Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it true that chameleons are actually illegal in some states? I've heard that they are in Massachusetts and Hawaii... Are there any others??

http://hawaiiislandjournal.com/2003/6a03a.html
"it is illegal to possess any member of the chameleon species in Hawai'i, except for Jackson's chameleons."

I can't tell you about any other States.

Some states have decided to restrict so called "exotic" pet animals of any kind, even birds or small mammals. It's not that the cham itself is the problem, they are simply on a list that may be very general (all non native reptiles). You may be able to keep a cham if you get the right permit, or as long as it was produced in the state, or you have some type of inspection at your home for it. A lot depends on why the exotic is illegal...is it a public health/disease scare? Does the state have pest or dangerous exotics running loose? Does the state want total control of importation of livestock? Do they want to avoid having to inspect or license breeding facilities? Has some interest group convinced them that non-domestic animals shouldn't be kept as pets? Is there an endangered native species that escaped exotics might prey on, introduce disease to, or interbreed with? If the law is well written there should be a way for someone moving there to bring in legally owned personal pets. Don't count on that though. Some laws are stupid to be sure, but they are laws and they won't change just because they are ignored. I moved to NJ years ago with my 3 birds legally purchased in another state. I found out quite by accident that they were not legal unless I could produce a receipt dated before the law went into effect. NO ONE was going to force me to give away pets I'd had for over 10 years to some unknown person, so I ended up being forced to be dishonest (had a receipt made with an earlier date) to meet the letter of the law. Even now, years later I still feel bad about it. It's always best (to protect your pets and to protect the reputation of exotics keepers) to check each state's pet or animal control regulations before moving there or buying something. I now make sure I know what is legal to keep in any state I live in. For some odd reason it's illegal to keep short-tailed opossums in AK. Can't imagine why.

I have no idea about US laws, and also this might be a bit off-topic, but it is interesting to note that here in South Africa they have banned all trade/export and keeping of South African reptiles, so that basically makes it illegal for anyone to have South African chameleons anywhere in the world (there are exceptions, but only with lots of red-tape involved).

I believe that only South Africa and Kenya have imposed such restrictions thus far.
But with something like 70000 chameleons being exported from Africa to Europe/America each year, I don't think it will be very long before other countries start imposing restrictions.
Many of the South African chameleons are high up on the endangered species list due to their natural habitats being destroyed. The pet trade can't help much either.

I guess that makes it even more important for us as chameleon keepers to make sure that effective and responsible breeding programmes are maintained, so that captive-bred specimens can provide the quantities that are now being supplied by wild-caught animals.

Chris Anderson wrote a good article about it here: http://www.chameleonnews.com/populations.html