Title 14. Malicious Mischief 594-625c of California Penal Code >> Title 14. >> Part 1.
(a) Every person who maliciously commits any of the following
acts with respect to any real or personal property not his or her
own, in cases other than those specified by state law, is guilty of
vandalism:
(1) Defaces with graffiti or other inscribed material.
(2) Damages.
(3) Destroys.
Whenever a person violates this subdivision with respect to real
property, vehicles, signs, fixtures, furnishings, or property
belonging to any public entity, as defined by Section 811.2 of the
Government Code, or the federal government, it shall be a permissive
inference that the person neither owned the property nor had the
permission of the owner to deface, damage, or destroy the property.
(b) (1) If the amount of defacement, damage, or destruction is
four hundred dollars ($400) or more, vandalism is punishable by
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 or in a
county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine of not more than ten
thousand dollars ($10,000), or if the amount of defacement, damage,
or destruction is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more, by a fine
of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by both that
fine and imprisonment.
(2) (A) If the amount of defacement, damage, or destruction is
less than four hundred dollars ($400), vandalism is punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine of
not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine
and imprisonment.
(B) If the amount of defacement, damage, or destruction is less
than four hundred dollars ($400), and the defendant has been
previously convicted of vandalism or affixing graffiti or other
inscribed material under Section 594, 594.3, 594.4, 640.5, 640.6, or
640.7, vandalism is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for
not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than five thousand
dollars ($5,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) Upon conviction of any person under this section for acts of
vandalism consisting of defacing property with graffiti or other
inscribed materials, the court shall, when appropriate and feasible,
in addition to any punishment imposed under subdivision (b), order
the defendant to clean up, repair, or replace the damaged property
himself or herself, or order the defendant, and his or her parents or
guardians if the defendant is a minor, to keep the damaged property
or another specified property in the community free of graffiti for
up to one year. Participation of a parent or guardian is not required
under this subdivision if the court deems this participation to be
detrimental to the defendant, or if the parent or guardian is a
single parent who must care for young children. If the court finds
that graffiti cleanup is inappropriate, the court shall consider
other types of community service, where feasible.
(d) If a minor is personally unable to pay a fine levied for acts
prohibited by this section, the parent of that minor shall be liable
for payment of the fine. A court may waive payment of the fine, or
any part thereof, by the parent upon a finding of good cause.
(e) As used in this section, the term "graffiti or other inscribed
material" includes any unauthorized inscription, word, figure, mark,
or design, that is written, marked, etched, scratched, drawn, or
painted on real or personal property.
(f) The court may order any person ordered to perform community
service or graffiti removal pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision
(c) to undergo counseling.
(g) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2002.
(a) For purposes of Section 594, "damages" includes damage
caused to public transit property and facilities, public parks
property and facilities, and public utilities and water property and
facilities, in the course of stealing or attempting to steal
nonferrous material, as defined in Section 21608.5 of the Business
and Professions Code.
(b) This section is declaratory of existing law.
(a) (1) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or
corporation, except a parent or legal guardian, to sell or give or in
any way furnish to another person, who is in fact under the age of
18 years, any etching cream or aerosol container of paint that is
capable of defacing property without first obtaining bona fide
evidence of majority and identity.
(2) For purposes of this section, "etching cream" means any
caustic cream, gel, liquid, or solution capable, by means of a
chemical action, of defacing, damaging, or destroying hard surfaces
in a manner similar to acid.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, "bona fide evidence of
majority and identity" is any document evidencing the age and
identity of an individual which has been issued by a federal, state,
or local governmental entity, and includes, but is not limited to, a
motor vehicle operator's license, a registration certificate issued
under the federal Selective Service Act, or an identification card
issued to a member of the armed forces.
(4) This subdivision shall not apply to the furnishing of six
ounces or less of etching cream or an aerosol container of paint to a
minor for the minor's use or possession under the supervision of the
minor's parent, guardian, instructor, or employer.
(5) Etching cream, aerosol containers of paint, or related
substances may be furnished for use in school-related activities that
are part of the instructional program when used under controlled and
supervised situations within the classroom or on the site of a
supervised project. These containers may not leave the supervised
site and shall be inventoried by the instructor. This use shall
comply with Section 32060 of the Education Code regarding the safe
use of toxic art supplies in schools.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of 18 years
to purchase etching cream or an aerosol container of paint that is
capable of defacing property.
(c) Every retailer selling or offering for sale in this state
etching cream or aerosol containers of paint capable of defacing
property shall post in a conspicuous place a sign in letters at least
three-eighths of an inch high stating: "Any person who maliciously
defaces real or personal property with etching cream or paint is
guilty of vandalism which is punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or
both."
(d) It is unlawful for any person to carry on his or her person
and in plain view to the public etching cream or an aerosol container
of paint while in any posted public facility, park, playground,
swimming pool, beach, or recreational area, other than a highway,
street, alley, or way, unless he or she has first received valid
authorization from the governmental entity which has jurisdiction
over the public area.
As used in this subdivision, "posted" means a sign placed in a
reasonable location or locations stating it is a misdemeanor to
possess etching cream or a spray can of paint in that public
facility, park, playground, swimming pool, beach, or recreational
area without valid authorization.
(e) (1) It is unlawful for any person under the age of 18 years to
possess etching cream or an aerosol container of paint for the
purpose of defacing property while on any public highway, street,
alley, or way, or other public place, regardless of whether that
person is or is not in any automobile, vehicle, or other conveyance.
(2) As a condition of probation for any violation of this
subdivision, the court may order a defendant convicted of a violation
of this subdivision to perform community service as follows:
(A) For a first conviction under this subdivision, community
service not to exceed 100 hours over a period not to exceed 90 days
during a time other than his or her hours of school attendance or
employment.
(B) If the person has a prior conviction under this subdivision,
community service not to exceed 200 hours over a period of 180 days
during a time other than his or her hours of school attendance or
employment.
(C) If the person has two prior convictions under this
subdivision, community service not to exceed 300 hours over a period
not to exceed 240 days during a time other than his or her hours of
school attendance or employment.
(f) Violation of any provision of this section is a misdemeanor.
Upon conviction of any person under this section, the court may, in
addition to any other punishment imposed, if the jurisdiction has
adopted a graffiti abatement program as defined in subdivision (f) of
Section 594, order the defendant, and his or her parents or
guardians if the defendant is a minor, to keep the damaged property
or another specified property in the community free of graffiti, as
follows:
(1) For a first conviction under this section, for 90 days.
(2) If the defendant has a prior conviction under this section,
for 180 days.
(3) If the defendant has two or more prior convictions under this
section, for 240 days.
Participation of a parent or guardian is not required under this
subdivision if the court deems this participation to be detrimental
to the defendant, or if the parent or guardian is a single parent who
must care for young children.
(g) The court may order any person ordered to perform community
service or graffiti removal pursuant to subdivision (e) or (f) to
undergo counseling.
(a) Every person who possesses a masonry or glass drill bit,
a carbide drill bit, a glass cutter, a grinding stone, an awl, a
chisel, a carbide scribe, an aerosol paint container, a felt tip
marker, or any other marking substance with the intent to commit
vandalism or graffiti, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) As a condition of probation for any violation of this section,
the court may order the defendant to perform community service not
to exceed 90 hours during a time other than his or her hours of
school attendance or employment.
(c) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Felt tip marker" means any broad-tipped marker pen with a tip
exceeding three-eighths of one inch in width, or any similar
implement containing an ink that is not water soluble.
(2) "Marking substance" means any substance or implement, other
than aerosol paint containers and felt tip markers, that could be
used to draw, spray, paint, etch, or mark.
(a) Any person who knowingly commits any act of vandalism to
a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, building owned and occupied by
a religious educational institution, or other place primarily used as
a place of worship where religious services are regularly conducted
or a cemetery is guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment in a
county jail for not exceeding one year or imprisonment pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
(b) Any person who knowingly commits any act of vandalism to a
church, synagogue, mosque, temple, building owned and occupied by a
religious educational institution, or other place primarily used as a
place of worship where religious services are regularly conducted or
a cemetery, which is shown to have been a hate crime and to have
been committed for the purpose of intimidating and deterring persons
from freely exercising their religious beliefs, is guilty of a felony
punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section
1170.
(c) For purposes of this section, "hate crime" has the same
meaning as Section 422.55.
Every person is guilty of a crime and punishable by
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 or by
imprisonment in a county jail for not exceeding one year, who
maliciously does any of the following:
(a) Destroys, cuts, mutilates, effaces, or otherwise injures,
tears down, or removes any tomb, monument, memorial, or marker in a
cemetery, or any gate, door, fence, wall, post or railing, or any
enclosure for the protection of a cemetery or mortuary or any
property in a cemetery or mortuary.
(b) Obliterates any grave, vault, niche, or crypt.
(c) Destroys, cuts, breaks or injures any mortuary building or any
building, statuary, or ornamentation within the limits of a
cemetery.
(d) Disturbs, obstructs, detains or interferes with any person
carrying or accompanying human remains to a cemetery or funeral
establishment, or engaged in a funeral service, or an interment.
(a) It is unlawful, except upon private property, for a
person to engage in picketing targeted at a funeral during the time
period beginning one hour prior to the funeral and ending one hour
after the conclusion of the funeral.
(b) Any violation of subdivision (a) is punishable by a fine not
exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), imprisonment in a county
jail not exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Funeral" means the ceremony or memorial service held in
connection with the burial or cremation of a deceased person.
"Funeral" does not mean any nonburial or noncremation activities,
businesses, or services.
(2) "Picketing," for purposes of this section only, means protest
activities engaged in by any person within 300 feet of a burial site,
mortuary, or place of worship.
(3) "Protest activities" includes oration, speech, use of sound
amplification equipment in a manner that is intended to make or makes
speech, including, but not limited to, oration audible to
participants in a funeral, or similar conduct that is not part of the
funeral, before an assembled group of people.
(4) "Targeted at" means directed at or toward the deceased person
or the attendees of a funeral.
(d) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision
of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application.
(a) Any person who willfully and maliciously injects into or
throws upon, or otherwise defaces, damages, destroys, or
contaminates, any structure with butyric acid, or any other similar
noxious or caustic chemical or substance, is guilty of a public
offense, punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 1170 or in a county jail not exceeding 6 months, by a fine as
specified in subdivision (b), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(b) (1) If the amount of the defacement, damage, destruction, or
contamination is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more, by a fine
of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
(2) If the amount of the defacement, damage, destruction, or
contamination is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more, but less
than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), by a fine of not more than ten
thousand dollars ($10,000).
(3) If the amount of defacement, damage, destruction, or
contamination is nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) or more, but less
than five thousand dollars ($5,000), by a fine of not more than five
thousand dollars ($5,000).
(4) If the amount of the defacement, damage, destruction, or
contamination is less than nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), by a
fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(c) For purposes of this section, "structure" includes any house
or other building being used at the time of the offense for a
dwelling or for commercial purposes.
Nothing in this code shall invalidate an ordinance of, nor
be construed to prohibit the adoption of an ordinance by, a city,
city and county, or county, if the ordinance regulates the sale of
aerosol containers of paint or other liquid substances capable of
defacing property or sets forth civil administrative regulations,
procedures, or civil penalties governing the placement of graffiti or
other inscribed material on public or private, real or personal
property.
(a) Every person who, having been convicted of vandalism or
affixing graffiti or other inscribed material under Section 594,
594.3, 594.4, or 640.7, or any combination of these offenses, may be
ordered by the court as a condition of probation to perform community
service not to exceed 300 hours over a period not to exceed one year
during a time other than his or her hours of school attendance or
employment. Nothing in this subdivision shall limit the court from
ordering the defendant to perform a longer period of community
service if a longer period of community service is authorized under
other provisions of law.
(b) In lieu of the community service that may be ordered pursuant
to subdivision (a), the court may, if a jurisdiction has adopted a
graffiti abatement program as defined in subdivision (f) of Section
594, order the defendant, and his or her parents or guardians if the
defendant is a minor, as a condition of probation, to keep a
specified property in the community free of graffiti for up to one
year. Participation of a parent or guardian is not required under
this subdivision if the court deems this participation to be
detrimental to the defendant, or if the parent or guardian is a
single parent who must care for young children.
(c) The court may order any person ordered to perform community
service or graffiti removal pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) to
undergo counseling.
Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 594, every person
who, having been convicted previously of vandalism under Section 594
for maliciously defacing with graffiti or other inscribed material
any real or personal property not his or her own on two separate
occasions and having been incarcerated pursuant to a sentence, a
conditional sentence, or a grant of probation for at least one of the
convictions, is subsequently convicted of vandalism under Section
594, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding
one year, or in the state prison.
(a) Any person convicted of possession of a destructive
implement with intent to commit graffiti or willfully affixing
graffiti under Section 594.2, 640.5, 640.6, or 640.7, where the
offense was committed when he or she was under the age of 18 years,
shall perform not less than 24 hours of community service during a
time other than his or her hours of school attendance or employment.
One parent or guardian shall be present at the community service site
for at least one-half of the hours of community service required
under this section unless participation by the parent, guardian, or
foster parent is deemed by the court to be inappropriate or
potentially detrimental to the child.
