Md. Code, Health - General § 18-219
This is the official text of Md. Code, Health - General § 18-219, part of Maryland’s Code, Health - General — covers public health regulation.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§18–219.
Official statutory text
(a) The Secretary may prohibit the importation, selling, trading, purchasing, bartering, breeding, raising, keeping, or possession of any animals found to be dangerous to human health and safety.
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) Domestic cats;
(2) Domestic dogs;
(3) Domestic ferrets;
(4) Animals used for agricultural purposes;
(5) Animals used for scientific purposes;
(6) Animals used for educational purposes;
(7) Animals used for public exhibitions; or
(8) Any animal that the Secretary determines is not a threat to human health and safety.
(c) This section may not be construed to prohibit the breeding, raising, keeping, or possession of turtles by a person who has obtained a permit under Title 10, Subtitle 9 of the Natural Resources Article.
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) Domestic cats;
(2) Domestic dogs;
(3) Domestic ferrets;
(4) Animals used for agricultural purposes;
(5) Animals used for scientific purposes;
(6) Animals used for educational purposes;
(7) Animals used for public exhibitions; or
(8) Any animal that the Secretary determines is not a threat to human health and safety.
(c) This section may not be construed to prohibit the breeding, raising, keeping, or possession of turtles by a person who has obtained a permit under Title 10, Subtitle 9 of the Natural Resources Article.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Maryland?
Find a Maryland lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.