Are Roof Rats Legal in Northern Mariana Islands? Keeping, Breeding & Selling

Keeping / owning   Restricted

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-14

For an animal already on island, possession turns on a discretionary captive/domesticated-wildlife permit, and for a prospective keeper there is no lawful supply because import is closed. NMIAC 85-30.1-340(b) provides ‘The possession of captive local wildlife or domesticated wildlife without a specific permit issued by the Division is prohibited,’ and 340(d) makes permits annual, issued ‘only for species that can be easily and successfully kept in captivity,’ subject to enclosure evaluation and conservation-officer inspection. R. rattus is ‘Wildlife’ under 85-30.1-020(ww) (‘all species of (terrestrial) mammals… that occur in the wild in the CNMI’) because it has an established feral population in the Marianas, so the captive-wildlife permit regime applies. The permit is theoretically available but practically unavailable for a recognized invasive pest, and because a captive-bred pet cannot be lawfully imported (85-30.1-501(e)), there is no lawful source. General cruelty law applies.

Sources: CNMI Law Revision Commission (DLNR / Division of Fish and Wildlife), CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources, US Fish & Wildlife Service

Breeding   Restricted

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-14

Breeding is an extension of the discretionary captive-wildlife permit, not a separately authorized activity. NMIAC 85-30.1-340(d) provides that ‘Permits to keep captive wildlife or domesticated wildlife and all progeny from captive wildlife must be applied for annually,’ that the Division ‘is authorized to inspect all domesticated and captive wildlife and all progeny at any time,’ and that it may tag the animals and all progeny. So progeny are regulated under the same permit, with annual reporting of the number, sex, and tag number of each animal (85-30.1-340(e)). The Division is exceedingly unlikely to permit progeny of a recognized invasive pest, and the no-release / eradication-liability rule (85-30.1-505) overhangs any colony. There is no rodent-breeder license or hobbyist exemption; the only commercial-breeding carve-out in the chapter is for Sambar deer.

Sources: CNMI Law Revision Commission (DLNR / Division of Fish and Wildlife), Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature / CNMI Law Revision Commission

Selling or giving away   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

Sale or transfer of captive or domesticated wildlife is barred outright by black-letter rule. NMIAC 85-30.1-340(d) provides ‘The sale of captive wildlife and domesticated wildlife is strictly prohibited except by permit and as allowed in subsection (f) below,’ and subsection (f) is a narrow Sambar deer carve-out (tagging plus reporting of tag number, sex, buyer name/address, and date within ten days). NMIAC 85-30.1-335(b) separately makes it ‘illegal to sell or barter wildlife which is alive or dead or parts thereof,’ with the only exception being feral goats and feral pigs. There is no rodent or small-mammal carve-out, no hobbyist threshold, and no commercial dealer license for the small-pet trade, so transferring a roof rat, even as a free gift, runs into the strict sale/barter prohibition (a recipient would also need the improbable captive-wildlife permit to possess it lawfully). No lawful supply chain can exist because import of stock is barred (85-30.1-501(e)).

Sources: CNMI Law Revision Commission (DLNR / Division of Fish and Wildlife), Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature / CNMI Law Revision Commission

Transport & import   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

Import, the binding cross-border layer, is closed. NMIAC 85-30.1-501(d)(5) lists exactly eleven admissible mammals (water buffalo, carabao, dog, cat, gerbil, guinea pig, swine, cattle, horse, donkey/mule, goat), and 85-30.1-501(e) provides ‘Only the animals listed in subsection (d) of this section may be lawfully imported into the CNMI. It shall be unlawful to import any species of amphibian, reptile, bird, or mammal not on the list in subsection (d) of this section. All animals presented for importing into the CNMI that are not on this list shall be refused entry.’ Neither R. rattus nor R. norvegicus is listed, so both are refused entry equally. A second, independent layer: every animal needs an animal-quarantine entry permit, and NMIAC 85-20.1-101 issues it ‘only for those animals which offer no pest or disease risk to the CNMI in the judgment of the Chief for Animal Health & Industry’; 85-20.1-115 treats an unlisted wild or feral animal as importable only on the Chief’s written permit subject to USDA APHIS and USFWS rules. Federal: the wildlife species R. rattus needs a USFWS Form 3-177 declaration on international movement and routes through a designated port (R. norvegicus is treated as domesticated and exempt); R. rattus is NOT on the federal injurious-wildlife list (50 CFR 16), so there is no federal Lacey Act import permit bar, but the CDC bars rodents of African origin. There is a regulatory lever to open the door: 85-30.1-501(h) lets a person petition the Division to add a species to the admissible list. Never release a roof rat: 85-30.1-505 makes release of a non-native species unlawful and the person responsible liable for the full cost of eradication.