(b) In lieu of the community service required pursuant to
subdivision (a), the court may, if a jurisdiction has adopted a
graffiti abatement program as defined in subdivision (f) of Section
594, order the defendant, and his or her parents or guardians if the
defendant is a minor, to keep a specified property in the community
free of graffiti for at least 60 days. Participation of a parent or
guardian is not required under this subdivision if the court deems
this participation to be detrimental to the defendant, or if the
parent or guardian is a single parent who must care for young
children.
(c) The court may order any person ordered to perform community
service or graffiti removal pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) to
undergo counseling.
The specification of the Acts enumerated in the following
sections of this Chapter is not intended to restrict or qualify the
interpretation of the preceding section.
Every person who, without the consent of the owner, wilfully
administers poison to any animal, the property of another, or exposes
any poisonous substance, with the intent that the same shall be
taken or swallowed by any such animal, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
However, the provisions of this section shall not apply in the
case of a person who exposes poisonous substances upon premises or
property owned or controlled by him for the purpose of controlling or
destroying predatory animals or livestock-killing dogs and if, prior
to or during the placing out of such poisonous substances, he shall
have posted upon the property conspicuous signs located at intervals
of distance not greater than one-third of a mile apart, and in any
case not less than three such signs having words with letters at
least one inch high reading "Warning--Poisoned bait placed out on
these premises," which signs shall be kept in place until the
poisonous substances have been removed. Whenever such signs have been
conspicuously located upon the property or premises owned or
controlled by him as hereinabove provided, such person shall not be
charged with any civil liability to another party in the event that
any domestic animal belonging to such party becomes injured or killed
by trespassing or partaking of the poisonous substance or substances
so placed.
It shall be a misdemeanor for any owner or manager of an
elephant to engage in abusive behavior towards the elephant, which
behavior shall include the discipline of the elephant by any of the
following methods:
(a) Deprivation of food, water, or rest.
(b) Use of electricity.
(c) Physical punishment resulting in damage, scarring, or breakage
of skin.
(d) Insertion of any instrument into any bodily orifice.
(e) Use of martingales.
(f) Use of block and tackle.
(a) (1) For purposes of this section, "rodeo" means a
performance featuring competition between persons that includes three
or more of the following events: bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc
riding, bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, or team roping.
(2) A rodeo performed on private property for which admission is
charged, or that sells or accepts sponsorships, or is open to the
public constitutes a performance for the purpose of this subdivision.
(b) The management of any professionally sanctioned or amateur
rodeo that intends to perform in any city, county, or city and county
shall ensure that there is a veterinarian licensed to practice in
this state present at all times during the performances of the rodeo,
or a veterinarian licensed to practice in the state who is on-call
and able to arrive at the rodeo within one hour after a determination
has been made that there is an injury which requires treatment to be
provided by a veterinarian.
(c) (1) The attending or on-call veterinarian shall have complete
access to the site of any event in the rodeo that uses animals.
(2) The attending or on-call veterinarian may, for good cause,
declare any animal unfit for use in any rodeo event.
(d) (1) Any animal that is injured during the course of, or as a
result of, any rodeo event shall receive immediate examination and
appropriate treatment by the attending veterinarian or shall begin
receiving examination and appropriate treatment by a veterinarian
licensed to practice in this state within one hour of the
determination of the injury requiring veterinary treatment.
(2) The attending or on-call veterinarian shall submit a brief
written listing of any animal injury requiring veterinary treatment
to the Veterinary Medical Board within 48 hours of the conclusion of
the rodeo.
(3) The rodeo management shall ensure that there is a conveyance
available at all times for the immediate and humane removal of any
injured animal.
(e) The rodeo management shall ensure that no electric prod or
similar device is used on any animal once the animal is in the
holding chute, unless necessary to protect the participants and
spectators of the rodeo.
(f) A violation of this section is an infraction and shall be
punishable as follows:
(1) A fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not
more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for a first violation.
(2) A fine of not less than one thousand five hundred dollars
($1,500) and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a
second or subsequent violation.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of this section or
Section 599c, every person who maliciously and intentionally maims,
mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal, or maliciously and
intentionally kills an animal, is guilty of a crime punishable
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (a) or (c), every
person who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks,
tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, drink, or
shelter, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills any animal, or
causes or procures any animal to be so overdriven, overloaded, driven
when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of
necessary sustenance, drink, shelter, or to be cruelly beaten,
mutilated, or cruelly killed; and whoever, having the charge or
custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, subjects any
animal to needless suffering, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon
the animal, or in any manner abuses any animal, or fails to provide
the animal with proper food, drink, or shelter or protection from the
weather, or who drives, rides, or otherwise uses the animal when
unfit for labor, is, for each offense, guilty of a crime punishable
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(c) Every person who maliciously and intentionally maims,
mutilates, or tortures any mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish,
as described in subdivision (e), is guilty of a crime punishable
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(d) A violation of subdivision (a), (b), or (c) is punishable as
a felony by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170,
or by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or
by both that fine and imprisonment, or alternatively, as a
misdemeanor by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one
year, or by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars
($20,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(e) Subdivision (c) applies to any mammal, bird, reptile,
amphibian, or fish which is a creature described as follows:
(1) Endangered species or threatened species as described in
Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish
and Game Code.
(2) Fully protected birds described in Section 3511 of the Fish
and Game Code.
(3) Fully protected mammals described in Chapter 8 (commencing
with Section 4700) of Part 3 of Division 4 of the Fish and Game Code.
(4) Fully protected reptiles and amphibians described in Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 5050) of Division 5 of the Fish and Game
Code.
(5) Fully protected fish as described in Section 5515 of the Fish
and Game Code.
This subdivision does not supersede or affect any provisions of
law relating to taking of the described species, including, but not
limited to, Section 12008 of the Fish and Game Code.
(f) For the purposes of subdivision (c), each act of malicious and
intentional maiming, mutilating, or torturing a separate specimen of
a creature described in subdivision (e) is a separate offense. If
any person is charged with a violation of subdivision (c), the
proceedings shall be subject to Section 12157 of the Fish and Game
Code.
(g) (1) Upon the conviction of a person charged with a violation
of this section by causing or permitting an act of cruelty, as
defined in Section 599b, all animals lawfully seized and impounded
with respect to the violation by a peace officer, officer of a humane
society, or officer of a pound or animal regulation department of a
public agency shall be adjudged by the court to be forfeited and
shall thereupon be awarded to the impounding officer for proper
disposition. A person convicted of a violation of this section by
causing or permitting an act of cruelty, as defined in Section 599b,
shall be liable to the impounding officer for all costs of
impoundment from the time of seizure to the time of proper
disposition.
(2) Mandatory seizure or impoundment shall not apply to animals in
properly conducted scientific experiments or investigations
performed under the authority of the faculty of a regularly
incorporated medical college or university of this state.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a defendant is
granted probation for a conviction under this section, the court
shall order the defendant to pay for, and successfully complete,
counseling, as determined by the court, designed to evaluate and
treat behavior or conduct disorders. If the court finds that the
defendant is financially unable to pay for that counseling, the court
may develop a sliding fee schedule based upon the defendant's
ability to pay. An indigent defendant may negotiate a deferred
payment schedule, but shall pay a nominal fee if the defendant has
the ability to pay the nominal fee. County mental health departments
or Medi-Cal shall be responsible for the costs of counseling required
by this section only for those persons who meet the medical
necessity criteria for mental health managed care pursuant to Section
1830.205 of Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations or the
targeted population criteria specified in Section 5600.3 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code. The counseling specified in this
subdivision shall be in addition to any other terms and conditions of
probation, including any term of imprisonment and any fine. This
provision specifies a mandatory additional term of probation and is
not to be utilized as an alternative in lieu of imprisonment pursuant
to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 or county jail when that sentence
is otherwise appropriate. If the court does not order custody as a
condition of probation for a conviction under this section, the court
shall specify on the court record the reason or reasons for not
ordering custody. This subdivision shall not apply to cases involving
police dogs or horses as described in Section 600.
(a) (1) Every owner, driver, or keeper of any animal who
permits the animal to be in any building, enclosure, lane, street,
square, or lot of any city, county, city and county, or judicial
district without proper care and attention is guilty of a
misdemeanor. Any peace officer, humane society officer, or animal
control officer shall take possession of the stray or abandoned
animal and shall provide care and treatment for the animal until the
animal is deemed to be in suitable condition to be returned to the
owner. When the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that very
prompt action is required to protect the health or safety of the
animal or the health or safety of others, the officer shall
immediately seize the animal and comply with subdivision (f). In all
other cases, the officer shall comply with the provisions of
subdivision (g). The full cost of caring for and treating any animal
properly seized under this subdivision or pursuant to a search
warrant shall constitute a lien on the animal and the animal shall
not be returned to its owner until the charges are paid, if the
seizure is upheld pursuant to this section.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, if an animal control officer or
humane officer, when necessary to protect the health and safety of a
wild, stray, or abandoned animal or the health and safety of others,
seeks to administer a tranquilizer that contains a controlled
substance, as defined in Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000)
of the Health and Safety Code, to gain control of that animal, he or
she may possess and administer that tranquilizer with direct or
indirect supervision as determined by a licensed veterinarian,
provided that the officer has met each of the following requirements:
(A) Has received training in the administration of tranquilizers
from a licensed veterinarian. The training shall be approved by the
California Veterinary Medical Board.
(B) Has successfully completed the firearms component of a course
relating to the exercise of police powers, as set forth in Section
832.
(C) Is authorized by his or her agency or organization to possess
and administer the tranquilizer in accordance with a policy
established by the agency or organization and approved by the
veterinarian who obtained the controlled substance.
(D) Has successfully completed the euthanasia training set forth
in Section 2039 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations.
(E) Has completed a state and federal fingerprinting background
check and does not have any drug- or alcohol-related convictions.
(b) Every sick, disabled, infirm, or crippled animal, except a dog
or cat, that is abandoned in any city, county, city and county, or
judicial district may be killed by the officer if, after a reasonable
search, no owner of the animal can be found. It shall be the duty of
all peace officers, humane society officers, and animal control
officers to cause the animal to be killed or rehabilitated and placed
in a suitable home on information that the animal is stray or
abandoned. The officer may likewise take charge of any animal,
including a dog or cat, that by reason of lameness, sickness,
feebleness, or neglect, is unfit for the labor it is performing, or
that in any other manner is being cruelly treated, and provide care
and treatment for the animal until it is deemed to be in a suitable
condition to be returned to the owner. When the officer has
reasonable grounds to believe that very prompt action is required to
protect the health or safety of an animal or the health or safety of
others, the officer shall immediately seize the animal and comply
with subdivision (f). In all other cases, the officer shall comply
with subdivision (g). The full cost of caring for and treating any
animal properly seized under this subdivision or pursuant to a search
warrant shall constitute a lien on the animal and the animal shall
not be returned to its owner until the charges are paid.
(c) (1) Any peace officer, humane society officer, or animal
control officer shall convey all injured cats and dogs found without
their owners in a public place directly to a veterinarian known by
the officer to be a veterinarian who ordinarily treats dogs and cats
for a determination of whether the animal shall be immediately and
humanely destroyed or shall be hospitalized under proper care and
given emergency treatment.
(2) If the owner does not redeem the animal within the locally
prescribed waiting period, the veterinarian may personally perform
euthanasia on the animal. If the animal is treated and recovers from
its injuries, the veterinarian may keep the animal for purposes of
adoption, provided the responsible animal control agency has first
been contacted and has refused to take possession of the animal.
(3) Whenever any animal is transferred to a veterinarian in a
clinic, such as an emergency clinic that is not in continuous
operation, the veterinarian may, in turn, transfer the animal to an
appropriate facility.
(4) If the veterinarian determines that the animal shall be
hospitalized under proper care and given emergency treatment, the
costs of any services that are provided pending the owner's inquiry
to the responsible agency, department, or society shall be paid from
the dog license fees, fines, and fees for impounding dogs in the
city, county, or city and county in which the animal was licensed or,
if the animal is unlicensed, shall be paid by the jurisdiction in
which the animal was found, subject to the provision that this cost
be repaid by the animal's owner. The full cost of caring for and
treating any animal seized under this subdivision shall constitute a
lien on the animal and the animal shall not be returned to the owner
until the charges are paid. No veterinarian shall be criminally or
civilly liable for any decision that he or she makes or for services
that he or she provides pursuant to this subdivision.
(d) An animal control agency that takes possession of an animal
pursuant to subdivision (c) shall keep records of the whereabouts of
the animal from the time of possession to the end of the animal's
impoundment, and those records shall be available for inspection by
the public upon request for three years after the date the animal's
impoundment ended.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any peace
officer, humane society officer, or any animal control officer may,
with the approval of his or her immediate superior, humanely destroy
any stray or abandoned animal in the field in any case where the
animal is too severely injured to move or where a veterinarian is not
available and it would be more humane to euthanize the animal.
(f) Whenever an officer authorized under this section seizes or
impounds an animal based on a reasonable belief that prompt action is
required to protect the health or safety of the animal or the health
or safety of others, the officer shall, prior to the commencement of
any criminal proceedings authorized by this section, provide the
owner or keeper of the animal, if known or ascertainable after
reasonable investigation, with the opportunity for a postseizure
hearing to determine the validity of the seizure or impoundment, or
both.
(1) The agency shall cause a notice to be affixed to a conspicuous
place where the animal was situated or personally deliver a notice
of the seizure or impoundment, or both, to the owner or keeper within
48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. The notice shall include
all of the following:
(A) The name, business address, and telephone number of the
officer providing the notice.
(B) A description of the animal seized, including any
identification upon the animal.
