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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 16, 2026
SENATE BILL NO. 2172 By: Pederson
An Act relating to animals; defining terms;
prohibiting the possession, sale, transfer, and
breeding of primates; providing for certain
exemptions; providing enforcement procedures;
authorizing seizure and forfeiture; providing
penalties; allowing for local regulation; providing
for codification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 7-802 of Title 29, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. As used in this section:
1. “Animal control authority” means an entity acting alone or
in concert with other local governmental units or political
subdivisions for enforcement of the animal control laws of the city,
county, other political subdivision, or state or for the shelter and
welfare of animals;
2. “Law enforcement officer” means any animal control officer,
animal cruelty investigator, local enforcement officer such as a
county sheriff or municipal police officer, state police officer,
public prosecutor, or game warden or other agent or employee of the
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Department of Wildlife Conservation charged with enforcing the laws
of this title;
3. “Primate” means any species of the taxonomic order Primates,
except humans; and
4. “Primate sanctuary” means a nonprofit entity that:
a. operates a place of refuge where an abused, neglected,
unwanted, impounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced
animal is provided care for the lifetime of the
animal,
b. does not conduct any commercial activity with respect
to primates, including, but not limited to, sale,
trade, auction, loan, or lease of primates or their
parts, or use of primates in any manner in a for-
profit business or operation,
c. does not allow direct contact between the public and
primates,
d. does not use primates for entertainment purposes or in
traveling exhibits, and
e. does not breed any primates.
B. It shall be unlawful for any person to possess, sell,
transfer, or breed a primate.
C. The prohibitions in subsection B of this section shall not
apply to:
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1. Research facilities, as defined in the federal Animal
Welfare Act, 7 U.S.C., Section 2132(e);
2. Primate sanctuaries;
3. Public animal shelters or duly incorporated nonprofit animal
protection organizations, such as humane societies and shelters,
temporarily housing a primate at the written request of law
enforcement officers acting under the authority of this section;
4. Licensed veterinary hospitals for the purpose of providing
treatment to a primate;
5. Law enforcement officers for purposes of law enforcement;
6. A properly maintained zoological park or circus that holds a
Class C exhibitor license under the federal Animal Welfare Act in
good standing; provided, such entity shall:
a. not have been, or employ any person who has been,
convicted of or fined for an offense involving the
abuse or neglect of any animal pursuant to any state,
local, or federal law,
b. not have had a license or permit regarding the care,
possession, exhibition, breeding, or sale of any
animal revoked or suspended by any state, local, or
federal agency, and shall not have entered into any
stipulations, consent decrees, or settlements with the
United States Department of Agriculture within the
past three (3) years and shall disclose any known
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pending investigations that are being conducted by the
United States Department of Agriculture,
c. not have been cited by the United States Department of
Agriculture under the federal Animal Welfare Act, 7
U.S.C., Section 2131 et seq., for any noncompliant
item within the past three (3) years for any violation
for failure to allow facility inspection or
interference with a facility inspection,
d. maintain liability insurance in an amount not less
than Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00)
for each occurrence of property damage, bodily injury,
or death caused by any primate possessed by the
entity, and
e. have a written plan, filed with the local animal
control authority, for the quick and safe recapture or
destruction of any primate in the event a primate
escapes, including, but not limited to, written
protocols for training staff on methods of safe
recapture of the escaped primate; or
7. A person temporarily transporting a legally owned primate
through this state if the transit time is not more than twenty-four
(24) hours, the primate is not exhibited, and the primate is
maintained at all times in a species-appropriate cage or travel
container.
