Is it Legal to Own a Pet Skunk?

A Popular Exotic Pet

The striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) is a small omnivorous mammal in the mustelid family that is infamous for its ability to spray an acrid smelling liquid at potential predators from specialized anal glands. They are becoming increasingly popular to keep as pets in the states where it is legal to do so, with some independently owned pet stores even selling them on occasion. Additionally, skunks are also relatively inexpensive to both purchase and care for; a normal colored, black and white baby skunk will only cost you around $300. Rarer colors (such as lavender or albino skunks) will cost anywhere from $500 to $800, and are less commonly seen.

In the United States, organizations such as The American Domestic Skunk Association and Owners of Pet Skunks have been created to provide educational outreach and resources to prospective owners, helping to increase awareness for their husbandry requirements.

Potential Legal Issues

Anybody interested in owning skunks as pets must firstly check whether or not they are legal to own in their state of residence.

As of 2024, it's only legal to keep pet skunks in 3 states without a permit. An additional 13 states allow them to be owned only with permits obtained through their relevant regulatory agency, which is generally that state's Fish & Game Commission. How easy it is to obtain said permit is a different story, however, as many states do not grant permits to people who plan on keeping skunks for personal use. Lastly, 2 states restrict their ownership to certain areas within them, with some major cities keeping them illegal. They are completely illegal in the rest of the country,[1] with the main arguments against them by lawmakers being an irrational fear they will pose a public safety risk due to potentially contracting rabies.

While it may be disheartening to learn that skunks are most likely illegal to own in your state, efforts to legalize them are continuously being made by exotic pet owners around the country and individuals may support this movement by expressing their grievances to the appropriate representatives in their state. As their popularity in the pet trade increases, so too will the difficulty lawmakers have in continuing to deny people the right to own them.

Do Pet Skunks Spread Rabies?

As mentioned above, one of the main concerns aired over keeping skunks as pets is the fear they will contract rabies and spread the virus to their owners, or members of the uninvolved public. Rabies is an extremely dangerous virus with a mortality rate of 99% in humans[2], with few ever being documented surviving it once clinical symptoms appear. While it is terrifying, it is completely preventable, thanks to the existence of the modern rabies vaccine that can be administered to our pets (and more rarely, humans).

So why, you may ask, is it a concern that skunks are going to become infected with rabies? The answer is simple: while a rabies vaccination exists for dogs, cats, and even ferrets or horses, one has not been created yet that has been proven by researchers to immunize skunks. While skunk owners can safely get their skunks vaccinated with the same variant used on ferrets, no studies have been conducted to prove they actually work. In the eyes of lawmakers, who more often than not are already are biased against the idea of owning pet skunks, this is all the evidence they need to ban them for being so-called public safety risks. But does this claim have any merit to it?

According to the American Veterinary Medicine Association, 3,663 rabid animals were reported in 2021 across the United States. The majority of these reports came from only 7 states, which accounted for a little over 50% of all reported cases, and 18.9% of them involved wild striped skunks[3].

However, there have been no documented cases yet of a pet skunk contracting the rabies virus[4]. While this may change in the future, it is illogical to fear pet skunks on the basis that they have the potential to get infected when hundreds of unvaccinated cats and dogs contribute to 6% of rabies cases and are far more likely to be left unattended outdoors, where they would come into contact with an animal that infects them.

The Illegal Wildlife Trade

When discussing any exotic pet, the topic of the illegal wildlife trade and black market for exotic pets will inevitably arise. While organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States love to remind us of the plight many species such as the Sunda slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) face in Asian countries at the hand of the illegal wildlife trade, the reality is that striped skunks have been bred in captivity since 1880[5], and a surplus of breeders exist in the United States to produce more than enough animals for prospective pet owners without the need to take them from their natural habitats.

A baby spotted skunk. Photo courtesy of Heather Davies.

This only leaves the concern that some ill-intentioned people may find, or trap, orphaned skunk kits and raise them as pets, which could potentially harm their wild populations over time. This is simply illogical; it is already illegal in every state to do this. In fact, the only way you can legally purchase a pet skunk is through a breeder licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture, which already exists to regulate the industry.

Afterword

The legality of keeping skunks as pets is far more complicated than it seems. They are illegal in most states, and this is unlikely to change without considerable public outreach efforts to educate lawmakers and dissuade them from preconceived biases they may have towards exotic pet owners.

People looking to purchase a skunk should always double check their state laws, as illegally owned animals are at risk of being seized by animal control and euthanized, with the owner receiving hefty fines.

Sources

[1] Skunks as pets - Wikipedia

[2] “Vital Signs: Trends in Human Rabies Deaths and Exposures - United States, 1938–2018.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 June 2019, www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6823e1.htm.

[3] Ma, Xiaoyue, et al. “Rabies Surveillance in the United States during 2021.” AVMA, American Veterinary Medical Association, 1 July 2023, avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/261/7/javma.23.02.0081.xml.

[4] “Rabies in the United States: Protecting Public Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/rabies/php/protecting-public-health/index.html. Accessed 30 June 2024.

[5] Kolokolnikov, Andrey. “International Fur Trade : Trends, Challenges, Prospects.” Theseus, Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu, 1 Jan. 1970, www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/62759.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2024 Kaycee F.

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