(C) The authority and purpose for the seizure or impoundment,
including the time, place, and circumstances under which the animal
was seized.
(D) A statement that, in order to receive a postseizure hearing,
the owner or person authorized to keep the animal, or his or her
agent, shall request the hearing by signing and returning an enclosed
declaration of ownership or right to keep the animal to the agency
providing the notice within 10 days, including weekends and holidays,
of the date of the notice. The declaration may be returned by
personal delivery or mail.
(E) A statement that the full cost of caring for and treating any
animal properly seized under this section is a lien on the animal and
that the animal shall not be returned to the owner until the charges
are paid, and that failure to request or to attend a scheduled
hearing shall result in liability for this cost.
(2) The postseizure hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of
the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The seizing agency may
authorize its own officer or employee to conduct the hearing if the
hearing officer is not the same person who directed the seizure or
impoundment of the animal and is not junior in rank to that person.
The agency may utilize the services of a hearing officer from outside
the agency for the purposes of complying with this section.
(3) Failure of the owner or keeper, or of his or her agent, to
request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall result in a forfeiture
of any right to a postseizure hearing or right to challenge his or
her liability for costs incurred.
(4) The agency, department, or society employing the person who
directed the seizure shall be responsible for the costs incurred for
caring and treating the animal, if it is determined in the
postseizure hearing that the seizing officer did not have reasonable
grounds to believe very prompt action, including seizure of the
animal, was required to protect the health or safety of the animal or
the health or safety of others. If it is determined the seizure was
justified, the owner or keeper shall be personally liable to the
seizing agency for the full cost of the seizure and care of the
animal. The charges for the seizure and care of the animal shall be a
lien on the animal. The animal shall not be returned to its owner
until the charges are paid and the owner demonstrates to the
satisfaction of the seizing agency or the hearing officer that the
owner can and will provide the necessary care for the animal.
(g) Where the need for immediate seizure is not present and prior
to the commencement of any criminal proceedings authorized by this
section, the agency shall provide the owner or keeper of the animal,
if known or ascertainable after reasonable investigation, with the
opportunity for a hearing prior to any seizure or impoundment of the
animal. The owner shall produce the animal at the time of the hearing
unless, prior to the hearing, the owner has made arrangements with
the agency to view the animal upon request of the agency, or unless
the owner can provide verification that the animal was humanely
destroyed. Any person who willfully fails to produce the animal or
provide the verification is guilty of an infraction, punishable by a
fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than
one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(1) The agency shall cause a notice to be affixed to a conspicuous
place where the animal was situated or personally deliver a notice
stating the grounds for believing the animal should be seized under
subdivision (a) or (b). The notice shall include all of the
following:
(A) The name, business address, and telephone number of the
officer providing the notice.
(B) A description of the animal to be seized, including any
identification upon the animal.
(C) The authority and purpose for the possible seizure or
impoundment.
(D) A statement that, in order to receive a hearing prior to any
seizure, the owner or person authorized to keep the animal, or his or
her agent, shall request the hearing by signing and returning the
enclosed declaration of ownership or right to keep the animal to the
officer providing the notice within two days, excluding weekends and
holidays, of the date of the notice.
(E) A statement that the cost of caring for and treating any
animal properly seized under this section is a lien on the animal,
that any animal seized shall not be returned to the owner until the
charges are paid, and that failure to request or to attend a
scheduled hearing shall result in a conclusive determination that the
animal may properly be seized and that the owner shall be liable for
the charges.
(2) The preseizure hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours,
excluding weekends and holidays, after receipt of the request. The
seizing agency may authorize its own officer or employee to conduct
the hearing if the hearing officer is not the same person who
requests the seizure or impoundment of the animal and is not junior
in rank to that person. The agency may utilize the services of a
hearing officer from outside the agency for the purposes of complying
with this section.
(3) Failure of the owner or keeper, or his or her agent, to
request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall result in a forfeiture
of any right to a preseizure hearing or right to challenge his or
her liability for costs incurred pursuant to this section.
(4) The hearing officer, after the hearing, may affirm or deny the
owner's or keeper's right to custody of the animal and, if
reasonable grounds are established, may order the seizure or
impoundment of the animal for care and treatment.
(h) If any animal is properly seized under this section or
pursuant to a search warrant, the owner or keeper shall be personally
liable to the seizing agency for the cost of the seizure and care of
the animal. Further, if the charges for the seizure or impoundment
and any other charges permitted under this section are not paid
within 14 days of the seizure, or if the owner, within 14 days of
notice of availability of the animal to be returned, fails to pay
charges permitted under this section and take possession of the
animal, the animal shall be deemed to have been abandoned and may be
disposed of by the seizing agency.
(i) If the animal requires veterinary care and the humane society
or public agency is not assured, within 14 days of the seizure of the
animal, that the owner will provide the necessary care, the animal
shall not be returned to its owner and shall be deemed to have been
abandoned and may be disposed of by the seizing agency. A
veterinarian may humanely destroy an impounded animal without regard
to the prescribed holding period when it has been determined that the
animal has incurred severe injuries or is incurably crippled. A
veterinarian also may immediately humanely destroy an impounded
animal afflicted with a serious contagious disease unless the owner
or his or her agent immediately authorizes treatment of the animal by
a veterinarian at the expense of the owner or agent.
(j) No animal properly seized under this section or pursuant to a
search warrant shall be returned to its owner until the owner can
demonstrate to the satisfaction of the seizing agency or hearing
officer that the owner can and will provide the necessary care for
the animal.
(k) (1) In the case of cats and dogs, prior to the final
disposition of any criminal charges, the seizing agency or
prosecuting attorney may file a petition in a criminal action
requesting that, prior to that final disposition, the court issue an
order forfeiting the animal to the city, county, or seizing agency.
The petitioner shall serve a true copy of the petition upon the
defendant and the prosecuting attorney.
(2) Upon receipt of the petition, the court shall set a hearing on
the petition. The hearing shall be conducted within 14 days after
the filing of the petition, or as soon as practicable.
(3) The petitioner shall have the burden of establishing beyond a
reasonable doubt that, even in the event of an acquittal of the
criminal charges, the owner will not legally be permitted to retain
the animal in question. If the court finds that the petitioner has
met its burden, the court shall order the immediate forfeiture of the
animal as sought by the petition.
(4) Nothing in this subdivision is intended to authorize a
seizing agency or prosecuting attorney to file a petition to
determine an owner's ability to legally retain an animal pursuant to
paragraph (3) of subdivision (l) if a petition has previously been
filed pursuant to this subdivision.
(l) (1) Upon the conviction of a person charged with a violation
of this section, or Section 597 or 597a, all animals lawfully seized
and impounded with respect to the violation shall be adjudged by the
court to be forfeited and shall thereupon be transferred to the
impounding officer or appropriate public entity for proper adoption
or other disposition. A person convicted of a violation of this
section shall be personally liable to the seizing agency for all
costs of impoundment from the time of seizure to the time of proper
disposition. Upon conviction, the court shall order the convicted
person to make payment to the appropriate public entity for the costs
incurred in the housing, care, feeding, and treatment of the seized
or impounded animals. Each person convicted in connection with a
particular animal may be held jointly and severally liable for
restitution for that particular animal. The payment shall be in
addition to any other fine or sentence ordered by the court.
(2) The court may also order, as a condition of probation, that
the convicted person be prohibited from owning, possessing, caring
for, or residing with, animals of any kind, and require the convicted
person to immediately deliver all animals in his or her possession
to a designated public entity for adoption or other lawful
disposition or provide proof to the court that the person no longer
has possession, care, or control of any animals. In the event of the
acquittal or final discharge without conviction of the person
charged, if the animal is still impounded, the animal has not been
previously deemed abandoned pursuant to subdivision (h), the court
has not ordered that the animal be forfeited pursuant to subdivision
(k), the court shall, on demand, direct the release of seized or
impounded animals to the defendant upon a showing of proof of
ownership.
(3) Any questions regarding ownership shall be determined in a
separate hearing by the court where the criminal case was finally
adjudicated and the court shall hear testimony from any persons who
may assist the court in determining ownership of the animal. If the
owner is determined to be unknown or the owner is prohibited or
unable to retain possession of the animals for any reason, the court
shall order the animals to be released to the appropriate public
entity for adoption or other lawful disposition. This section is not
intended to cause the release of any animal, bird, reptile,
amphibian, or fish seized or impounded pursuant to any other statute,
ordinance, or municipal regulation. This section shall not prohibit
the seizure or impoundment of animals as evidence as provided for
under any other provision of law.
(m) It shall be the duty of all peace officers, humane society
officers, and animal control officers to use all currently acceptable
methods of identification, both electronic and otherwise, to
determine the lawful owner or caretaker of any seized or impounded
animal. It shall also be their duty to make reasonable efforts to
notify the owner or caretaker of the whereabouts of the animal and
any procedures available for the lawful recovery of the animal and,
upon the owner's and caretaker's initiation of recovery procedures,
retain custody of the animal for a reasonable period of time to allow
for completion of the recovery process. Efforts to locate or contact
the owner or caretaker and communications with persons claiming to
be the owner or caretaker shall be recorded and maintained and be
made available for public inspection.
(a) It shall be the duty of an officer of a pound, humane
society, or animal regulation department of a public agency to assist
in a case involving the abandonment or voluntary relinquishment of
an equine by the equine's owner. This section does not require a
pound, humane society, or animal regulation department of a public
agency to take actual possession of the equine.
(b) If a pound, humane society, or animal regulation department of
a public agency sells an equine at a private or public auction or
sale, it shall set the minimum bid for the sale of the equine at a
price above the current slaughter price of the equine.
(c) (1) This section does not prohibit a pound, humane society, or
animal regulation department of a public agency from placing an
equine through an adoption program at an adoption fee that may be set
below current slaughter price.
(2) A person adopting an equine under paragraph (1) shall submit a
written statement declaring that the person is adopting the equine
for personal use and not for purposes of resale, resale for
slaughter, or holding or transporting the equine for slaughter.
(a) Every person who operates a live animal market shall do
all of the following:
(1) Provide that no animal will be dismembered, flayed, cut open,
or have its skin, scales, feathers, or shell removed while the animal
is still alive.
(2) Provide that no live animals will be confined, held, or
displayed in a manner that results, or is likely to result, in
injury, starvation, dehydration, or suffocation.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Animal" means frogs, turtles, and birds sold for the purpose
of human consumption, with the exception of poultry.
(2) "Live animal market" means a retail food market where, in the
regular course of business, animals are stored alive and sold to
consumers for the purpose of human consumption.
(c) Any person who fails to comply with any requirement of
subdivision (a) shall for the first violation, be given a written
warning in a written language that is understood by the person
receiving the warning. A second or subsequent violation of
subdivision (a) shall be an infraction, punishable by a fine of not
less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250), nor more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000). However, a fine paid for a second
violation of subdivision (a) shall be deferred for six months if a
course is available that is administered by a state or local agency
on state law and local ordinances relating to live animal markets. If
the defendant successfully completes that course within six months
of entry of judgment, the fine shall be waived. The state or local
agency may charge the participant a fee to take the course, not to
exceed one hundred dollars ($100).
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully do
either of the following:
(1) Sell or give away as part of a commercial transaction a live
animal on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot,
carnival, or boardwalk.
(2) Display or offer for sale, or display or offer to give away as
part of a commercial transaction, a live animal, if the act of
selling or giving away the live animal is to occur on any street,
highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival, or boardwalk.
(b) (1) A person who violates this section for the first time
shall be guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed
two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(2) A person who violates this section for the first time and by
that violation either causes or permits any animal to suffer or be
injured, or causes or permits any animal to be placed in a situation
in which its life or health may be endangered, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(3) A person who violates this section for a second or subsequent
time shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(c) A person who is guilty of a misdemeanor violation of this
section shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand
dollars ($1,000) per violation. The court shall weigh the gravity of
the violation in setting the fine.
(d) A notice describing the charge and the penalty for a violation
of this section may be issued by any peace officer, animal control
officer, as defined in Section 830.9, or humane officer qualified
pursuant to Section 14502 or 14503 of the Corporations Code.
(e) This section shall not apply to the following:
(1) Events held by 4-H Clubs, Junior Farmers Clubs, or Future
Farmers Clubs.
(2) The California Exposition and State Fair, district
agricultural association fairs, or county fairs.
(3) Stockyards with respect to which the Secretary of the United
States Department of Agriculture has posted notice that the
stockyards are regulated by the federal Packers and Stockyards Act,
1921 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 181 et seq.).
(4) The sale of cattle on consignment at any public cattle sales
market, the sale of sheep on consignment at any public sheep sales
market, the sale of swine on consignment at any public swine sales
market, the sale of goats on consignment at any public goat sales
market, and the sale of equines on consignment at any public equine
sales market.
(5) Live animal markets regulated under Section 597.3.
(6) A public animal control agency or shelter, society for the
prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or
rescue group regulated under Division 14 (commencing with Section
30501) of the Food and Agricultural Code. For purposes of this
section, "rescue group" is a not-for-profit entity whose primary
purpose is the placement of dogs, cats, or other animals that have
been removed from a public animal control agency or shelter, society
for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, or humane society
shelter, or that have been surrendered or relinquished to the entity
by the previous owner.
(7) The sale of fish or shellfish, live or dead, from a fishing
vessel or registered aquaculture facility, at a pier or wharf, or at
a farmer's market by any licensed commercial fisherman or an owner or
employee of a registered aquaculture facility to the public for
human consumption.