Sources: CNMI Law Revision Commission (DLNR / Division of Fish and Wildlife), CNMI Law Revision Commission (DLNR / Division of Agriculture, Animal Health and Industry), CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service

• Treat import as effectively closed: a pet roof rat is a mammal not on the 85-30.1-501(d) admissible list, so 501(e) refuses it entry; the same applies to the fancy rat (R. norvegicus)
• If you want to test the door, petition DFW under 85-30.1-501(h) to add the species, supplying scientific name, native range, source, a captivity/feral-population literature search, and evidence of an escape-proof cage; the Director of Animal Health and Industry is consulted under 501(i) and must find no pest or disease risk under 85-20.1-101
• For any international movement of the wildlife species R. rattus, file USFWS Form 3-177 and route through a designated port; observe the CDC bar on rodents of African origin
• Never release a roof rat: 85-30.1-505 makes you liable for the full cost of eradication

Forms: DFW Import / Scientific / Fishing / Harvesting / Hunting License Application (Saipan DFW Form Rev. 03/2024; covers Import permits), USFWS Form 3-177 (wildlife declaration for R. rattus on international movement) · Where: CNMI DLNR – Division of Fish and Wildlife (import permit / 501(h) petition); CNMI DLNR – Division of Agriculture, Animal Health and Industry (animal-quarantine entry permit) · Fees: DFW import permit ten dollars per species/shipment (85-30.1-501(b)); animal-quarantine entry permit fees set by Animal Health; wild/feral-animal entry triggers additional handling per 85-20.1.

Source: CNMI Law Revision Commission (DLNR / Division of Fish and Wildlife), CNMI Law Revision Commission (DLNR / Division of Agriculture, Animal Health and Industry), US Fish & Wildlife Service

• Understand that keeping or breeding a roof rat requires a discretionary captive/domesticated-wildlife permit from DFW (85-30.1-340(b),(d)); there is no rodent hobbyist exemption
• Expect enclosure evaluation, at-will inspection, tagging, and annual reporting (85-30.1-340(d),(e)); the permit is very unlikely to be granted for an invasive pest
• Note there is no lawful captive-bred supply, since import is refused under 85-30.1-501(e)

Where: CNMI DLNR – Division of Fish and Wildlife · Fees: Set by DFW at permit issuance/renewal.

Source: CNMI Law Revision Commission (DLNR / Division of Fish and Wildlife)

• Keep any rat strictly contained in escape-proof caging; never release it
• Report escapes immediately and recapture; you are liable for eradication costs under 85-30.1-505(b)

Where: CNMI DLNR – Division of Fish and Wildlife; Division of Agriculture, Animal Health and Industry

Source: CNMI Law Revision Commission (DLNR / Division of Fish and Wildlife), CNMI Law Revision Commission (DLNR / Division of Agriculture, Animal Health and Industry)

In the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) you cannot legally obtain a captive-bred pet roof rat (Rattus rattus). The block is the import layer. The CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife runs a closed, positive list of animals that may be imported (NMIAC 85-30.1-501(d)). It names exactly eleven mammals, including the gerbil and the guinea pig, but no rat. NMIAC 85-30.1-501(e) provides that ‘Only the animals listed in subsection (d) of this section may be lawfully imported into the CNMI,’ and that animals not on the list ‘shall be refused entry.’ Every animal entering the CNMI also needs an animal-quarantine entry permit from the Chief of Animal Health and Industry, which by NMIAC 85-20.1-101 issues ‘only for those animals which offer no pest or disease risk.’ The common fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus) is not on the admissible list either, so there is no fancy-rat advantage and no lawful way to bring in, breed, sell, or give away a pet roof rat. The CNMI also has a serious island-biosecurity and invasive-rodent history, so any change faces a high bar. Never release any animal.

The ask: Ask the Division of Fish and Wildlife, in writing, to (1) confirm whether a single captive-bred, altered (non-breeding), microchipped or tagged, health-certified domestic rat kept solely as an indoor pet is refused entry under NMIAC 85-30.1-501(e), and (2) consider a petition under NMIAC 85-30.1-501(h) to add such an animal to the admissible-import list, or grant an individual import permit, under strict conditions (sterilized so it cannot breed, permanently indoors, escape-proof caging, microchipped/tagged, with a no-release and biosecurity agreement). The regulation already builds in this petition route and asks for the species’ native range, source, captivity history, and a literature search, which a domesticated line can supply. This is a cost-benefit question for the CNMI to decide, not a result to demand: whether the limited additional risk of a few sterile, tame, indoor-only pets is outweighed by the companionship they would bring. The relevant facts: a sterilized animal cannot found a wild population; the black rat is already established in the Marianas, so a permitted pet introduces no new species; and the CNMI already admits dogs and cats, which are also non-native and documented to harm island wildlife, because their companionship is judged worth the trade-off. The Division is asked only to evaluate this specific, narrowly conditioned question, which may not yet have been formally considered, not to disregard the CNMI’s invasive-species concerns.

