Are Roof Rats Legal in Louisiana? Keeping, Breeding & Selling

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-14

Keeping a captive-bred roof rat needs no Louisiana permit and follows the same route as the fancy rat. R. rattus is on no prohibited or dangerous list: the ‘potentially dangerous wild quadruped’ rule (LAC 76:V-115) lists only big cats, bears, wolves, and non-human primates, with no rodents, and the wildlife code’s enumerated quadruped categories (La. R.S. 56:8: game, outlaw, protected, nongame) do not reach a non-native commensal rodent. Local ‘wild or exotic animal’ ordinances reinforce this: the Louisiana SPCA code (Orleans Parish) expressly permits ‘laboratory rats … which have been bred and raised in captivity which have never known the wild, and pocket pets or rodents including, but not limited to, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, chinchillas, sugar gliders or hedgehogs.’ A captive-bred roof rat is a rodent and fits the ‘pocket pets or rodents’ catch-all, identical to the captive-bred Norway rat sold as the fancy rat. Confidence is medium, not high, because R. rattus is nowhere named by species and parish ordinances vary in wording and enforcement.

Sources: Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Commission (via Cornell LII), Louisiana Legislature, Louisiana SPCA (Orleans Parish animal control)

Breeding   Legal

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-14

Private hobby breeding of captive-born roof rats triggers no state wildlife license. The Nongame Quadruped Breeder License (La. R.S. 56:262) applies to ‘imported or native nongame quadrupeds,’ which the wildlife code (R.S. 56:8) defines as fur/skin animals such as alligators, beavers, mink, muskrats, nutrias, and foxes; a non-native commensal rodent with no pelt value falls outside it. LDWF confirms the nongame license covers only alligators, coyotes, and foxes and ‘will not be issued for pets or the pet trade,’ and the Game Breeder License (R.S. 56:171) covers wild game species (deer, squirrels, rabbits, game birds), not rodents. The state has no rodent or pocket-pet breeder license, so home breeding for the pet trade sits outside the licensing regime. No-release obligation applies (R.S. 56:20).

Sources: Louisiana Legislature, Louisiana Dept of Wildlife & Fisheries, Louisiana Legislature (via Justia), Louisiana Legislature

Selling or giving away   Legal

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-14

Both private rehoming and direct retail sale of captive-bred roof rats are unregulated by Louisiana wildlife law. The DR’s open question (whether commercial sale needs a Nongame Quadruped Breeder License under R.S. 56:262) resolves against any license: LDWF states that license covers only alligators, coyotes, and foxes and ‘will not be issued for pets or the pet trade,’ and R. rattus lacks the fur/skin value the nongame definition (R.S. 56:8) requires. At the federal level, the Animal Welfare Act exempts ‘retail pet stores’ (a seller and buyer physically present so the buyer can observe the animal before purchase) from USDA licensing, and APHIS lists rats among the species this exemption covers, treating them like dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and hamsters. So selling a roof rat face-to-face needs neither a state LDWF license nor a federal USDA license. Only a wholesale/sight-unseen operation (e.g. bulk online or supplying pet-store chains) could trigger USDA APHIS licensing; even then state law stays silent. Parish ordinances may add local limits.

Sources: Louisiana Legislature, Louisiana Dept of Wildlife & Fisheries, Louisiana Legislature, USDA APHIS (Federal Register)

Transport & import   Legal

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-14

Intrastate transport of a captive-bred roof rat is unrestricted: a roof rat is not a game quadruped (no transport tags, R.S. 56:125) and not a potentially dangerous wild quadruped (no escape plan or specialized enclosure), so it travels in an ordinary secure pet carrier with no state documentation. For interstate import, Louisiana’s animal-health rules (LAC 7:XXI) require a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection and rabies proof for dogs and cats, and govern livestock and poultry, but do not list pet rodents, so the State Veterinarian requires no CVI, permit, or entry report for a privately owned pet rat crossing state lines. International import is governed federally by the CDC: the African rodent ban (42 CFR 71.56) reaches only rodents of African origin or African native habitat, and R. rattus is native to Asia, so it is not barred by that rule. Practical caveats not set by state law: commercial airlines/pet shippers often demand a recent health certificate as a private policy, and never release the animal (R.S. 56:20).

Sources: Louisiana Dept of Agriculture & Forestry (via Cornell LII), Louisiana Legislature, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Louisiana Legislature

• No state license needed for hobby breeding or face-to-face sale of captive-bred roof rats
• If operating wholesale or selling sight-unseen at scale, check USDA APHIS dealer-license rules under the Animal Welfare Act

Where: Louisiana Dept of Wildlife & Fisheries (Wildlife Permits) for any state question; USDA APHIS Animal Care for wholesale federal licensing · Fees: No applicable state fee for pet rats

Source: Louisiana Legislature, Louisiana Dept of Wildlife & Fisheries, USDA APHIS (Federal Register)

• Keep roof rats indoors in secure, escape-proof enclosures
• Never release, abandon, or rehome a roof rat into the wild (R.S. 56:20, class four violation)

Where: Louisiana Dept of Wildlife & Fisheries

Source: Louisiana Legislature

• Read your parish/municipal animal-control ordinance for any ‘wild or exotic animal’ rule and its pocket-pet/rodent exemption

Where: Local parish or municipal animal control

Source: Louisiana SPCA (Orleans Parish animal control)