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D. The prohibitions in subsection B of this section shall not
apply to persons who lawfully possessed a primate prior to the
effective date of this act, provided that such person shall:
1. Maintain veterinary records, acquisition papers, or other
documents or records that establish that the person possessed the
animal prior to the effective date of this act;
2. Not acquire additional primates after the effective date of
this act, whether by purchase, donation, or breeding;
3. Not have been convicted of an offense involving the abuse or
neglect of any animal pursuant to any state, local, or federal law;
4. Not have had a license or permit regarding the care,
possession, exhibition, breeding, or sale of animals revoked or
suspended by any state, local, or federal agency;
5. Develop and be prepared to implement escape, succession, and
disaster plans and maintain a current animal inventory, to be made
available to law enforcement officers upon request;
6. Have sufficient training to provide species-specific care to
the primate;
7. Register with, and pay a registration fee of Twenty Dollars
($20.00) to, the local animal control authority by May 1, 2027, and
annually thereafter, indicating the number of animals of each
primate species in his or her possession, and showing proof of
liability insurance in an amount not less than Two Hundred Fifty
Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), for each occurrence of property
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damage, bodily injury, or death caused by any primate possessed by
the person; and
8. Notify the local animal control authority at least seventy-
two (72) hours prior to sale or transfer of an existing primate,
identifying the recipient of the animal. At all times, possession,
sale, transfer, and transport of the primate shall conform with all
applicable state, local, and federal laws.
E. The provisions of this section shall be enforced by any
state law enforcement officer or any other law enforcement officer
in whose jurisdiction the violation occurs, or any animal control
authority for the jurisdiction in which the violation occurs.
F. 1. A law enforcement officer may, after obtaining a warrant
from any judge or magistrate upon probable cause, seize or impound
any primate possessed, sold, transferred, bred, or exhibited in
violation of this section. Such primates shall be immediately
placed in the custody and control of a primate sanctuary, a
temporary holding facility as provided in paragraph 3 of subsection
C of this section, or a properly maintained zoological park as
described in paragraph 6 of subsection C of this section. If there
is no immediate threat to public safety or animal welfare, law
enforcement officers may impound the primate in place.
2. Upon seizing or impounding a primate, a law enforcement
officer shall petition the district court in the locality where the
primate was seized or impounded for a hearing to determine whether
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the primate was in fact possessed, sold, transferred, or bred in
violation of this section. The hearing shall be held not more than
ten (10) business days from the date of the seizure or impoundment,
and the law enforcement officer shall provide written notice of the
hearing at least five (5) days prior to the hearing to the person
from whom the primate was seized or impounded.
3. Upon judicial determination of a violation of any provision
of this section, the seized or impounded primate may be deemed
forfeited and the court may order the violator to pay all reasonable
expenses incurred in caring and providing for the primate, from the
time the primate is seized until the time such primate is forfeited
to the zoological park, primate sanctuary, or temporary holding
facility in possession of the primate. The court may also prohibit
the possession or ownership of primates or other exotic animals by
the person found to have violated this section.
4. A forfeited primate shall be transferred to a properly
maintained zoological park as described in paragraph 6 of subsection
C of this section or a primate sanctuary that is willing and able to
take custody of the forfeited primate. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to prevent law enforcement officers from humanely
euthanizing a primate in compliance with state and federal law if,
after reasonable efforts, no such institution is willing and able to
provide long-term care for the primate.
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5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the
voluntary permanent relinquishment of any primate by its owner to a
person legally able to possess the primate and willing and able to
take possession. Voluntary relinquishment shall have no effect on
any criminal charges for violations of this section.
6. Any primate found to be not properly confined, whether on
the property of the owner or running at large, may be humanely
destroyed by law enforcement officers in order to protect public
safety. The owner of such primate will be liable for costs accrued
to law enforcement officers in humanely euthanizing or otherwise
securing any such primate.
G. A person who violates any provision of this section shall,
upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by
a fine not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than
Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00).
H. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a
city or county or other local governmental unit or political
subdivision from adopting or enforcing any rule or law that places
further restrictions or additional requirements on the possession,
sale, transfer, or breeding of primates.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND WILDLIFE
February 16, 2026 - DO PASS