Article 1. General Provisions of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 4. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 1.

If any article is found to have been transported into this state from any other country or state, or territory or district of the United States, in violation of any provision of a quarantine that is established by the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, the article is subject to seizure, destruction, or other disposition to the same extent and in the same manner as if the article had originated in this state and was in violation of a provision of this division.

(a) The secretary shall adopt, by reference, by regulation, those federal quarantine regulations and any subsequent amendments in Parts 301 to 369, inclusive, of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Civil and criminal penalties applicable to a violation of those federal quarantine regulations may be imposed by the secretary and other duly authorized plant quarantine officers in conformity with that other law.
  (b) Any funds recovered by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the county general fund in the county in which the action is brought and shall be allocated to the commissioner to cover costs related to the enforcement of this division. Any funds recovered by the secretary pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to cover costs related to the enforcement of this division.

If any shipment of plants or things which is passing through any portion of the state is, or is liable to be, infested or infected with any pest, and there exists danger of dissemination of the pest while the shipment is in transit in this state, the shipment shall be placed within sealed containers which are composed of metal or other material so constructed that they are not liable to be broken or opened while in transit so as to permit the pest to escape. The containers shall not be opened while within the state.

(a) It is unlawful for any person, except under written permission from a plant quarantine officer or under his specific direction, to move any lot or shipment of plants or other things to which a warning tag or notice has been affixed pursuant to this division, or to remove, alter, destroy, deface, or mutilate any such warning tag or notice.
  (b) If any shipment of plants or things is allowed to transit the state or transit to a given destination county under a quarantine warning-hold notice, the shipment of plants or things shall not be diverted to another destination without the written permission of the director or the commissioner of the destination county.
  (c) Diversion of a shipment as described in subdivision (b) is unlawful.
  (d) If a shipment of plants or things requires a state or county plant quarantine officer to be present at the destination to supervise the unloading, inspection, or treatment of a quarantine shipment, the director or commissioner, as the case may be, may charge the shipper or receiver a service fee for the cost of the services. Service fees shall be determined based on the director or commissioner's costs for the services rendered.

It is unlawful for any person to import into the state any English or Australian wild rabbit, flying fox, mongoose, or any other form of animal life which is detrimental to agriculture. Any such animal shall be refused entry and shall be immediately destroyed or shipped out of the state within 48 hours at the option and expense of the owner or bailee of the animal.

It is unlawful for any person to willfully import into, or ship or transport within, the state any live insect or any pest as such, unless the shipment or transportation and subsequent use and handling is authorized prior to shipment under written permit and the regulations of the director or the United States Department of Agriculture, except the following:
  (a) Honey bees of the species of Apis mellifera.
  (b) Weeds for the purpose of identification.
  (c) Beneficial or useful insects of common occurrence in the state.
  (d) Insects or other organisms of public health or animal health interest, which are not plant pests, when imported, shipped, or transported by any governmental public health agency. Any shipment which is not authorized by this section shall be immediately destroyed unless it is determined by the inspecting officer that the nature of the contents of the shipment is such that no damage can be caused to agriculture in this state through its shipment out of the state or return of the shipment to the point of origin. In such case, the shipment out of the state or the return of the shipment to point of origin shall be allowed at the expense of the owner or bailee of the shipment within the time which is specified by the inspecting officer.

Unless otherwise permitted by law, any person who willfully and knowingly imports into, or who willfully and knowingly transports or ships within, this state, a Mediterranean fruit fly is guilty of a felony.