Quaker parrots, also called monk parakeets, are illegal to own in roughly ten states: California, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wyoming. Another six states — Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Virginia — allow ownership only if you meet conditions like a permit, a leg band, or clipped wings. Everywhere else, the birds are generally legal as pets, though local ordinances can still apply.
States That Ban Quaker Parrots Outright
In the following states, you cannot legally buy, sell, import, or keep a Quaker parrot as a pet. Narrow exceptions exist in a couple of places for people who already held wildlife licenses before the rules took effect, but there is no path to new pet ownership.
- California. Ownership and sale are illegal, with no pet exception.
- Georgia. Monk parakeets are classified as prohibited wild animals. The only exception is for people who already held a valid wild animal license when the rule took effect in December 2022; they may keep their birds under existing license conditions.1Legal Information Institute. Georgia Comp. R. and Regs. R. 391-4-8-.03 – Prohibited Wild Animals
- Hawaii. Quaker parrots fall under the state’s broad invasive species prohibition. Convictions can reach a class C felony, with fines up to $200,000 and up to three years in prison.2Plant Industry Division – State Data Office. Amnesty Program
- Kansas. Monk parakeets are on the prohibited species list. They cannot be imported, possessed, or released without a wildlife importation permit from the secretary, which is not issued for personal pets.3Kansas Secretary of State. Kansas Administrative Regulations 115-18-10 – Importation and Possession of Certain Wildlife
- Kentucky. Monk parakeets are classified as prohibited exotic wildlife and cannot be imported, transported into the state, or possessed.
- Maine. Monk parakeets appear on the state’s prohibited species list, with no pet-ownership exception.4Legal Information Institute. Maine 09-137 C.M.R. ch. 7, Section 18 – Species Lists
- Pennsylvania. Prohibited under the state’s exotic wildlife regulations.
- Rhode Island. Illegal to own or sell, no exceptions.
- Tennessee. Banned under state wildlife regulations.
- Wyoming. Illegal to own or sell, no exceptions.
If you already live in one of these states with a bird, your realistic options are rehoming to someone in a state where ownership is legal or surrendering the bird to a wildlife agency or avian rescue.
States That Allow Quaker Parrots With Conditions
Several states permit ownership but attach requirements meant to keep pet birds from escaping and joining wild colonies. Miss the condition, and the bird’s legal status collapses.
- Colorado. Quaker parrots are restricted as species detrimental to native wildlife. Ownership is limited to people who can prove they had the birds before September 1, 1990, or who receive special permission from the state wildlife agency. New ownership is not practically available.
- Connecticut. Anyone who breeds, sells, exchanges, or otherwise deals in psittacine birds must keep detailed transaction records, including species, band numbers, and buyer and seller information. Every parrot sold or transferred must wear a uniquely identified metal leg band.5Connecticut eRegulations. Sec. 19a-36-A23 – Regulation of Traffic in Psittacine Birds
- New Jersey. A permit from the Division of Fish and Wildlife is required. Individual hobby permits cover people keeping exotic birds as pets, and periodic inspections of the facilities and records are part of the arrangement.6Legal Information Institute. N.J. Admin. Code 7:25-4.6 – Categories of Permits, Expiration, Fees, Sales Receipts Required, Records and Reports Required
- New York. Pet Quaker parrots are legal. State legislation specifically protects the right to possess, breed, sell, and transport pet or domestically bred monk parakeets, provided the bird is banded by a breeder or microchipped by a breeder or pet owner.7New York State Senate. Assembly Bill A1783 – Monk Parakeet Protection Act
- Ohio. The state classifies monk parakeets as destructive plant pests. You may keep one only if its wings are clipped and kept clipped, or the bird is otherwise incapable of free flight.8Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Rule 901:5-42-01 – Designation of Destructive or Dangerously Harmful Plant Pests
- Virginia. No permit is required for monk parakeets that are captive-bred and wear a seamless closed band.9Virginia Code Commission. 4VAC15-30-40 – Importation Requirements, Possession, and Sale of Nonnative (Exotic) Animals
The gap between conditional and banned is thinner than it looks. Let your Ohio bird’s flight feathers grow back or forget to renew a New Jersey permit, and your legal footing is the same as an owner in California.
Why the Bans Exist
Quaker parrots are unusual among pet parrots because they can survive cold winters, build enormous communal stick nests, and breed quickly enough to establish permanent feral colonies far from their native range in South America. Wild colonies in the U.S. have damaged cherry, grape, and corn crops, and their nests, sometimes weighing hundreds of pounds, have caused power outages when built on utility poles and electrical substations.
Established colonies also compete with native birds for food and nesting cavities. That is the reason states allowing ownership insist on banding or clipped wings: the rules are designed to keep pet birds out of the wild population, not to protect the pet owner.
Penalties for Illegal Ownership
Consequences swing widely by state. On the lighter end, a civil citation and a fine of a few hundred dollars. On the heavier end, Hawaii treats possession of a prohibited species as a potential class C felony, with fines up to $200,000, up to three years in prison, and reimbursement of any costs the state incurs capturing or eradicating the animal.2Plant Industry Division – State Data Office. Amnesty Program
Federal law adds a second layer. The Wild Exotic Bird Conservation Act authorizes civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation for knowingly breaking its import and trade provisions, and criminal penalties of up to two years in prison. Less serious violations can bring civil fines up to $500 each.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 4912 – Penalties and Regulations
In every state that prohibits the birds, authorities can confiscate them. Some states relocate confiscated birds to sanctuaries or avian rescues; in rare cases, the bird may be euthanized if it cannot be safely rehomed. Enforcement mostly targets breeders and sellers, but individual owners do get caught, often through veterinary visits or neighbor complaints.
What to Do if You Already Own One in a Restricted State
The typical scenario is a move. You have kept a Quaker parrot for years in a legal state, you take a job in Pennsylvania or California, and your pet is suddenly contraband. Start planning before you move, not after.
The simplest path is rehoming with a friend or family member in a legal state. Avian rescues and parrot sanctuaries also accept surrendered birds and can place them with experienced adopters. Crossing state lines with a prohibited species creates its own exposure, so handle the transfer before you relocate rather than driving through with the bird.
Hawaii runs a formal amnesty program that lets owners surrender prohibited animals voluntarily without penalties, as long as they come forward before any investigation begins. Surrendered animals are not euthanized, and the state tries to rehome them through humane societies, zoos, or the Department of Agriculture’s Plant Quarantine offices.2Plant Industry Division – State Data Office. Amnesty Program Few other states offer anything this structured, but it is worth calling your destination state’s wildlife agency to ask. Some will work informally with owners who come forward on their own.
One question comes up often: will a veterinarian report you? Vets generally have no specific legal duty to report illegal exotic pets. Mandatory reporting for veterinarians usually covers abuse and staged fighting, not species legality. That said, a vet who knows your bird is illegal may decline to treat it, and nothing prevents a voluntary report. Veterinary records also create a paper trail that can surface if wildlife enforcement investigates you for any other reason.
How to Confirm the Rule Where You Live
State law is only part of the picture. Cities and counties can impose their own exotic animal ordinances, and some do. A bird that is legal statewide can still be banned locally, or a local permit may sit on top of a state permit.
Start with your state’s fish and wildlife agency or department of natural resources. Those agencies maintain the species lists and can confirm exactly where monk parakeets fall. For local rules, contact your city or county animal control office; they handle exotic pet complaints and know the ordinances on the books. If a move is involved, check the destination state before you buy or transport the bird, because the legal picture can shift between the time you got your parrot and the time you relocate.