Can You Own a Chimpanzee in Maryland? What State and Federal Law Say
September 17, 2026
Can you own a chimpanzee in Maryland? The short answer is no, and the state does not treat this as a minor licensing gap you can fill out a form to fix. Maryland classifies chimpanzee possession as a criminal offense, placing it in the same category as owning a bear, a wolf, or a venomous snake.
If you have been researching exotic pet ownership and wondering where chimpanzees fit into Maryland’s legal framework, this guide breaks down the state statute, the federal rules that intersect with it, and what happens if someone tries to keep one anyway.
Is It Legal to Own a Chimpanzee in Maryland
No, it is not legal to own a chimpanzee in Maryland as a private pet. Maryland Criminal Code Section 10-621 prohibits the private ownership of a specific list of animals, including nonhuman primates such as lemurs, monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, marmosets, lorises, and tamarins. The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is named directly in the statute, so there is no ambiguity about whether the ban applies to this species.
Nonhuman primates are completely off-limits for private ownership under Maryland law, and while the statute names several specific groups, the ban applies to all nonhuman primates, not just those named. That means the answer would be the same even if chimpanzees were left off the list by name alone.
Legal scholars have pointed out a technical wrinkle worth understanding. Neither the criminal nor the endangered species law prohibits “ownership” of great apes, just “possession” and other activities. In practical terms, this distinction offers no real workaround, since a Maryland resident could theoretically own a great ape while keeping it in a state that does not prohibit possession, but doing so within Maryland itself still runs into the possession ban.
Important Note: The ownership-versus-possession distinction discussed by legal researchers is a technical legal argument, not a practical loophole. Keeping a chimpanzee anywhere inside Maryland’s borders still triggers the state’s possession ban.
What Federal Law Currently Says About Primate Ownership
Federal law does not currently ban the private possession of chimpanzees the way Maryland’s state statute does. Aside from the ban on importing primates for the pet trade, there are no federal laws governing the sale or keeping of primates as pets. That gap is exactly why states like Maryland have written their own prohibitions into criminal code.
The two main federal laws that affect chimpanzees are the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Neither law bans private possession outright. Instead, the most that federal laws do is regulate the conditions under which chimpanzees are transported and housed, and the ways in which humans must care for them while they are under their control.
Endangered species status adds another layer. In 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service elevated the status of captive chimps to “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act to match that of wild chimps. That change restricted certain commercial activities involving captive chimpanzees, including some forms of interstate sale, even though it did not create a nationwide pet ownership ban. For readers curious how endangered status affects other species within state borders, our guide to endangered animals in Maryland covers additional examples of federally protected wildlife.
A bipartisan effort to close the federal gap has been building momentum in Congress. Representative Mike Quigley introduced the Captive Primate Safety Act in the House on May 5, 2025, alongside co-leads Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Rep. Julia Brownley, and Rep. Nancy Mace, with Senator Blumenthal introducing the Senate companion bill the same day. The bill would amend the Lacey Act to prohibit the private possession of primate species such as chimpanzees, gibbons, gorillas, lemurs, lorises, monkeys, orangutans, and tarsiers. This prohibition is narrowly focused on primates kept as “pets” and exempts zoos, research facilities, sanctuaries, and universities.
As of this bill’s most recent reintroduction, it has not been signed into law, so Maryland’s own statute remains the primary legal barrier to chimpanzee ownership within the state. You can track the bill’s language directly through the Wikipedia summary of the Captive Primate Safety Act or through advocacy trackers maintained by groups like the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
| Legal Layer | What It Covers | Bans Private Chimp Ownership? |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland Criminal Law § 10-621 | Import, sale, trade, breeding, and possession of nonhuman primates | Yes |
| Federal Animal Welfare Act (1966) | Care, housing, and transport standards for regulated facilities | No |
| Federal Endangered Species Act (1973) | Commercial activity restrictions on endangered species, including captive chimps | Partially, for commerce only |
| Captive Primate Safety Act (pending) | Would amend the Lacey Act to ban private primate possession nationwide | Not yet enacted |
Maryland’s Laws on Owning a Chimpanzee
Maryland’s prohibition goes further than a simple ownership ban. Under this law, a person may not import into the state, offer for sale, trade, barter, possess, breed, or exchange foxes, skunks, raccoons, bears, caimans, alligators, crocodiles, wild cats, wolves, nonhuman primates, and venomous snakes. Chimpanzees fall squarely within the nonhuman primate category, alongside other species covered in our overview of venomous animals in Maryland that share the same statutory section.
The law is not new. This Maryland law dates to 2002 and prohibits a person from importing into the state, offering for sale, trading, bartering, possessing, breeding, or exchanging these species of animals. A narrow grandfather provision exists for animals acquired before the ban took effect: the section does not prohibit a person who had lawful possession of a listed animal on or before May 31, 2006, from continuing to possess that animal, provided the person gave written notification to the local animal control authority on or before August 1, 2006. That window closed nearly two decades ago, so it offers no path forward for anyone acquiring a chimpanzee today.