(8) A cat show, dog show, or bird show, provided that all of the
following circumstances exist:
(A) The show is validly permitted by the city or county in which
the show is held.
(B) The show's sponsor or permittee ensures compliance with all
federal, state, and local animal welfare and animal control laws.
(C) The participant has written documentation of the payment of a
fee for the entry of his or her cat, dog, or bird in the show.
(D) The sale of a cat, dog, or bird occurs only on the premises
and within the confines of the show.
(E) The show is a competitive event where the cats, dogs, or birds
are exhibited and judged by an established standard or set of ideals
established for each breed or species.
(9) A pet store as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 122350 of
the Health and Safety Code.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to in any way limit
or affect the application or enforcement of any other law that
protects animals or the rights of consumers, including, but not
limited to, the Lockyer-Polanco-Farr Pet Protection Act contained in
Article 2 (commencing with Section 122125) of Chapter 5 of Part 6 of
Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, or Sections 597 and 597l
of this code.
(g) Nothing in this section limits or authorizes any act or
omission that violates Section 597 or 597l, or any other local,
state, or federal law. The procedures set forth in this section shall
not apply to any civil violation of any other local, state, or
federal law that protects animals or the rights of consumers, or to a
violation of Section 597 or 597l, which is cited or prosecuted
pursuant to one or both of those sections, or to a violation of any
other local, state, or federal law that is cited or prosecuted
pursuant to that law.
(a) Any person who does any of the following is guilty of a
felony and is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h)
of Section 1170 for 16 months, or two or three years, or by a fine
not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by both that fine
and imprisonment:
(1) Owns, possesses, keeps, or trains any dog, with the intent
that the dog shall be engaged in an exhibition of fighting with
another dog.
(2) For amusement or gain, causes any dog to fight with another
dog, or causes any dogs to injure each other.
(3) Permits any act in violation of paragraph (1) or (2) to be
done on any premises under his or her charge or control, or aids or
abets that act.
(b) Any person who is knowingly present, as a spectator, at any
place, building, or tenement where preparations are being made for an
exhibition of the fighting of dogs, with the intent to be present at
those preparations, or is knowingly present at that exhibition or at
any other fighting or injuring as described in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a), with the intent to be present at that exhibition,
fighting, or injuring, is guilty of an offense punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine
not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine.
(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit any of the following:
(1) The use of dogs in the management of livestock, as defined by
Section 14205 of the Food and Agricultural Code, by the owner of the
livestock or his or her employees or agents or other persons in
lawful custody thereof.
(2) The use of dogs in hunting as permitted by the Fish and Game
Code, including, but not limited to, Sections 4002 and 4756, and by
the rules and regulations of the Fish and Game Commission.
(3) The training of dogs or the use of equipment in the training
of dogs for any purpose not prohibited by law.
(a) (1) No person may perform, or otherwise procure or
arrange for the performance of, surgical claw removal, declawing,
onychectomy, or tendonectomy on any cat that is a member of an exotic
or native wild cat species, and shall not otherwise alter such a cat'
s toes, claws, or paws to prevent the normal function of the cat's
toes, claws, or paws.
(2) This subdivision does not apply to a procedure performed
solely for a therapeutic purpose.
(b) Any person who violates this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period
not to exceed one year, by a fine of ten thousand dollars ($10,000),
or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(c) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Declawing" and "onychectomy" mean any surgical procedure in
which a portion of the animal's paw is amputated in order to remove
the animal's claws.
(2) "Tendonectomy" means a procedure in which the tendons to an
animal's limbs, paws, or toes are cut or modified so that the claws
cannot be extended.
(3) "Exotic or native wild cat species" include all members of the
taxonomic family Felidae, except domestic cats (Felis catus or Felis
domesticus) or hybrids of wild and domestic cats that are greater
than three generations removed from an exotic or native cat. "Exotic
or native wild cat species" include, but are not limited to, lions,
tigers, cougars, leopards, lynxes, bobcats, caracals, ocelots,
margays, servals, cheetahs, snow leopards, clouded leopards, jungle
cats, leopard cats, and jaguars, or any hybrid thereof.
(4) "Therapeutic purpose" means for the purpose of addressing an
existing or recurring infection, disease, injury, or abnormal
condition in the claw that jeopardizes the cat's health, where
addressing the infection, disease, injury, or abnormal condition is a
medical necessity.
(a) No person shall leave or confine an animal in any
unattended motor vehicle under conditions that endanger the health or
well-being of an animal due to heat, cold, lack of adequate
ventilation, or lack of food or water, or other circumstances that
could reasonably be expected to cause suffering, disability, or death
to the animal.
(b) Unless the animal suffers great bodily injury, a first
conviction for violation of this section is punishable by a fine not
exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) per animal. If the animal
suffers great bodily injury, a violation of this section is
punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500),
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by both a
fine and imprisonment. Any subsequent violation of this section,
regardless of injury to the animal, is also punishable by a fine not
exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), imprisonment in a county jail
not exceeding six months, or by both a fine and imprisonment.
(c) (1) Nothing in this section shall prevent a peace officer,
humane officer, or an animal control officer from removing an animal
from a motor vehicle if the animal's safety appears to be in
immediate danger from heat, cold, lack of adequate ventilation, lack
of food or water, or other circumstances that could reasonably be
expected to cause suffering, disability, or death to the animal.
(2) A peace officer, humane officer, or animal control officer who
removes an animal from a motor vehicle shall take it to an animal
shelter or other place of safekeeping or, if the officer deems
necessary, to a veterinary hospital for treatment.
(3) A peace officer, humane officer, or animal control officer is
authorized to take all steps that are reasonably necessary for the
removal of an animal from a motor vehicle, including, but not limited
to, breaking into the motor vehicle, after a reasonable effort to
locate the owner or other person responsible.
(4) A peace officer, humane officer, or animal control officer who
removes an animal from a motor vehicle shall, in a secure and
conspicuous location on or within the motor vehicle, leave written
notice bearing his or her name and office, and the address of the
location where the animal can be claimed. The animal may be claimed
by the owner only after payment of all charges that have accrued for
the maintenance, care, medical treatment, or impoundment of the
animal.
(5) This section does not affect in any way existing liabilities
or immunities in current law, or create any new immunities or
liabilities.
(d) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under both
this section and Section 597 or any other provision of law, including
city or county ordinances.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the
transportation of horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry or other
agricultural animals in motor vehicles designed to transport such
animals for agricultural purposes.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c) or (d), any person
who has been convicted of a misdemeanor violation of subdivision (a)
or (b) of Section 597, or Section 597a, 597b, 597h, 597j, 597s, or
597.1, and who, within five years after the conviction, owns,
possesses, maintains, has custody of, resides with, or cares for any
animal is guilty of a public offense, punishable by a fine of one
thousand dollars ($1,000).
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c) or (d), any person who
has been convicted of a felony violation of subdivision (a) or (b) of
Section 597, or Section 597b or 597.5, and who, within 10 years
after the conviction, owns, possesses, maintains, has custody of,
resides with, or cares for any animal is guilty of a public offense,
punishable by a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(c) (1) In cases of owners of livestock, as defined in Section
14205 of the Food and Agricultural Code, a court may, in the interest
of justice, exempt a defendant from the injunction required under
subdivision (a) or (b), as it would apply to livestock, if the
defendant files a petition with the court to establish, and does
establish by a preponderance of the evidence, that the imposition of
the provisions of this section would result in substantial or undue
economic hardship to the defendant's livelihood and that the
defendant has the ability to properly care for all livestock in his
or her possession.
(2) Upon receipt of a petition from the defendant, the court shall
set a hearing to be conducted within 30 days after the filing of the
petition. The petitioner shall serve a copy of the petition upon the
prosecuting attorney 10 calendar days prior to the requested
hearing. The court shall grant the petition for exemption from
subdivision (a) or (b) unless the prosecuting attorney shows by a
preponderance of the evidence that either or both of the criteria for
exemption under this subdivision are untrue.
(d) (1) A defendant may petition the court to reduce the duration
of the mandatory ownership prohibition. Upon receipt of a petition
from the defendant, the court shall set a hearing to be conducted
within 30 days after the filing of the petition. The petitioner shall
serve a copy of the petition upon the prosecuting attorney 10
calendar days prior to the requested hearing. At the hearing, the
petitioner shall have the burden of establishing by a preponderance
of the evidence all of the following:
(A) He or she does not present a danger to animals.
(B) He or she has the ability to properly care for all animals in
his or her possession.
(C) He or she has successfully completed all classes or counseling
ordered by the court.
(2) If the petitioner has met his or her burden, the court may
reduce the mandatory ownership prohibition and may order that the
defendant comply with reasonable and unannounced inspections by
animal control agencies or law enforcement.
597a. Whoever carries or causes to be carried in or upon any
vehicle or otherwise any domestic animal in a cruel or inhuman
manner, or knowingly and willfully authorizes or permits it to be
subjected to unnecessary torture, suffering, or cruelty of any kind,
is guilty of a misdemeanor; and whenever any such person is taken
into custody therefor by any officer, such officer must take charge
of such vehicle and its contents, together with the horse or team
attached to such vehicle, and deposit the same in some place of
custody; and any necessary expense incurred for taking care of and
keeping the same, is a lien thereon, to be paid before the same can
be lawfully recovered; and if such expense, or any part thereof,
remains unpaid, it may be recovered, by the person incurring the
same, of the owner of such domestic animal, in an action therefor.
597b. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), any
person who, for amusement or gain, causes any bull, bear, or other
animal, not including any dog, to fight with like kind of animal or
creature, or causes any animal, including any dog, to fight with a
different kind of animal or creature, or with any human being, or
who, for amusement or gain, worries or injures any bull, bear, dog,
or other animal, or causes any bull, bear, or other animal, not
including any dog, to worry or injure each other, or any person who
permits the same to be done on any premises under his or her charge
or control, or any person who aids or abets the fighting or worrying
of an animal or creature, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by
a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine.
(b) Any person who, for amusement or gain, causes any cock to
fight with another cock or with a different kind of animal or
creature or with any human being; or who, for amusement or gain,
worries or injures any cock, or causes any cock to worry or injure
another animal; and any person who permits the same to be done on any
premises under his or her charge or control, and any person who aids
or abets the fighting or worrying of any cock is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period
not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(c) A second or subsequent conviction of this section is a
misdemeanor or a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail
for a period not to exceed one year or the state prison for 16
months, two, or three years, by a fine not to exceed twenty-five
thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine,
except in unusual circumstances in which the interests of justice
would be better served by the imposition of a lesser sentence.
(d) For the purposes of this section, aiding and abetting a
violation of this section shall consist of something more than merely
being present or a spectator at a place where a violation is
occurring.
597c. Any person who is knowingly present as a spectator at any
place, building, or tenement for an exhibition of animal fighting, or
who is knowingly present at that exhibition or is knowingly present
where preparations are being made for the acts described in
subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 597b, is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to
exceed six months, or by a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000), or
by both that imprisonment and fine.
597d. Any sheriff, police, or peace officer, or officer qualified
as provided in Section 14502 of the Corporations Code, may enter any
place, building, or tenement, where there is an exhibition of the
fighting of birds or animals, or where preparations are being made
for such an exhibition, and, without a warrant, arrest all persons
present.
597e. Any person who impounds, or causes to be impounded in any
pound, any domestic animal, shall supply it during such confinement
with a sufficient quantity of good and wholesome food and water, and
in default thereof, is guilty of a misdemeanor. In case any domestic
animal is at any time so impounded and continues to be without
necessary food and water for more than 12 consecutive hours, it is
lawful for any person, from time to time, as may be deemed necessary,
to enter into and upon any pound in which the animal is confined,
and supply it with necessary food and water so long as it remains so
confined. Such person is not liable for the entry and may collect the
reasonable cost of the food and water from the owner of the animal,
and the animal is subject to enforcement of a money judgment for the
reasonable cost of such food and water.
597f. (a) Every owner, driver, or possessor of any animal, who
permits the animal to be in any building, enclosure, lane, street,
square, or lot, of any city, city and county, or judicial district,
without proper care and attention, shall, on conviction, be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor. And it shall be the duty of any peace
officer, officer of the humane society, or officer of a pound or
animal regulation department of a public agency, to take possession
of the animal so abandoned or neglected and care for the animal until
it is redeemed by the owner or claimant, and the cost of caring for
the animal shall be a lien on the animal until the charges are paid.
Every sick, disabled, infirm, or crippled animal, except a dog or
cat, which shall be abandoned in any city, city and county, or
judicial district, may, if after due search no owner can be found
therefor, be killed by the officer; and it shall be the duty of all
peace officers, an officer of such society, or officer of a pound or
animal regulation department of a public agency to cause the animal
to be killed on information of such abandonment. The officer may
likewise take charge of any animal, including a dog or cat, that by
reason of lameness, sickness, feebleness, or neglect, is unfit for
the labor it is performing, or that in any other manner is being
cruelly treated; and, if the animal is not then in the custody of its
owner, the officer shall give notice thereof to the owner, if known,
and may provide suitable care for the animal until it is deemed to
be in a suitable condition to be delivered to the owner, and any
necessary expenses which may be incurred for taking care of and
keeping the animal shall be a lien thereon, to be paid before the
animal can be lawfully recovered.
