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EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
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Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb0053*
HOUSE BILL 53
E1 6lr0864
(PRE–FILED)
By: Delegates Lehman, Foley, Palakovich Carr, Ruth, Terrasa, and Ziegler
Requested: September 16, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Judiciary
Committee Report: Favorable
House action: Adopted
Read second time: February 19, 2026
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Criminal Law – Nondomesticated Animal Prohibitions – Alterations 2
FOR the purpose of altering a certain exception to the prohibition against importing, 3
offering for sale, trading, bartering, possessing, breeding, or exchanging certain live, 4
nondomesticated animals and repealing a certain other exception ; prohibiting 5
certain live nondomesticated animals from being imported, offered for sale, traded, 6
bartered, possessed, bred, or exchanged on or after a certain date, subject to a certain 7
exception; and generally relating to the prohibition against the importation, sale, 8
trade, barter, possession, breeding, or exchange of certain nondomesticated animals. 9
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 10
Article – Criminal Law 11
Section 10–621(a) and (b)(1) 12
Annotated Code of Maryland 13
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 14
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 15
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 16
Article – Criminal Law 17
10–621. 18
2 HOUSE BILL 53
(a) (1) Except as provided in subsection (b)(2) of this section, this section does 1
not apply to: 2
(i) a research facility or federal research facility licensed under the 3
federal Animal Welfare Act; 4
(ii) the holder of a Class C Exhibitor’s License under the Animal 5
Welfare Act, 7 U.S.C. § 2131 et seq., that displays the animals specified in subsection (b) of 6
this section in a public setting as the exhibitor’s primary function; 7
(iii) a person who possesses a valid license or permit issued by the 8
Department of Natural Resources to import, sell, trade, barter, possess, breed, or exchange 9
an animal specified in subsection (b) of this section; 10
(iv) an animal sanctuary that: 11
1. is a nonprofit organization qualified under § 501(c)(3) of 12
the Internal Revenue Code; 13
2. operates a place of refuge for abused, neglected, 14
impounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced wildlife; 15
3. does not conduct commercial activity with respect to any 16
animal of which the organization is an owner; and 17
4. does not buy, sell, trade, lease, or breed any animal except 18
as an integral part of the species survival plan of the [American Zoo and Aquarium 19
Association] ASSOCIATION OF ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS; 20
(v) an animal control officer under the jurisdiction of the State or a 21
local governing authority, a law enforcement officer acting under the authority of this 22
subtitle, or a private contractor of a county or municipal corporation that is responsible for 23
animal control operations; 24
(vi) a person who holds a valid license to practice veterinary medicine 25
in the State and treats the animal specified in subsection (b) of this section in accordance 26
with customary and normal veterinary practices; 27
(vii) a person who is not a resident of the State and is in the State for 28
[10 days] 48 HOURS or less for the purpose of traveling between locations outside of the 29
State; and 30
(viii) a circus holding a Class C Exhibitor’s License under the Animal 31
Welfare Act, 7 U.S.C. § 2131 et seq., that: 32
1. is in the State for less than 90 days per calendar year; 33
HOUSE BILL 53 3
2. regularly conducts performances featuring live animals 1
and multiple human entertainers, including acrobats and clowns; and 2
3. does not allow members of the public to be in proximity to 3
an animal specified under subsection (b) of this section, including opportunities to be 4
photographed with the animal, without sufficient distance and protective barriers. 5
(2) (i) This section does not prohibit a person who had lawful possession 6
of an animal specified in subsection [(b)] (B)(1)(I) THROUGH (VIII) of this section on or 7
before May 31, 2006, from continuing to possess that animal if the person provides written 8
notification to the local animal control authority on or before August 1, 2006. 9
(II) THIS SECTION DOES NOT PROHIBIT A PERSON WH O HAD 10
LAWFUL POSSESSION OF AN ANIMAL SPECIFIED IN SUBSECTION (B)(1)(IX) OR (X) OF 11
THIS SECTION ON OR BEFORE OCTOBER 1, 2026, FROM CONTINUING TO P OSSESS 12
THAT ANIMAL IF THE P ERSON PROVIDES WRITT EN NOTIFICATION TO T HE LOCAL 13
ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 1, 2026. 14
[(ii)] (III) The notification shall include: 15
1. the person’s name, address, and telephone number; 16
2. the number and type of animals being kept; and 17
3. a photograph of the animal or a description of a tattoo or 18
microchip identification of the animal. 19
[(3) This section does not prohibit a per son who has a disability that 20
severely limits mobility from possessing an animal specified in subsection (b) of this section 21
if that animal is: 22
(i) trained to perform tasks for the owner by an organization 23
described in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code; and 24
(ii) dedicated to improving the quality of life of a person who has a 25
disability that severely limits mobility.] 26
(b) (1) A person may not import into the State, offer for sale, trade, barter, 27
possess, breed, or exchange a live: 28
(i) fox, skunk, raccoon, or bear; 29
(ii) caiman, alligator, or crocodile; 30
(iii) member of the cat family other than the domestic cat; 31
4 HOUSE BILL 53
(iv) hybrid of a member of the cat family and a domestic cat if the 1
hybrid weighs over 30 pounds; 2
(v) member of the dog family other than the domestic dog; 3
(vi) hybrid of a member of the dog family and a domestic dog; 4
(vii) nonhuman primate, including a lemur, monkey, chimpanzee, 5
gorilla, orangutan, marmoset, loris, or tamarin; [or] 6
(viii) poisonous snake in the family groups of Hydrophidae, Elapidae, 7
Viperidae, or Crotolidae; 8
(IX) KANGAROO, WALLAROO, OR WALLABY; OR 9
(X) ZEBRA. 10
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 11
October 1, 2026. 12
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.