Maryland lawmakers have continued tightening the rules around exotic and dangerous animals rather than loosening them. A 2026 legislative proposal, House Bill 53, aimed to close remaining exemption gaps. Testimony on the bill noted that Maryland’s law already prohibits private ownership of numerous dangerous wild animals, including bears, nonhuman primates, wild cats, and certain venomous snakes. The bill would grandfather existing private owners who possess covered species prior to its effective date, allowing them to keep those animals under current ownership, while preventing future acquisition, breeding, and sale by private individuals unless permitted under specific exemptions. You can read the full committee testimony through the Maryland General Assembly’s published record.
Pro Tip: If you are researching exotic species law in Maryland generally, note that reptiles and amphibians follow a different permit structure than mammals. Our guides to snakes in Maryland and native reptile regulations illustrate how differently the state treats species that are not on the outright prohibited list.
Permits and Requirements for Chimpanzee Ownership in Maryland
There is no permit pathway that allows a private individual to legally acquire a pet chimpanzee in Maryland. The exemptions built into the statute exist for institutions, not hobbyists or private collectors.
Animal sanctuaries, facilities licensed under the federal Animal Welfare Act, those holding valid permits from the Department of Natural Resources, and veterinarians are exempted from the general possession ban. Even within that exemption structure, the bar is high. A holder of a Class C Exhibitor’s License under the Animal Welfare Act may acquire or breed a nonhuman primate only if the holder maintains a liability insurance policy of at least $1,000,000, has at least one paid full-time staff member trained in the care of each species kept, maintains an animal disposition policy for facility closures, and maintains a training plan regarding zoonotic disease risk and prevention.
The Department of Natural Resources permit system, which governs many other wildlife activities in Maryland, does not extend to primates for private purposes. Maryland’s dangerous animal law carves out a limited set of exceptions, but these do not include private pet ownership; the exceptions exist for institutional and professional purposes only, such as DNR permit holders with a valid license or permit to possess animals otherwise banned under the statute. This is the same DNR office that issues licenses for activities like the deer hunting season in Maryland and the trout fishing season in Maryland, so the agency clearly has a permitting infrastructure. It simply does not apply that infrastructure to private primate ownership, and the same holds true for permits tied to the dove hunting season in Maryland, which follow an entirely separate wildlife management framework from exotic species law.
For comparison, some reptiles occupy a middle ground where permits do allow limited private possession, such as certain native species covered in our guide to lizards in Maryland. Chimpanzees receive no such middle-ground treatment.
Local Laws That May Apply in Maryland
State law sets the floor, not the ceiling, for exotic animal regulation in Maryland. Maryland allows local governments to enact laws regarding wild and exotic animals, and many local governments have enacted strict laws related to exotic animals as pets. That means county or municipal ordinances can add restrictions on top of the state ban, even though they cannot make something illegal at the state level suddenly permissible locally.
Each city, county, and even neighborhood may have ordinances in place further restricting particular exotic animals, so a Montgomery County property manager, for example, should be well-versed in these layered rules before approving any exotic pet situation. The same logic applies to anyone renting property or living in a homeowners’ association anywhere in the state, since local rules can affect enforcement even for animals that are already prohibited statewide.
This layered structure mirrors how Maryland handles other animal-related ordinances that vary by jurisdiction. Local rules around backyard chicken laws in Maryland and rooster laws in Maryland follow a similar pattern, where county and municipal codes add specific requirements beyond whatever the state permits or prohibits. Even if the state ban did not exist, county and municipal governments in Maryland have the authority to impose their own, stricter rules on exotic animal ownership.
Penalties for Illegally Owning a Chimpanzee in Maryland
Violating Maryland’s exotic animal statute is not treated as a paperwork issue. Violations are a misdemeanor carrying fines up to $1,000 for individuals. Beyond the fine, a violation results in a fine and seizure of the animal or animals involved.
Criminal penalties are not the only exposure an illegal chimpanzee owner would face. Maryland also applies a strict liability standard to exotic animal injuries. In Maryland, strict liability is the law of the land in cases involving exotic animals, meaning that if you are the owner of such an animal and it injures someone or damages their property, you can be held liable for damages even if you are not at fault. Behaving as responsibly as possible, providing ample space, a healthy diet, and professional care, will not negate strict liability.
The reasoning behind these strict rules is not abstract. A particularly horrific 2009 case gained worldwide attention when a Connecticut woman was blinded and lost most of her face and hands after being attacked by her neighbor’s pet chimpanzee. Primates often purchased as cute infants tend to exhibit unpredictable behavior after the age of two, and as they reach sexual maturity, they become larger and more aggressive, biting out of fear, self-defense, or to establish dominance. That incident, detailed by the Animal Welfare Institute, is frequently cited by lawmakers as a driving reason behind both state bans and the pending federal legislation.
Key Insight: Maryland’s penalty structure combines two separate legal risks. The misdemeanor charge and fine address the act of illegal possession itself, while strict liability exposes an owner to civil damages if the animal ever injures anyone, regardless of how carefully it was kept.
For anyone weighing the risks, the combination of a criminal statute, no available permit pathway, layered local ordinances, and strict civil liability makes chimpanzee ownership in Maryland both illegal and financially dangerous. Readers interested in what exotic species Maryland residents can legally keep, and under what conditions, may find it useful to compare this against permitted wildlife categories covered elsewhere on this site, including native reptiles, amphibians, and other regulated species that follow a very different legal track than nonhuman primates.