks, Raccoons and Ferrets as Pets". Canadian Food Inspection Agency. 7 February 2018.[dead link]
  10. ↑ "Guidelines for dealers, exhibitors, transporters, and researchers". Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Licensing and registration under the Animal Welfare Act. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 24 September 2005.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Haven State Laws / Skunk Ownership". SkunkHaven. 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  12. ↑ "Alaska Admin Code". www.akleg.gov. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  13. ↑ Cipriani, Deborah; Wilson, Kevin. "State Laws / Skunk Ownership". Skunkhaven.net. Skunk Haven. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "Laws Related to Native Wildlife". georgiawildlife.com. Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  15. ↑ "Statute 25-236". state.id.us. State of Idaho. Archived from the original on 14 December 2004.
  16. ↑ "Administrative Regulations 301 2:081(6)(2)(g)". lrc.state.ky.us. State of Kentucky.
  17. ↑ "State Government Sites". govt.westlaw.com.
  18. ↑ "Permits to hold wildlife in captivity" (PDF). michigan.gov. State of Michigan. IC 1350-1.
  19. ↑ "Section 145.365". revisor.mn.gov. Minnesota Statutes. State of Minnesota.
  20. ↑ "Wildlife Code 3". aphis.usda.gov. State Regulations / Missouri. U.S. Department of Agriculture. CSR 10-9. Archived from the original on 4 December 2004.
  21. ↑ "Montana code 50-23-101". data.opi.state.mt.us/bills. State of Montana. Archived from the original on 25 November 2003. and "Montana code 50-23-102". data.opi.state.mt.us/bills. State of Montana. Archived from the original on 12 February 2006.
  22. ↑ "Statute 37-477(2)". statutes.unicam.state.ne.us. State of Nebraska. Archived from the original on 2 December 2005.
  23. ↑ "Health requirements governing the admission of animals". aphis.usda.gov. State Regulations / Nevada. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 8 December 2004.
  24. ↑ "Fis 800". gencourt.state.nh.us. State of New Hampshire.
  25. ↑ "Health requirements governing the admission of animals". aphis.usda.gov. State Regulations / New Jersey. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 12 December 2004.
  26. ↑ "Captive game species permit FAQs". NJ Department of Environmental Protection. www.state.nj.us. Division of Fish & Wildlife. State of New Jersey.
  27. ↑ "Administrative Code 7.4.2.12" (PDF). srca.nm.gov. State of New Mexico.
  28. ↑ "Environmental Conservation Law 11 -0515". nysenate.gov. State of New York.
  29. ↑ "Administrative Code 52B.0212(a)(1)". NC Department of Agriculture. agr.state.nc.us. State of North Carolina. Archived from the original on 22 December 2004.
  30. ↑ "Animal Importation". ND Department of Agriculture. www.nd.gov. State of North Dakota.
  31. ↑ Code of Laws Title 47 Chapter 5 Archived 25 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine and Title 50 Chapter 16 Section 50-16-20 Archived 26 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine
  32. ↑ "LexisNexis® Legal Resources". www.lexisnexis.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  33. ↑ "R657-3". UT Department of Wildlife. wildlife.utah.gov. UT Administrative Code. State of Utah.
  34. ↑ Virginia Administrative Code 4 15-20-50 and 4 15-30-10. See Legality of pet skunks in Virginia
  35. ↑ "WAC 246-100-197". apps.leg.wa.gov.
  36. ↑ Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 169 and Dept. of Natural Resources Chapter NR 16
  37. ↑ "Statute 23-1-101". legisweb.state.wy.us. State of Wyoming. Archived from the original on 12 December 2004.
  38. ↑ "Wayback Machine". www.journalism.umd.edu. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  39. ↑ "Statewide Online Telephone Directory Individual Detail Listing". Archived from the original on 21 March 2005.
  40. ↑ "SK: Only Canadian Skunk Breeder will be out of Business". Archived from the original on 7 February 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  41. ↑ "RCVS Online / k. Mutilations report". Archived from the original on 16 December 2004.

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