Nixa board nixes kangaroos, other exotic animals

NIXA, Mo. (AP) - In case there was any doubt, it's now officially illegal to keep elephants as pets in the southwest Missouri city of Nixa.

The City Council in the fast-growing suburb of Springfield has adopted an exotic-animals ordinance prompted by a call to police asking if residents could own kangaroos.

KOLR-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1zdNiwv) the answer technically was "yes," because there was no law against kangaroos at the time.

But they're banned now, along with elephants, camels, hippos, weasels, rattlesnakes and dozens of other animals covered by the ordinance adopted this week. The law makes exceptions for veterinary clinics and nonprofit wildlife sanctuaries.

Nixa has about 20,000 residents, up from 7,500 just 14 years ago.