SAN ANTONIO – A rare illegal pet kangaroo was ordered to be removed from the San Antonio city limits after it caused “multiple injuries” to the owner’s son, according to Animal Care Services.
The 11-year-old boy suffered at least one bite to his back on June 29 at his home on the far Northwest Side.
The owner, Carlos Cavazos, told KSAT his son was going to feed Bobby, the kangaroo, and as he set the bowl down, the animal reached to give him a hug and “scratched” him.
“(The kangaroo’s) nails got caught in his shirt,” Cavazos said. “When he moved, they both got startled, and he just got caught. It didn’t bleed, it was just red.”
As a precaution, the boy’s mother took him to a doctor, who reported the incident to ACS.
Any scratch or break in the skin is classified as a bite under Texas law, ACS officials said.
Kangaroos are among the many exotic animals banned within San Antonio city limits. Others include:
- Monkeys and other nonhuman primates
- Wolf hybrids
- Coyotes
- Foxes
- Exotic cats
- Bears
- Skunks
- Raccoons
- Miniature Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs
- Poisonous reptiles, crocodiles and related species
“You can pretty much guarantee that any animal that you’re going to see at the zoo is going to be a prohibited species,” ACS Special Operations Manager Bethany Snowden said. “Most of those are going to be illegal in San Antonio."
The agency told KSAT it has issued 161 citations for illegal exotic animals in San Antonio in the last two years.
Snowden said this is the first kangaroo case she has seen in the eight years she has worked with the agency. She oversees all investigation units at ACS.
“You’ve got to think of what a kangaroo’s natural behavior is, what are their natural instincts? Yet here this animal is residing in a home where he’s not able to exhibit any of the natural behaviors that they would,” Snowden said.
The marsupial is not yet full size and still has a lot of growing to do, according to ACS. Red kangaroos are native to Australia and can grow up to nearly 6 feet tall and nearly 200 pounds. In the wild, they can live more than a decade.
“They’re not always docile,” Snowden said. “Any animal, once it reaches sexual maturity, that behavior is going to completely change.”
After the incident, the male red kangaroo was placed in a 30-day quarantine at the San Antonio Zoo. Any animal other than cats and dogs must be quarantined for up to 30 days to be deemed healthy, Snowden said.
Following the kangaroo’s quarantine, ACS gave Cavazos seven days to find his pet a new home outside of San Antonio. He was also issued several citations and ordered to pay more than $500 for quarantine fees to ACS.
Cavazos told KSAT that the kangaroo has lived in San Antonio with his family for years.
“He’s just such a staple of our life here,” Cavazos said. “We have barbecues all the time, and we have people hanging out; the kids love them; the kids are petting them. I mean, he loves it as much as we do, I’m sure.”
On July 30, Cavazos said he relocated the kangaroo to a friend’s ranch outside Austin.
Exotic animals in Bexar County
While kangaroos are illegal to own in the San Antonio city limits, they can be legal as a pet in Bexar County with a permit from the Bexar County Public Health Office, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
“They may be permitted for personal possession only—not for resale, breeding, or commercial purposes—and only with prior approval from... the permitting authority," BCSO said.
Bexar County also allows permitting of exotic animals including:
- Llamas, alpacas and other grass-eating, hooved animals
- Cloven-hooved animals, like elk and elk hybrids.
- Ungulates such as rhinoceroses, tapirs, and members of the elephant family
“Through the state of Texas, there are certain permits that you can get (to allow ownership of an exotic animal), but again, Bexar County and San Antonio are pretty stringent,” Snowden said. “There are no exceptions to the rule. They’re prohibited.”
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