(b) It shall be the duty of all officers of pounds or humane
societies, and animal regulation departments of public agencies to
convey, and for police and sheriff departments, to cause to be
conveyed all injured cats and dogs found without their owners in a
public place directly to a veterinarian known by the officer or
agency to be a veterinarian that ordinarily treats dogs and cats for
a determination of whether the animal shall be immediately and
humanely destroyed or shall be hospitalized under proper care and
given emergency treatment.
If the owner does not redeem the animal within the locally
prescribed waiting period, the veterinarian may personally perform
euthanasia on the animal; or, if the animal is treated and recovers
from its injuries, the veterinarian may keep the animal for purposes
of adoption, provided the responsible animal control agency has first
been contacted and has refused to take possession of the animal.
Whenever any animal is transferred pursuant to this subdivision to
a veterinarian in a clinic, such as an emergency clinic which is not
in continuous operation, the veterinarian may, in turn, transfer the
animal to an appropriate facility.
If the veterinarian determines that the animal shall be
hospitalized under proper care and given emergency treatment, the
costs of any services which are provided pending the owner's inquiry
to the agency, department, or society shall be paid from the dog
license fees, fines, and fees for impounding dogs in the city,
county, or city and county in which the animal was licensed or if the
animal is unlicensed the jurisdiction in which the animal was found,
subject to the provision that this cost be repaid by the animal's
owner. No veterinarian shall be criminally or civilly liable for any
decision which he or she makes or services which he or she provides
pursuant to this section.
(c) An animal control agency which takes possession of an animal
pursuant to subdivision (b), shall keep records of the whereabouts of
the animal for a 72-hour period from the time of possession and
those records shall be available to inspection by the public upon
request.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, any
officer of a pound or animal regulation department or humane society,
or any officer of a police or sheriff's department may, with the
approval of his or her immediate superior, humanely destroy any
abandoned animal in the field in any case where the animal is too
severely injured to move or where a veterinarian is not available and
it would be more humane to dispose of the animal.
597g. (a) Poling a horse is a method of training horses to jump
which consists of (1) forcing, persuading, or enticing a horse to
jump in such manner that one or more of its legs will come in contact
with an obstruction consisting of any kind of wire, or a pole,
stick, rope or other object with brads, nails, tacks or other sharp
points imbedded therein or attached thereto or (2) raising, throwing
or moving a pole, stick, wire, rope or other object, against one or
more of the legs of a horse while it is jumping an obstruction so
that the horse, in either case, is induced to raise such leg or legs
higher in order to clear the obstruction. Tripping a horse is an act
that consists of the use of any wire, pole, stick, rope, or other
object or apparatus whatsoever to cause a horse to fall or lose its
balance. The poling or tripping of any horse is unlawful and any
person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(b) It is a misdemeanor for any person to intentionally trip or
fell an equine by the legs by any means whatsoever for the purposes
of entertainment or sport.
(c) This section does not apply to the lawful laying down of a
horse for medical or identification purposes, nor shall the section
be construed as condemning or limiting any cultural or historical
activities, except those prohibited herein.
597h. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to tie or attach or
fasten any live animal to any machine or device propelled by any
power for the purpose of causing that animal to be pursued by a dog
or dogs.
(b) Any person violating any of the provisions of this section
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of two thousand
five hundred dollars ($2,500) or by imprisonment in a county jail
not exceeding six months, or by both that imprisonment and fine.
597i. (a) It shall be unlawful for anyone to manufacture, buy,
sell, barter, exchange, or have in his or her possession any of the
implements commonly known as gaffs or slashers, or any other sharp
implement designed to be attached in place of the natural spur of a
gamecock or other fighting bird.
(b) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section
is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed ten
thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine
and upon conviction thereof shall, in addition to any judgment or
sentence imposed by the court, forfeit possession or ownership of
those implements.
597j. (a) Any person who owns, possesses, keeps, or trains any bird
or other animal with the intent that it be used or engaged by
himself or herself, by his or her vendee, or by any other person in
an exhibition of fighting as described in Section 597b is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period
not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars
($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(b) This section shall not apply to an exhibition of fighting of a
dog with another dog.
(c) A second or subsequent conviction of this section is a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period
not to exceed one year or by a fine not to exceed twenty-five
thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine,
except in unusual circumstances in which the interests of justice
would be better served by the imposition of a lesser sentence.
597k. Anyone who, having care, custody or control of any horse or
other animal, uses what is known as the bristle bur, tack bur, or
other like device, by whatsoever name known or designated, on such
horse or other animal for any purpose whatsoever, is guilty of a
misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not less than fifty
dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by
imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 10 days nor more
than 175 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
597l. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person who operates a pet
shop to fail to do all of the following:
(1) Maintain the facilities used for the keeping of pet animals in
a sanitary condition.
(2) Provide proper heating and ventilation for the facilities used
for the keeping of pet animals.
(3) Provide adequate nutrition for, and humane care and treatment
of, all pet animals under his or her care and control.
(4) Take reasonable care to release for sale, trade, or adoption
only those pet animals that are free of disease or injuries.
(5) Provide adequate space appropriate to the size, weight, and
specie of pet animals.
(b) (1) Sellers of pet animals shall provide buyers of a pet
animal with general written recommendations for the generally
accepted care of the class of pet animal sold, including
recommendations as to the housing, equipment, cleaning, environment,
and feeding of the animal. This written information shall be in a
form determined by the sellers of pet animals and may include
references to Web sites, books, pamphlets, videos, and compact discs.
(2) If a seller of pet animals distributes material prepared by a
third party, the seller shall not be liable for damages caused by any
erroneous information in that material unless a reasonable person
exercising ordinary care should have known of the error causing the
damage.
(3) This subdivision shall apply to any private or public retail
business that sells pet animals to the public and is required to
possess a permit pursuant to Section 6066 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code.
(4) Charges brought against a seller of pet animals for a first
violation of the provisions of this subdivision shall be dismissed if
the person charged produces in court satisfactory proof of
compliance. A second or subsequent violation is an infraction
punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(c) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Pet animals" means dogs, cats, monkeys and other primates,
rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, snakes, iguanas,
turtles, and any other species of animal sold or retained for the
purpose of being kept as a household pet.
(2) "Pet shop" means every place or premises where pet animals are
kept for the purpose of either wholesale or retail sale. "Pet shop"
does not include any place or premises where pet animals are
occasionally sold.
(d) Any person who violates any provision of subdivision (a) is
guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding 90 days, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
597m. It shall be unlawful for any person to promote, advertise,
stage, hold, manage, conduct, participate in, engage in, or carry on
any bullfight exhibition, any bloodless bullfight contest or
exhibition, or any similar contest or exhibition, whether for
amusement or gain or otherwise; provided, that nothing herein shall
be construed to prohibit rodeos or to prohibit measures necessary to
the safety of participants at rodeos.
This section shall not, however, be construed as prohibiting
bloodless bullfights, contests, or exhibitions held in connection
with religious celebrations or religious festivals.
Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
597n. (a) Any person who cuts the solid part of the tail of any
horse or cattle in the operation known as "docking," or in any other
operation performed for the purpose of shortening the tail of any
horse or cattle, within the State of California, or procures the same
to be done, or imports or brings into this state any docked horse,
or horses, or drives, works, uses, races, or deals in any
unregistered docked horse, or horses, within the State of California
except as provided in Section 597r, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to "docking" when the solid
part of any cattle's tail must be removed in an emergency for the
purpose of saving the cattle's life or relieving the cattle's pain,
provided that the emergency treatment is performed consistent with
the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act (commencing with Section 4811)
of Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "cattle" means any animal of
the bovine species.
597o. (a) Any person who transports an equine in a vehicle to
slaughter shall meet the following requirements:
(1) The vehicle shall have sufficient clearance to allow the
equine to be transported in a standing position with its head in a
normal upright position above its withers.
(2) Any ramps and floors in the vehicle shall be covered with a
nonskid surface to prevent the equine from slipping.
(3) The vehicle shall provide adequate ventilation to the equine
while the equine is being transported.
(4) The sides and overhead of the vehicle shall be constructed to
withstand the weight of any equine which may put pressure against the
sides or overhead.
(5) Any compartments in the interior of the vehicle shall be
constructed of smooth materials and shall contain no protrusions or
sharp objects.
(6) The size of the vehicle shall be appropriate for the number of
equine being transported and the welfare of the equine shall not be
jeopardized by overcrowding.
(7) Stallions shall be segregated during transportation to
slaughter.
(8) Diseased, sick, blind, dying, or otherwise disabled equine
shall not be transported out of this state.
(9) Any equine being transported shall be able to bear weight on
all four feet.
(10) Unweaned foals shall not be transported.
(11) Mares in their last trimester of pregnancy shall not be
transported.
(12) The person shall notify a humane officer having jurisdiction
72 hours before loading the equine in order that the humane officer
may perform a thorough inspection of the vehicle to determine if all
requirements of this section have been satisfied.
(b) (1) Any person who violates this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of one hundred dollars ($100)
per equine being transported.
(2) Any person who violates this section for a second or
subsequent time is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined five
hundred dollars ($500) per equine being transported.
(c) Whenever a person is taken into custody by an officer for a
violation of this section, the officer shall take charge of the
vehicle and its contents and deposit the property in some place of
custody.
(d) (1) Any necessary expense incurred for taking care of and
keeping the property described in subdivision (c) is a lien thereon,
to be paid before the property can be lawfully recovered.
(2) If the expense, or any part thereof, remains unpaid, it may be
recovered by the person incurring the expense from the owner of the
equine in an action therefor.
(e) For the purposes of this section, "equine" means any horse,
pony, burro, or mule.
597p. Within 30 days after the passage of this act, every owner, or
user of any docked horse, within the State of California, shall
register his or her docked horse, or horses by filing in the office
of the county clerk of the county in which such docked horse, or
horses, may then be kept, a certificate, which certificate shall
contain the name, or names of the owner, together with his or her
post office address, a full description of the color, age, size and
the use made of such docked horse, or horses; which certificate shall
be signed by the owner, or his, or her agent. The county clerk shall
number such certificate consecutively and record the name in a book,
or register to be kept for that purpose only; and shall receive as a
fee for recording of such certificate, the sum of fifty cents
($0.50), and the clerk shall thereupon issue to such person so
registering such horse or horses a certificate containing the facts
recited in this section which upon demand shall be exhibited to any
peace officer, and the same shall be conclusive evidence of a
compliance with the provisions of Section 597n of this code.
597q. The driving, working, keeping, racing or using of any
unregistered docked horse, or horses, after 60 days after the passage
of this act, shall be deemed prima facie evidence of the fact that
the party driving, working, keeping, racing or using such
unregistered docked horse, or horses, docked the tail of such horse
or horses.
597r. Any person or persons violating any of the provisions of this
act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; provided, however,
that the provisions of Sections 597n, 597p, and 597q, shall not be
applied to persons owning or possessing any docked purebred stallions
and mares imported from foreign countries for breeding or exhibition
purposes only, as provided by an act of Congress entitled "An act
regulating the importation of breeding animals" and approved March 3,
1903, and to docked native-bred stallions and mares brought into
this State and used for breeding or exhibition purposes only; and
provided further, that a description of each such animal so brought
into the State, together with the date of importation and name and
address of importer, be filed with the county clerk of the county
where such animal is kept, within 30 days after the importation of
such animal.
597s. (a) Every person who willfully abandons any animal is guilty
of a misdemeanor.
(b) This section shall not apply to the release or rehabilitation
and release of native California wildlife pursuant to statute or
regulations of the California Department of Fish and Game.
597t. Every person who keeps an animal confined in an enclosed area
shall provide it with an adequate exercise area. If the animal is
restricted by a leash, rope, or chain, the leash, rope, or chain
shall be affixed in such a manner that it will prevent the animal
from becoming entangled or injured and permit the animal's access to
adequate shelter, food, and water. Violation of this section
constitutes a misdemeanor.
This section shall not apply to an animal which is in transit, in
a vehicle, or in the immediate control of a person.
597u. (a) No person, peace officer, officer of a humane society, or
officer of a pound or animal regulation department of a public
agency shall kill any animal by using any of the following methods:
(1) Carbon monoxide gas.
(2) Intracardiac injection of a euthanasia agent on a conscious
animal, unless the animal is heavily sedated or anesthetized in a
humane manner, or comatose, or unless, in light of all the relevant
circumstances, the procedure is justifiable.
(b) With respect to the killing of any dog or cat, no person,
peace officer, officer of a humane society, or officer of a pound or
animal regulation department of a public agency shall use any of the
methods specified in subdivision (a) or any of the following methods:
(1) High-altitude decompression chamber.
(2) Nitrogen gas
597v. No person, peace officer, officer of a humane society, or
officer of a pound or animal regulation department of a public agency
shall kill any newborn dog or cat whose eyes have not yet opened by
any other method than by the use of chloroform vapor or by
inoculation of barbiturates.
597x. (a) Notwithstanding Section 18734 of the Food and
Agricultural Code or any other provision of law, it is unlawful for
any person to sell, attempt to sell, load, cause to be loaded,
transport, or attempt to transport any live horse, mule, burro, or
pony that is disabled, if the animal is intended to be sold, loaded,
or transported for commercial slaughter out of the state.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "disabled animal" includes,
but is not limited to, any animal that has broken limbs, is unable to
stand and balance itself without assistance, cannot walk, or is
severely injured.
