It’s almost baby season–which means our inbox is flooded with messages daily from people asking us to sell them a fox/raccoon/bobcat/opossum/etc. As a sanctuary, we do not breed, sell, or rehome our animals to the public. However, we are here to educate you about owning captive-bred wildlife.
What To Consider When Getting a Pet Raccoon or Other Exotic Pet
If you haven’t read our care guide for pet raccoons, or any other animal you are interested in, please do so before you read this blog. Our number one goal is to educate you and ensure that if you plan to own an exotic pet, it’s for the entirety of their life and that you are committed to giving them the best life possible.
Are Pet Raccoons Legal In My State?
The first thing you need to know when you are searching for a pet raccoon or other exotic is whether they are legal in your state or not. You can find a list of states where pet raccoons are legal here, or you can search our state-by-state legality lists for various exotic pet species.
Can I Keep a Raccoon From The Wild as a Pet?
In the vast majority of states you cannot legally keep a raccoon from the wild as a pet. Even if you live in a state like Arkansas or South Carolina where you can keep raccoons taken from the wild, it will not turn out well. Both of these states have strict regulations that prohibit you from rehoming your raccoon or taking it across state lines. In South Carolina, there are not vets who will see pet raccoons and DHEC will come and euthanize your raccoon if someone complains about you having one.
Additionally, raccoons are not domestic animals and have specific needs that are difficult to meet in a home environment. We have seen it time and time again–keeping a baby raccoon taken from the wild ends in tragedy the vast majority of the time.
Here is what to do if you find a baby raccoon that seems orphaned or injured.
Should I Get a Pet RaccoonFrom A Breeder or a Rescue?
Both breeders and rescues can be a source to get a pet raccoon or other exotic pet. The major difference is that most rescues will have older animals–although not all of them, sometimes rescues get baby animals too. I won’t recommend one over the other. Not all breeders and rescue facilities that sell or adopt out exotic animals are bad, but not all are good either.
The main difference between going with a raccoon breeder over a raccoon rescue is that a breeder owns the parent animal and purposely breeds the animals they sell. A rescue, however, may or may not own or know much about the parent animals and they may not always have baby animals. Adult exotic animals need love too though, and as long as you are prepared, they can also be amazing companions.
How To Find a Good Pet Raccoon Breeder
Make Sure You Are Getting a Pet Raccoon Legally
Any breeder or facility that sells pet raccoons or other captive wildlife–or adopts them out/rehomes them for a fee–has to be licensed with the USDA. USDA information is public, so you can easily look up anyone claiming to be licensed. If they won’t give you their number to look up, consider that a red flag that you may be dealing with a scammer or someone who is breaking the law. If they do give you their USDA information, search it here to verify it is correct and look for any possible violations.
If a facility has many violations that is a major red flag. You don’t want to buy an animal from someone running a “mill” or abusing the animals.
Look at the USDA Reports
The USDA inspection report search found here also lets you see a facilities inspection reports. If a facility has lots of violations, that is a major red flag. You don’t want to buy an animal from someone running a “mill” or abusing the animals.
Ask The Facility Questions
This is a big one. Ask the place where you are buying or adopting your pet raccoon from questions about the animals’ care. What do they feed their raccoons? How do they house them? How much do they interact with them daily and at what age do they start socializing them with people? Also, ask them about whether they take their animals back if for some reason it doesn’t work out with the buyer, as well as what happens to the animals in that case. If a breeder or rescue will not take their animals back, that is a red flag.
Build a Relationship With The Facility
If they aren’t willing to answer your questions and aren’t treating you in a manner that makes you feel comfortable, they are not who you need to get a raccoon or any other exotic animal from. Most of these animals are a 10-20 year commitment, and if a breeder isn’t willing to talk you through the basics and be there for the animals they are bringing into the world, they are not someone you want to purchase from.
Network With The Community
The pet raccoon community can be a great resource for first-time raccoon owners. Join as many groups and forums as you can about pet raccoons or any other exotic pets you are looking at and ask the members about where they got their animals. See what their experiences were with the breeder or facility that they went with. If you notice a lot of people saying awful things about a specific facility or breeder, that is a red flag.
Additionally, talk to owners and see how long they have owned animals from a particular facility. If the facility has a large number of animals who are being rehomed or surrendered to sanctuaries as opposed to people who have the animal for the duration of its life, that is a sign that the facility isn’t doing all it can to educate their buyers and isn’t taking the animals back if it doesn’t work out.
Pet Raccoon Breeder and Rescue Red Flags
🚩 The place you are getting your pet raccoon from does not have a USDA license. In order to sell a pet raccoon, or adopt one out or rehome a raccoon for a fee, the seller/rescue/person rehoming the raccoon must have a USDA liscense. If they do not, selling and paying for a raccoon is a federal wildlife crime.
🚩 The facility has USDA reports. Use this tool to verify USDA license numbers and read the official reports for a facility https://aphis.my.site.com/PublicSearchTool/s/inspection-reports.
🚩 The breeder, rescue, or person rehoming the animal is willing to sell or adopt out a raccoon to someone living in a state where pet raccoons are not legal.
🚩 The facility is not willing to take the animal back should it not work out.
🚩 The place or person you are looking to get an animal from makes it seem like owning a pet raccoon or any other exotic pet is easy. Owning captive wildlife like pet raccoons can be incredibly rewarding, but it is far from easy. Some people will say anything to make a quick buck.
🚩 Nobody is willing to talk you through the realities of owning these animals, provide care information, or answer your hard questions.
🚩 Members of the community are saying that something is a scam, or saying they had a horrible experience with a raccoon breeder or a rescue.
🚩 You found an animal on a “pet raccoons for sale” Facebook group or Facebook page. These groups and pages are scams and not legitimate breeders. Be on the lookout for broken English, mentions of using WhatsApp to communicate, offering to ship animals, and comments full of people saying “Hey! This is a scam!”