Where the lever really is: This is branch (b) as a regulation, not a misread. The prohibition is not a bureaucrat misapplying an unclear rule: DFW is correctly applying its own closed positive import list, which admits eleven named mammals and refuses entry to everything else (NMIAC 85-30.1-501(d),(e)). A complaint that the agency got the law wrong will go nowhere, because the agency is reading it as written. Unlike a legislative statute naming the species, this ban lives in an administrative list that DFW itself owns, adopts, and can amend (NMIAC Title 85, promulgated under the Secretary of Lands and Natural Resources). The realistic lever is therefore the regulation’s own addition mechanism: NMIAC 85-30.1-501(h) expressly provides that ‘The Division will accept applications for additions to list of admissible animals,’ requiring a literature search on native range, source, captivity history, and feral-population history in similar island ecosystems, plus evidence of an escape-proof cage. A petition or an individual import permit, directed at DFW (with the Director of Animal Health and Industry consulted under 501(i)), is the right channel, asking the agency to amend its own list, not to reinterpret a statute. The primary target is DFW; a secondary target is a CNMI legislator, because the legislature has already shown it will create species-specific carve-outs by statute (Public Law 17-23, the Sambar deer law) when it judges the trade-off worthwhile. The CNMI is among the hardest jurisdictions for this ask because R. rattus is an established invasive pest there with a long eradication history, so the strongest realistic version of the request is a narrowly conditioned individual import permit (sterilized, indoor-only, escape-proof caging, microchipped/tagged, no-release) rather than a broad list amendment.

Where to send it (more than one channel helps):

• CNMI DLNR – Division of Fish and Wildlife (Director) (executive / agency), cnmianimalhealth@gmail.com
  DFW owns and can amend the admissible-import list (NMIAC 85-30.1-501) and accepts 501(h) addition petitions and import permits; the Director consults the Director of Animal Health and Industry under 501(i). This is the only office that can change the list or grant a conditioned import permit, so it is the correct primary target for a positive-list ask. Phone (670) 664-6000; mailing P.O. Box 10007, Saipan, MP 96950. No clean public DFW email was verified; route the written petition through the DLNR Division of Agriculture / Animal Health inbox (cnmianimalhealth@gmail.com) and the DFW phone, and ask them to direct it to the DFW Director.
• CNMI DLNR – Division of Agriculture, Animal Health and Industry (executive / agency), cnmianimalhealth@gmail.com
  Issues the animal-quarantine entry permit that every imported animal needs (NMIAC 85-20.1-101) and is consulted by DFW on list-addition petitions (85-30.1-501(i)). Even if DFW were to admit the species, Animal Health must still find it offers ‘no pest or disease risk,’ so the petition should address that standard. Phone (670) 256-3318/19/20.

A starting-point message, please put it in your own words; a short personal note carries far more weight than an identical form letter:

Subject: Status and possible conditioned pathway for a single captive-bred pet domestic rat

Dear CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife,

I am writing about the admissible-import list in NMIAC 85-30.1-501(d), which names eleven mammals (including the gerbil and guinea pig) but no rat, and subsection (e), which refuses entry to any mammal not on the list. I would like to keep one captive-bred, tame domestic rat solely as an indoor companion animal, not for breeding and not for sale or any commercial purpose.

These animals are bred in captivity over many generations, are hand-tame, live their whole lives indoors in a cage, and are never released. I understand the CNMI's invasive-species and island-biosecurity concerns and am not asking the Division to set them aside. I am asking it to weigh one narrow question: whether the limited additional risk of a single sterile, tame, indoor-only pet is outweighed by the companionship it offers. A sterilized animal cannot found a wild population, the black rat is already established in the Marianas, and the CNMI already admits cats and dogs, which are also non-native and documented to harm island wildlife, because their companionship is judged worth the trade-off. Whether the same trade-off is acceptable for one sterilized pet rat is a judgment for the CNMI to make.

NMIAC 85-30.1-501(h) provides that the Division will accept applications to add a species to the admissible list, with a literature search on native range, source, and captivity history, and evidence of an escape-proof cage. I am willing to supply all of that.

Please confirm in writing (1) whether such a single pet animal is refused entry under 85-30.1-501(e), and (2) whether the Division would consider a 501(h) petition to add it, or an individual import permit, for one altered (non-breeding), microchipped or tagged, health-certified pet kept permanently indoors in escape-proof caging under a no-release agreement, with the Director of Animal Health and Industry consulted under 501(i).

I respect the CNMI's invasive-species concerns and am asking only about one tame, captive-bred companion that cannot breed. I would welcome any conditions that would make such a pathway possible.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your village/contact]

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