(c) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor
and subject to the same penalties imposed upon a person convicted of
a misdemeanor under Section 597a.
597y. A violation of Section 597u or 597v is a misdemeanor.
597z. (a) (1) Except as otherwise authorized under any other
provision of law, it shall be a crime, punishable as specified in
subdivision (b), for any person to sell one or more dogs under eight
weeks of age, unless, prior to any physical transfer of the dog or
dogs from the seller to the purchaser, the dog or dogs are approved
for sale, as evidenced by written documentation from a veterinarian
licensed to practice in California.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the sale of a dog or dogs
shall not be considered complete, and thereby subject to the
requirements and penalties of this section, unless and until the
seller physically transfers the dog or dogs to the purchaser.
(b) (1) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of an
infraction or a misdemeanor.
(2) An infraction under this section shall be punishable by a fine
not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(3) With respect to the sale of two or more dogs in violation of
this section, each dog unlawfully sold shall represent a separate
offense under this section.
(c) This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) An organization, as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code, or any other organization that provides, or
contracts to provide, services as a public animal sheltering agency.
(2) A pet dealer as defined under Article 2 (commencing with
Section 122125) of Chapter 5 of Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health
and Safety Code.
(3) A public animal control agency or shelter, society for the
prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or
rescue group regulated under Division 14 (commencing with Section
30501) of the Food and Agricultural Code.
Every person who, within any public cemetery or burying
ground, kills, wounds, or traps any bird, or destroys any bird's nest
other than swallows' nests, or removes any eggs or young birds from
any nest, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(a) The prosecuting agency in a criminal proceeding in which
the defendant has been charged with the commission of any of the
crimes listed in subdivision (a) of Section 597.5 or subdivision (b)
of Section 597b may, in conjunction with the criminal proceeding,
file a petition for forfeiture as provided in subdivision (c). If the
prosecuting agency has filed a petition for forfeiture pursuant to
subdivision (c) and the defendant is convicted of any of the crimes
described in subdivision (a) of Section 597.5 or subdivision (b) of
Section 597b, the assets listed in subdivision (b) shall be subject
to forfeiture upon proof of the elements of subdivision (b) and in
accordance with this section.
(b) (1) Any property interest, whether tangible or intangible,
that was acquired through the commission of any of the crimes listed
in subdivision (a) of Section 597.5 or subdivision (b) of Section
597b shall be subject to forfeiture, including both personal and real
property, profits, proceeds, and the instrumentalities acquired,
accumulated, or used by cockfighting or dogfighting participants,
organizers, transporters of animals and equipment, breeders and
trainers of fighting birds or fighting dogs, and persons who steal or
illegally obtain dogs or other animals for fighting, including bait
and sparring animals.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the following property shall
not be subject to forfeiture under this section:
(A) Property solely owned by a bona fide purchaser for value, who
was without knowledge that the property was intended to be used for a
purpose which would subject it to forfeiture under this section, or
is subject to forfeiture under this section.
(B) Property used as a family residence and owned by two or more
inhabitants, one of whom had no knowledge of its unlawful use.
(c) (1) If the prosecuting agency proceeds under subdivision (a),
that agency shall, in conjunction with the criminal proceeding, file
a petition for forfeiture with the superior court of the county in
which the defendant has been charged with the commission of any of
the crimes listed in subdivision (a) of Section 597.5 or subdivision
(b) of Section 597b, that shall allege that the defendant has
committed those crimes and the property is forfeitable pursuant to
subdivision (a).
(2) The prosecuting agency shall make service of process of a
notice regarding that petition upon every individual who may have a
property interest in the alleged proceeds, and that notice shall
state that any interested party may file a verified claim with the
superior court stating the amount of the party's claimed interest and
an affirmation or denial of the prosecuting agency's allegation.
(3) If the notices cannot be served by registered mail or personal
delivery, the notices shall be published for at least three
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county
where the property is located.
(4) If the property alleged to be subject to forfeiture is real
property, the prosecuting agency shall, at the time of filing the
petition for forfeiture, record a lis pendens in each county in which
real property alleged to be subject to forfeiture is located.
(5) The judgment of forfeiture shall not affect the interest of
any third party in real property that was acquired prior to the
recording of the lis pendens.
(6) All notices shall set forth the time within which a claim of
interest in the property seized is required to be filed pursuant to
this section.
(d) Any person claiming an interest in the property or proceeds
seized may, at any time within 30 days from the date of the first
publication of the notice of seizure, or within 30 days after receipt
of the actual notice, file with the superior court of the county in
which the action is pending a verified claim stating his or her
interest in the property or proceeds. A verified copy of the claim
shall be given by the claimant to the Attorney General, or the
district or city attorney, whichever is the prosecuting agency of the
underlying crime.
(e) (1) If, at the end of the time set forth in subdivision (d),
an interested person, other than the defendant, has not filed a
claim, the court, upon a motion, shall declare that the person has
defaulted upon his or her alleged interest, and that interest shall
be subject to forfeiture upon proof of the elements of subdivision
(b).
(2) The defendant may admit or deny that the property is subject
to forfeiture pursuant to this section. If the defendant fails to
admit or deny, or fails to file a claim of interest in the property
or proceeds, the court shall enter a response of denial on behalf of
the defendant.
(f) (1) The forfeiture proceeding shall be set for hearing in the
superior court in which the underlying criminal offense will be
tried.
(2) If the defendant is found guilty of the underlying offense,
the issue of forfeiture shall be promptly tried, either before the
same jury or before a new jury in the discretion of the court, unless
waived by the consent of all parties.
(g) At the forfeiture hearing, the prosecuting agency shall have
the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that the
defendant was engaged in any of the crimes described in subdivision
(a) of Section 597.5 or subdivision (b) of Section 597b and that the
property comes within the provisions of subdivision (b).
(h) Concurrent with, or subsequent to, the filing of the petition,
the prosecuting agency may move the superior court for the following
pendente lite orders to preserve the status quo of the property
alleged in the petition of forfeiture:
(1) An injunction to restrain all interested parties and enjoin
them from transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, or otherwise
disposing of that property.
(2) Appointment of a receiver to take possession of, care for,
manage, and operate the assets and properties so that the property
may be maintained and preserved.
(i) (1) No preliminary injunction may be granted or receiver
appointed without notice to the interested parties and a hearing to
determine that the order is necessary to preserve the property,
pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings, and that there is
probable cause to believe that the property alleged in the forfeiture
proceedings are proceeds or property interests forfeitable under
subdivision (a). However, a temporary restraining order may issue
pending that hearing pursuant to the provisions of Section 527 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court, when
granting or issuing these orders may order a surety bond or
undertaking to preserve the property interests of the interested
parties. The court shall, in making its orders, seek to protect the
interest of those who may be involved in the same enterprise as the
defendant, but who are not involved in any of the crimes described in
subdivision (a) of Section 597.5 or subdivision (b) of Section 597b.
(j) If the trier of fact at the forfeiture hearing finds that the
alleged property or proceeds are forfeitable pursuant to subdivision
(a), and that the defendant was convicted of a crime listed in
subdivision (a) of Section 597.5 or subdivision (b) of Section 597b,
the court shall declare that property or proceeds forfeited to the
state or local governmental entity, subject to distribution as
provided in subdivision (l).
(k) (1) If the trier of fact at the forfeiture hearing finds that
the alleged property is forfeitable pursuant to subdivision (a) but
does not find that a person holding a valid lien, mortgage, security
interest, or interest under a conditional sales contract acquired
that interest with actual knowledge that the property was to be used
for a purpose for which forfeiture is permitted, and the amount due
to that person is less than the appraised value of the property, that
person may pay to the state or the local governmental entity that
initiated the forfeiture proceeding the amount of the registered
owner's equity, which shall be deemed to be the difference between
the appraised value and the amount of the lien, mortgage, security
interest, or interest under a conditional sales contract. Upon that
payment, the state or local governmental entity shall relinquish all
claims to the property.
(2) If the holder of the interest elects not to make that payment
to the state or local governmental entity, the property shall be
deemed forfeited to the state or local governmental entity.
(3) The appraised value shall be determined as of the date
judgment is entered either by agreement between the legal owner and
the governmental entity involved, or if they cannot agree, then by a
court-appointed appraiser for the county in which the action is
brought.
(4) If the amount due to a person holding a valid lien, mortgage,
security interest, or interest under a conditional sales contract is
less than the value of the property and the person elects not to make
payment to the governmental entity, the property shall be sold at
public auction by the Department of General Services or by the local
governmental entity which shall provide notice of that sale by one
publication in a newspaper published and circulated in the city,
community, or locality where the sale is to take place. Proceeds of
the sale shall be distributed pursuant to subdivision (l).
(l) Notwithstanding that no response or claim has been filed
pursuant to subdivision (d), in all cases where property is forfeited
pursuant to this section and is sold by the Department of General
Services or a local governmental entity, the property forfeited or
the proceeds of the sale shall be distributed by the state or local
governmental entity, as follows:
(1) To the bona fide or innocent purchaser, conditional sales
vendor, or holder of a valid lien, mortgage, or security interest, if
any, up to the amount of his or her interest in the property or
proceeds, when the court declaring the forfeiture orders a
distribution to that person. The court shall endeavor to discover all
those lienholders and protect their interests and may, at its
discretion, order the proceeds placed in escrow for a period not to
exceed 60 additional days to ensure that all valid claims are
received and processed.
(2) To the Department of General Services or local governmental
entity for all expenditures made or incurred by it in connection with
the sale of the property, including expenditures for any necessary
repairs, storage, or transportation of any property seized under this
section.
(3) To local nonprofit organizations exempt under Section 501(c)
(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, the primary activities of which
include ongoing rescue, foster, or other care of animals that are the
victims of cockfighting or dogfighting, and to law enforcement
entities, including multiagency task forces, that actively
investigate and prosecute animal fighting crimes.
(4) Any remaining funds not fully distributed to organizations or
entities pursuant to paragraph (3) shall be deposited in an escrow
account or restricted fund to be distributed as soon as possible in
accordance with paragraph (3).
598a. (a) Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who kills any dog
or cat with the sole intent of selling or giving away the pelt of
such animal.
(b) Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who possesses, imports
into this state, sells, buys, gives away or accepts any pelt of a
dog or cat with the sole intent of selling or giving away the pelt of
the dog or cat, or who possesses, imports into this state, sells,
buys, gives away, or accepts any dog or cat, with the sole intent of
killing or having killed such dog or cat for the purpose of selling
or giving away the pelt of such animal.
598b. (a) Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who possesses,
imports into, or exports from, this state, sells, buys, gives away,
or accepts any carcass or part of any carcass of any animal
traditionally or commonly kept as a pet or companion with the intent
of using or having another person use any part of that carcass for
food.
(b) Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who possesses, imports
into, or exports from, this state, sells, buys, gives away, or
accepts any animal traditionally or commonly kept as a pet or
companion with the intent of killing or having another person kill
that animal for the purpose of using or having another person use any
part of the animal for food.
(c) This section shall not be construed to interfere with the
production, marketing, or disposal of any livestock, poultry, fish,
shellfish, or any other agricultural commodity produced in this
state. Nor shall this section be construed to interfere with the
lawful killing of wildlife, or the lawful killing of any other animal
under the laws of this state pertaining to game animals.
598c. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it is
unlawful for any person to possess, to import into or export from the
state, or to sell, buy, give away, hold, or accept any horse with
the intent of killing, or having another kill, that horse, if that
person knows or should have known that any part of that horse will be
used for human consumption.
(b) For purposes of this section, "horse" means any equine,
including any horse, pony, burro, or mule.
(c) Violation of this section is a felony punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three
years.
(d) It is not the intent of this section to affect any commonly
accepted commercial, noncommercial, recreational, or sporting
activity that relates to horses.
(e) It is not the intent of this section to affect any existing
law that relates to horse taxation or zoning.
598d. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, horsemeat may
not be offered for sale for human consumption. No restaurant, cafe,
or other public eating place may offer horsemeat for human
consumption.
(b) Violation of this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a
fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by
confinement in jail for not less than 30 days nor more than two
years, or by both that fine and confinement.
(c) A second or subsequent offense under this section is
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two
years nor more than five years.
Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who:
(a) Sells or gives away, any live chicks, rabbits, ducklings, or
other fowl as a prize for, or as an inducement to enter, any contest,
game or other competition or as an inducement to enter a place of
amusement or place of business; or
(b) Dyes or otherwise artificially colors any live chicks,
rabbits, ducklings or other fowl, or sells, offers for sale, or gives
away any live chicks, rabbits, ducklings, or other fowl which has
been dyed or artificially colored; or
(c) Maintains or possesses any live chicks, rabbits, ducklings, or
other fowl for the purpose of sale or display without adequate
facilities for supplying food, water and temperature control needed
to maintain the health of such fowl or rabbit; or
(d) Sells, offers for sale, barters, or for commercial purposes
gives away, any live chicks, rabbits, ducklings, or other fowl on any
street or highway. This section shall not be construed to prohibit
established hatchery management procedures or the display, or sale of
natural chicks, rabbits, ducklings, or other fowl in proper
facilities by dealers, hatcheries, poultrymen, or stores regularly
engaged in the business of selling the same.
