Omaha law

I have noticed a post stating that it is illegal to own a sugar glider in Omaha, NE, yet everything that I have been able to find shows otherwise.

Nebraska law states that Sugar gliders are legal and the Omaha municipal code does NOT contradict that. I have even asked a lawyer friend of mine (district attorney) and she was not able to find anything saying that they would be illegal.
The following is what she and I were able to find. Does anybody have anything specific that says otherwise that I may have missed?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since a sugar glider is a caged animal that resides on the owners premises and is being breed for the sake of being a pet, it is considered domesticated.


http://www.municode.com/Resources/gateway.asp?pid=10945&sid=27

Omaha municipal code chapter 6, article 4, section 6-81 specifies that it is nondomesticated animala that are prohibited.

chapter 6 article 1, section 6-1 defines pet animal and nondomesticate animals.

Actually, reading through the code you have indicated, I think that sugar gliders would fall under the "other animals" that need to have a permit issued after inspection and approval They do not fall under any of the specific categories that are listed as "pet animals". I am not a lawyer, by any means, but I think you need to look into it further...

Actually by referencing actual code and a lawyer, I thought I did prove that sugar gliders are legal.
I rechecked the code and I am not sure what you are calling other animals that need a permit and inspection. The portion that I quoted, that spoke of permits, was about birds.

The key thing that the lawyer said was that they are being breed for pets, that is what makes them domesticated. It would be the difference between a field mouse and a pet mouse or a wild python and one you buy in the pet store. These guys are not being picked up off the tree and put into a cage. I hate to call a sugar glider a rodent, but it would also fall in the rodent category like mouse, rat, hamster, gerbil....

In the end, Omaha does not distinguish between exotic and non-exotic it leave that to Nebraska law. Nebraska law does specify sugar gliders, by name, as being legal.

If quoted law is not consider proof, what would be?

This does not really affect me, but I hate to see this rumor continuing.

If you look again at the code you provided, at the very end, just before the semi-colon is where is talks about "other animals". I will send you a PM with the specific quoted portion that I was referring to. It is not referring to birds at that point. And, no, sugar gliders do not fall under the category of rodents. They are a marsupial - plain and simple. Most governmental bodies will not agree that a marsupial can be considered a rodent - because it simply is not a rodent.
I'm not trying to be picky, just answering your question... Again, I am not a lawyer, and if you are comfortable with your lawyer friend's interpretation of the law, that is fine, but I believe that it is being misconstrued and would be hesitant to put any gliders at risk without specific, correct information.

I agree with Suz. I read the code, and since gliders are marsupials, they do not qualify as any of the animals listed as legal. And it specifically states that anything not on that list is non-domestic and therefore, illegal. I have always heard they were illegal in Omaha and have rescued a few from people having to give theirs up due to landlord learning of them being housed on their property. Everything I find around here says they are not legal within just the city of Omaha, not other areas of Nebraska. The code actually has nothing to do with cages or breeding, so those points are irrelevant. You have to look at what they are qualifying as domestic animal.

This is a very old thread but...

Several years ago, I picked up some gliders from the Omaha Humane Society. I live in Kansas. They were seized in a puppy mill raid (along with some other exotics). They were in a bind because they could not adopt them out to anyone in Omaha because they ARE illegal to own in Omaha city limits. As far as I know, that hasn't changed.

I think you can have that after a permit or any legal latter that allow you to have that.Because as mention above in this thread because it will not fall under any code or under the other animals that you have with permit.Than why not you try that?