599a. When complaint is made, on oath, to any magistrate authorized
to issue warrants in criminal cases, that the complainant believes
that any provision of law relating to, or in any way affecting, dumb
animals or birds, is being, or is about to be violated in any
particular building or place, the magistrate must issue and deliver
immediately a warrant directed to any sheriff, police or peace
officer or officer of any incorporated association qualified as
provided by law, authorizing him to enter and search that building or
place, and to arrest any person there present violating, or
attempting to violate, any law relating to, or in any way affecting,
dumb animals or birds, and to bring that person before some court or
magistrate of competent jurisdiction, within the city, city and
county, or judicial district within which the offense has been
committed or attempted, to be dealt with according to law, and the
attempt must be held to be a violation of Section 597.
599aa. (a) Any authorized officer making an arrest under Section
597.5 shall, and any authorized officer making an arrest under
Section 597b, 597c, 597j, or 599a may, lawfully take possession of
all birds or animals and all paraphernalia, implements, or other
property or things used or employed, or about to be employed, in the
violation of any of the provisions of this code relating to the
fighting of birds or animals that can be used in animal or bird
fighting, in training animals or birds to fight, or to inflict pain
or cruelty upon animals or birds with respect to animal or bird
fighting.
(b) Upon taking possession, the officer shall inventory the items
seized and question the persons present as to the identity of the
owner or owners of the items. The inventory list shall identify the
location where the items were seized, the names of the persons from
whom the property was seized, and the names of any known owners of
the property.
Any person claiming ownership or possession of any item shall be
provided with a signed copy of the inventory list, which shall
identify the seizing officer and his or her employing agency. If no
person claims ownership or possession of the items, a copy of the
inventory list shall be left at the location from which the items
were seized.
(c) The officer shall file with the magistrate before whom the
complaint against the arrested person is made, a copy of the
inventory list and an affidavit stating the affiant's basis for his
or her belief that the property and items taken were in violation of
this code. On receipt of the affidavit, the magistrate shall order
the items seized to be held until the final disposition of any
charges filed in the case subject to subdivision (e).
(d) All animals and birds seized shall, at the discretion of the
seizing officer, be taken promptly to an appropriate animal storage
facility. For purposes of this subdivision, an appropriate animal
storage facility is one in which the animals or birds may be stored
humanely. However, if an appropriate animal storage facility is not
available, the officer may cause the animals or birds used in
committing or possessed for the purpose of the alleged offenses to
remain at the location at which they were found. In determining
whether it is more humane to leave the animals or birds at the
location at which they were found than to take the animals or birds
to an animal storage facility, the officer shall, at a minimum,
consider the difficulty of transporting the animals or birds and the
adequacy of the available animal storage facility. When the officer
does not seize and transport all animals or birds to a storage
facility, he or she shall do both of the following:
(1) Seize a representative sample of animals or birds for
evidentiary purposes from the animals or birds found at the site of
the alleged offenses. The animals or birds seized as a representative
sample shall be transported to an appropriate animal storage
facility.
(2) Cause all animals or birds used in committing or possessed for
the purpose of the alleged offenses to be banded, tagged, or marked
by microchip, and photographed or video recorded for evidentiary
purposes.
(e) (1) If ownership of the seized animals or birds cannot be
determined after reasonable efforts, the officer or other person
named and designated in the order as custodian of the animals or
birds may, after holding the animals and birds for a period of not
less than 10 days, petition the magistrate for permission to humanely
destroy or otherwise dispose of the animals or birds. The petition
shall be published for three successive days in a newspaper of
general circulation. The magistrate shall hold a hearing on the
petition not less than 10 days after seizure of the animals or birds,
after which he or she may order the animals or birds to be humanely
destroyed or otherwise disposed of, or to be retained by the officer
or person with custody until the conviction or final discharge of the
arrested person. No animal or bird may be destroyed or otherwise
disposed of until four days after the order.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall apply only to those animals and birds
seized under any of the following circumstances:
(A) After having been used in violation of any of the provisions
of this code relating to the fighting of birds or animals.
(B) At the scene or site of a violation of any of the provisions
of this code relating to the fighting of birds or animals.
(f) Upon the conviction of the arrested person, all property
seized shall be adjudged by the court to be forfeited and shall then
be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the court may order. Upon
the conviction of the arrested person, the court may order the person
to make payment to the appropriate public entity for the costs
incurred in the housing, care, feeding, and treatment of the animals
or birds. Each person convicted in connection with a particular
animal or bird, excluding any person convicted as a spectator
pursuant to Section 597b or 597c, or subdivision (b) of Section
597.5, may be held jointly and severally liable for restitution
pursuant to this subdivision. This payment shall be in addition to
any other fine or other sentence ordered by the court. The court
shall specify in the order that the public entity shall not enforce
the order until the defendant satisfies all other outstanding fines,
penalties, assessments, restitution fines, and restitution orders.
The court may relieve any convicted person of the obligation to make
payment pursuant to this subdivision for good cause but shall state
the reasons for that decision in the record. In the event of the
acquittal or final discharge without conviction of the arrested
person, the court shall, on demand, direct the delivery of the
property held in custody to the owner. If the owner is unknown, the
court shall order the animals or birds to be humanely destroyed or
otherwise disposed of.
599b. In this title, the word "animal" includes every dumb
creature; the words "torment," "torture," and "cruelty" include every
act, omission, or neglect whereby unnecessary or unjustifiable
physical pain or suffering is caused or permitted; and the words
"owner" and "person" include corporations as well as individuals; and
the knowledge and acts of any agent of, or person employed by, a
corporation in regard to animals transported, owned, or employed by,
or in the custody of, the corporation, must be held to be the act and
knowledge of the corporation as well as the agent or employee.
599c. No part of this title shall be construed as interfering with
any of the laws of this state known as the "game laws," or any laws
for or against the destruction of certain birds, nor must this title
be construed as interfering with the right to destroy any venomous
reptile, or any animal known as dangerous to life, limb, or property,
or to interfere with the right to kill all animals used for food, or
with properly conducted scientific experiments or investigations
performed under the authority of the faculty of a regularly
incorporated medical college or university of this state.
599d. (a) It is the policy of the state that no adoptable animal
should be euthanized if it can be adopted into a suitable home.
Adoptable animals include only those animals eight weeks of age or
older that, at or subsequent to the time the animal is impounded or
otherwise taken into possession, have manifested no sign of a
behavioral or temperamental defect that could pose a health or safety
risk or otherwise make the animal unsuitable for placement as a pet,
and have manifested no sign of disease, injury, or congenital or
hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the animal
or that is likely to adversely affect the animal's health in the
future.
(b) It is the policy of the state that no treatable animal should
be euthanized. A treatable animal shall include any animal that is
not adoptable but that could become adoptable with reasonable
efforts. This subdivision, by itself, shall not be the basis of
liability for damages regarding euthanasia.
599e. Every animal which is unfit, by reason of its physical
condition, for the purpose for which such animals are usually
employed, and when there is no reasonable probability of such animal
ever becoming fit for the purpose for which it is usually employed,
shall be by the owner or lawful possessor of the same, deprived of
life within 12 hours after being notified by any peace officer,
officer of said society, or employee of a pound or animal regulation
department of a public agency who is a veterinarian, to kill the
same, and such owner, possessor, or person omitting or refusing to
comply with the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and after such conviction the court
or magistrate having jurisdiction of such offense shall order any
peace officer, officer of said society, or officer of a pound or
animal regulation department of a public agency, to immediately kill
such animal; provided, that this shall not apply to such owner
keeping any old or diseased animal belonging to him on his own
premises with proper care.
599f. (a) No slaughterhouse, stockyard, auction, market agency, or
dealer shall buy, sell, or receive a nonambulatory animal.
(b) No slaughterhouse shall process, butcher, or sell meat or
products of nonambulatory animals for human consumption.
(c) No slaughterhouse shall hold a nonambulatory animal without
taking immediate action to humanely euthanize the animal.
(d) No stockyard, auction, market agency, or dealer shall hold a
nonambulatory animal without taking immediate action to humanely
euthanize the animal or to provide immediate veterinary treatment.
(e) While in transit or on the premises of a stockyard, auction,
market agency, dealer, or slaughterhouse, a nonambulatory animal may
not be dragged at any time, or pushed with equipment at any time, but
shall be moved with a sling or on a stoneboat or other sled-like or
wheeled conveyance.
(f) No person shall sell, consign, or ship any nonambulatory
animal for the purpose of delivering a nonambulatory animal to a
slaughterhouse, stockyard, auction, market agency, or dealer.
(g) No person shall accept a nonambulatory animal for transport or
delivery to a slaughterhouse, stockyard, auction, market agency, or
dealer.
(h) A violation of this section is subject to imprisonment in a
county jail for a period not to exceed one year, or by a fine of not
more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
(i) As used in this section, "nonambulatory" means unable to stand
and walk without assistance.
(j) As used in this section, "animal" means live cattle, swine,
sheep, or goats.
(k) As used in this section, "humanely euthanize" means to kill by
a mechanical, chemical, or electrical method that rapidly and
effectively renders the animal insensitive to pain.
(a) Any person who willfully and maliciously and with no legal
justification strikes, beats, kicks, cuts, stabs, shoots with a
firearm, administers any poison or other harmful or stupefying
substance to, or throws, hurls, or projects at, or places any rock,
object, or other substance which is used in such a manner as to be
capable of producing injury and likely to produce injury, on or in
the path of, a horse being used by, or a dog under the supervision
of, a peace officer in the discharge or attempted discharge of his or
her duties, or a volunteer who is acting under the direct
supervision of a peace officer in the discharge or attempted
discharge of his or her assigned volunteer duties, is guilty of a
public offense. If the injury inflicted is a serious injury, as
described in subdivision (c), the person shall be punished by
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16
months, two or three years, or in a county jail for not exceeding one
year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or
by both a fine and imprisonment. If the injury inflicted is not a
serious injury, the person shall be punished by imprisonment in the
county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding
one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both a fine and imprisonment.
(b) Any person who willfully and maliciously and with no legal
justification interferes with or obstructs a horse or dog being used
by a peace officer in the discharge or attempted discharge of his or
her duties, or a volunteer who is acting under the direct supervision
of a peace officer in the discharge or attempted discharge of his or
her assigned volunteer duties, by frightening, teasing, agitating,
harassing, or hindering the horse or dog shall be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a
fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both a fine
and imprisonment.
(c) Any person who, in violation of this section, and with intent
to inflict that injury or death, personally causes the death,
destruction, or serious physical injury including bone fracture, loss
or impairment of function of any bodily member, wounds requiring
extensive suturing, or serious crippling, of a horse or dog, shall,
upon conviction of a felony under this section, in addition and
consecutive to the punishment prescribed for the felony, be punished
by an additional term of imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 1170 for one year.
(d) Any person who, in violation of this section, and with the
intent to inflict that injury, personally causes great bodily injury,
as defined in Section 12022.7, to any person not an accomplice,
shall, upon conviction of a felony under this section, in addition
and consecutive to the punishment prescribed for the felony, be
punished by an additional term of imprisonment in the state prison
for two years unless the conduct described in this subdivision is an
element of any other offense of which the person is convicted or
receives an enhancement under Section 12022.7.
(e) A defendant convicted of a violation of this section shall be
ordered to make restitution to the agency owning the animal and
employing the peace officer, to a volunteer who is acting under the
direct supervision of a peace officer who is using his or her horse
or supervising his or her dog in the performance of his or her
assigned duties, or to the agency that provides, or the individual
who provides, veterinary health care coverage or veterinary care for
a horse or dog being used by, or under the supervision of, a
volunteer who is acting under the direct supervision of a peace
officer for any veterinary bills, replacement costs of the animal if
it is disabled or killed, and, if applicable, the salary of the peace
officer for the period of time his or her services are lost to the
agency.
(a) It is a crime for any person to permit any dog which is
owned, harbored, or controlled by him or her to cause injury to or
the death of any guide, signal, or service dog, as defined by Section
54.1 of the Civil Code, while the guide, signal, or service dog is
in discharge of its duties.
(b) A violation of this section is an infraction punishable by a
fine not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) if the injury or
death to any guide, signal, or service dog is caused by the person's
failure to exercise ordinary care in the control of his or her dog.
(c) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor if the injury or
death to any guide, signal, or service dog is caused by the person's
reckless disregard in the exercise of control over his or her dog,
under circumstances that constitute such a departure from the conduct
of a reasonable person as to be incompatible with a proper regard
for the safety and life of any guide, signal, or service dog. A
violation of this subdivision shall be punishable by imprisonment in
a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine of not less than
two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) nor more than five
thousand dollars ($5,000), or both. The court shall consider the
costs ordered pursuant to subdivision (d) when determining the amount
of any fines.
(d) In any case in which a defendant is convicted of a violation
of this section, the defendant shall be ordered to make restitution
to the person with a disability who has custody or ownership of the
guide, signal, or service dog for any veterinary bills and
replacement costs of the dog if it is disabled or killed, or other
reasonable costs deemed appropriate by the court. The costs ordered
pursuant to this subdivision shall be paid prior to any fines. The
person with the disability may apply for compensation by the
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board pursuant
to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13950) of Part 4 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code, in an amount not to exceed ten
thousand dollars ($10,000).
(a) Any person who intentionally causes injury to or the
death of any guide, signal, or service dog, as defined by Section
54.1 of the Civil Code, while the dog is in discharge of its duties,
is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), or by both a fine and imprisonment. The court
shall consider the costs ordered pursuant to subdivision (b) when
determining the amount of any fines.
(b) In any case in which a defendant is convicted of a violation
of this section, the defendant shall be ordered to make restitution
to the person with a disability who has custody or ownership of the
dog for any veterinary bills and replacement costs of the dog if it
is disabled or killed, or other reasonable costs deemed appropriate
by the court. The costs ordered pursuant to this subdivision shall be
paid prior to any fines. The person with the disability may apply
for compensation by the California Victim Compensation and Government
Claims Board pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13950)
of Part 4 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, in an
amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(a) Any person is guilty of trespass who makes a credible
threat to cause serious bodily injury, as defined in subdivision (a)
of Section 417.6, to another person with the intent to place that
other person in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety
of his or her immediate family, as defined in subdivision (l) of
Section 646.9, and who does any of the following:
(1) Within 30 days of the threat, unlawfully enters into the
residence or real property contiguous to the residence of the person
threatened without lawful purpose, and with the intent to execute the
threat against the target of the threat.
(2) Within 30 days of the threat, knowing that the place is the
threatened person's workplace, unlawfully enters into the workplace
of the person threatened and carries out an act or acts to locate the
threatened person within the workplace premises without lawful
purpose, and with the intent to execute the threat against the target
of the threat.
(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply if the residence, real
property, or workplace described in paragraph (1) or (2) that is
entered is the residence, real property, or workplace of the person
making the threat.
(c) This section shall not apply to any person who is engaged in
labor union activities which are permitted to be carried out on the
property by the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, Part 3.5
(commencing with Section 1140) of Division 2 of the Labor Code, or
by the National Labor Relations Act.
(d) A violation of this section shall be punishable by
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine
not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
Except as provided in subdivisions (u), (v), and (x), and
Section 602.8, every person who willfully commits a trespass by any
of the following acts is guilty of a misdemeanor:
(a) Cutting down, destroying, or injuring any kind of wood or
timber standing or growing upon the lands of another.
(b) Carrying away any kind of wood or timber lying on those lands.
(c) Maliciously injuring or severing from the freehold of another
anything attached to it, or its produce.
(d) Digging, taking, or carrying away from any lot situated within
the limits of any incorporated city, without the license of the
owner or legal occupant, any earth, soil, or stone.
(e) Digging, taking, or carrying away from land in any city or
town laid down on the map or plan of the city, or otherwise
recognized or established as a street, alley, avenue, or park,
without the license of the proper authorities, any earth, soil, or
stone.
(f) Maliciously tearing down, damaging, mutilating, or destroying
any sign, signboard, or notice placed upon, or affixed to, any
property belonging to the state, or to any city, county, city and
county, town, or village, or upon any property of any person, by the
state or by an automobile association, which sign, signboard, or
notice is intended to indicate or designate a road or a highway, or
is intended to direct travelers from one point to another, or relates
to fires, fire control, or any other matter involving the protection
of the property, or putting up, affixing, fastening, printing, or
painting upon any property belonging to the state, or to any city,
county, town, or village, or dedicated to the public, or upon any
property of any person, without license from the owner, any notice,
advertisement, or designation of, or any name for any commodity,
whether for sale or otherwise, or any picture, sign, or device
intended to call attention to it.
(g) Entering upon any lands owned by any other person whereon
oysters or other shellfish are planted or growing; or injuring,
gathering, or carrying away any oysters or other shellfish planted,
growing, or on any of those lands, whether covered by water or not,
without the license of the owner or legal occupant; or damaging,
destroying, or removing, or causing to be removed, damaged, or
destroyed, any stakes, marks, fences, or signs intended to designate
the boundaries and limits of any of those lands.
(h) (1) Entering upon lands or buildings owned by any other person
without the license of the owner or legal occupant, where signs
forbidding trespass are displayed, and whereon cattle, goats, pigs,
sheep, fowl, or any other animal is being raised, bred, fed, or held
for the purpose of food for human consumption; or injuring,
gathering, or carrying away any animal being housed on any of those
lands, without the license of the owner or legal occupant; or
damaging, destroying, or removing, or causing to be removed, damaged,
or destroyed, any stakes, marks, fences, or signs intended to
designate the boundaries and limits of any of those lands.
(2) In order for there to be a violation of this subdivision, the
trespass signs under paragraph (1) shall be displayed at intervals
not less than three per mile along all exterior boundaries and at all
roads and trails entering the land.
(3) This subdivision shall not be construed to preclude
prosecution or punishment under any other law, including, but not
limited to, grand theft or any provision that provides for a greater
penalty or longer term of imprisonment.
(i) Willfully opening, tearing down, or otherwise destroying any
fence on the enclosed land of another, or opening any gate, bar, or
fence of another and willfully leaving it open without the written
permission of the owner, or maliciously tearing down, mutilating, or
destroying any sign, signboard, or other notice forbidding shooting
on private property.
(j) Building fires upon any lands owned by another where signs
forbidding trespass are displayed at intervals not greater than one
mile along the exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails
entering the lands, without first having obtained written permission
from the owner of the lands or the owner's agent, or the person in
lawful possession.
(k) Entering any lands, whether unenclosed or enclosed by fence,
for the purpose of injuring any property or property rights or with
the intention of interfering with, obstructing, or injuring any
lawful business or occupation carried on by the owner of the land,
the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession.
(l) Entering any lands under cultivation or enclosed by fence,
belonging to, or occupied by, another, or entering upon uncultivated
or unenclosed lands where signs forbidding trespass are displayed at
intervals not less than three to the mile along all exterior
boundaries and at all roads and trails entering the lands without the
written permission of the owner of the land, the owner's agent, or
the person in lawful possession, and any of the following:
(1) Refusing or failing to leave the lands immediately upon being
requested by the owner of the land, the owner's agent, or by the
person in lawful possession to leave the lands.
(2) Tearing down, mutilating, or destroying any sign, signboard,
or notice forbidding trespass or hunting on the lands.
(3) Removing, injuring, unlocking, or tampering with any lock on
any gate on or leading into the lands.
(4) Discharging any firearm.
(m) Entering and occupying real property or structures of any kind
without the consent of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person
in lawful possession.
(n) Driving any vehicle, as defined in Section 670 of the Vehicle
Code, upon real property belonging to, or lawfully occupied by,
another and known not to be open to the general public, without the
consent of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful
possession. This subdivision does not apply to any person described
in Section 22350 of the Business and Professions Code who is making a
lawful service of process, provided that upon exiting the vehicle,
the person proceeds immediately to attempt the service of process,
and leaves immediately upon completing the service of process or upon
the request of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful
possession.
(o) Refusing or failing to leave land, real property, or
structures belonging to or lawfully occupied by another and not open
to the general public, upon being requested to leave by (1) a peace
officer at the request of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person
in lawful possession, and upon being informed by the peace officer
that he or she is acting at the request of the owner, the owner's
agent, or the person in lawful possession, or (2) the owner, the
owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession. The owner, the
owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession shall make a
separate request to the peace officer on each occasion when the peace
officer's assistance in dealing with a trespass is requested.
However, a single request for a peace officer's assistance may be
made to cover a limited period of time not to exceed 30 days and
identified by specific dates, during which there is a fire hazard or
the owner, owner's agent, or person in lawful possession is absent
from the premises or property. In addition, a single request for a
peace officer's assistance may be made for a period not to exceed 12
months when the premises or property is closed to the public and
posted as being closed. The requestor shall inform the law
enforcement agency to which the request was made when the assistance
is no longer desired, before the period not exceeding 12 months
expires. The request for assistance shall expire upon transfer of
ownership of the property or upon a change in the person in lawful
possession. However, this subdivision does not apply to persons
engaged in lawful labor union activities which are permitted to be
carried out on the property by the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman
Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 (Part 3.5 (commencing with
Section 1140) of Division 2 of the Labor Code) or by the federal
National Labor Relations Act. For purposes of this section, land,
real property, or structures owned or operated by any housing
authority for tenants, as defined in Section 34213.5 of the Health
and Safety Code, constitutes property not open to the general public;
however, this subdivision shall not apply to persons on the premises
who are engaging in activities protected by the California or United
States Constitution, or to persons who are on the premises at the
request of a resident or management and who are not loitering or
otherwise suspected of violating or actually violating any law or
ordinance.
(p) Entering upon any lands declared closed to entry as provided
in Section 4256 of the Public Resources Code, if the closed areas
have been posted with notices declaring the closure, at intervals not
greater than one mile along the exterior boundaries or along roads
and trails passing through the lands.
(q) Refusing or failing to leave a public building of a public
agency during those hours of the day or night when the building is
regularly closed to the public upon being requested to do so by a
regularly employed guard, watchperson, or custodian of the public
agency owning or maintaining the building or property, if the
surrounding circumstances would indicate to a reasonable person that
the person has no apparent lawful business to pursue.
(r) Knowingly skiing in an area or on a ski trail that is closed
to the public and that has signs posted indicating the closure.
(s) Refusing or failing to leave a hotel or motel, where he or she
has obtained accommodations and has refused to pay for those
accommodations, upon request of the proprietor or manager, and the
occupancy is exempt, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1940 of
the Civil Code, from Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1940) of
Title 5 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code. For purposes of
this subdivision, occupancy at a hotel or motel for a continuous
period of 30 days or less shall, in the absence of a written
agreement to the contrary, or other written evidence of a periodic
tenancy of indefinite duration, be exempt from Chapter 2 (commencing
with Section 1940) of Title 5 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil
Code.
(t) (1) Entering upon private property, including contiguous land,
real property, or structures thereon belonging to the same owner,
whether or not generally open to the public, after having been
informed by a peace officer at the request of the owner, the owner's
agent, or the person in lawful possession, and upon being informed by
the peace officer that he or she is acting at the request of the
owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession, that
the property is not open to the particular person; or refusing or
failing to leave the property upon being asked to leave the property
in the manner provided in this subdivision.
(2) This subdivision applies only to a person who has been
convicted of a crime committed upon the particular private property.
(3) A single notification or request to the person as set forth
above shall be valid and enforceable under this subdivision unless
and until rescinded by the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in
lawful possession of the property.
(4) Where the person has been convicted of a violent felony, as
described in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5, this subdivision
applies without time limitation. Where the person has been convicted
of any other felony, this subdivision applies for no more than five
years from the date of conviction. Where the person has been
convicted of a misdemeanor, this subdivision applies for no more than
two years from the date of conviction. Where the person was
convicted for an infraction pursuant to Section 490.1, this
subdivision applies for no more than one year from the date of
conviction. This subdivision does not apply to convictions for any
other infraction.
(u) (1) Knowingly entering, by an unauthorized person, upon any
airport operations area, passenger vessel terminal, or public transit
facility if the area has been posted with notices restricting access
to authorized personnel only and the postings occur not greater than
every 150 feet along the exterior boundary, to the extent, in the
case of a passenger vessel terminal, as defined in subparagraph (B)
of paragraph (3), that the exterior boundary extends shoreside. To
the extent that the exterior boundary of a passenger vessel terminal
operations area extends waterside, this prohibition applies if
notices have been posted in a manner consistent with the requirements
for the shoreside exterior boundary, or in any other manner approved
by the captain of the port.
(2) A person convicted of a violation of paragraph (1) shall be
punished as follows:
(A) By a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100).
(B) By imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or
by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both
that fine and imprisonment, if the person refuses to leave the
airport or passenger vessel terminal after being requested to leave
by a peace officer or authorized personnel.
(C) By imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or
by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both
that fine and imprisonment, for a second or subsequent offense.
(3) As used in this subdivision, the following definitions shall
control:
(A) "Airport operations area" means that part of the airport used
by aircraft for landing, taking off, surface maneuvering, loading and
unloading, refueling, parking, or maintenance, where aircraft
support vehicles and facilities exist, and which is not for public
use or public vehicular traffic.
(B) "Passenger vessel terminal" means only that portion of a
harbor or port facility, as described in Section 105.105(a)(2) of
Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations, with a secured area that
regularly serves scheduled commuter or passenger operations. For the
purposes of this section, "passenger vessel terminal" does not
include any area designated a public access area pursuant to Section
105.106 of Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(C) "Public transit facility" has the same meaning as specified in
Section 171.7.
(D) "Authorized personnel" means any person who has a valid
airport identification card issued by the airport operator or has a
valid airline identification card recognized by the airport operator,
or any person not in possession of an airport or airline
identification card who is being escorted for legitimate purposes by
a person with an airport or airline identification card. "Authorized
personnel" also means any person who has a valid port identification
card issued by the harbor operator, or who has a valid company
identification card issued by a commercial maritime enterprise
recognized by the harbor operator, or any other person who is being
escorted for legitimate purposes by a person with a valid port or
qualifying company identification card. "Authorized personnel" also
means any person who has a valid public transit employee
identification.
(E) "Airport" means any facility whose function is to support
commercial aviation.
(v) (1) Except as permitted by federal law, intentionally avoiding
submission to the screening and inspection of one's person and
accessible property in accordance with the procedures being applied
to control access when entering or reentering a sterile area of an
airport, passenger vessel terminal, as defined in subdivision (u), or
public transit facility, as defined in Section 171.7, if the sterile
area is posted with a statement providing reasonable notice that
prosecution may result from a trespass described in this subdivision,
is a violation of this subdivision, punishable by a fine of not more
than five hundred dollars ($500) for the first offense. A second and
subsequent violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in
a county jail for a period of not more than one year, or by a fine
not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a first violation of this
subdivision is responsible for the evacuation of an airport terminal,
passenger vessel terminal, or public transit facility and is
responsible in any part for delays or cancellations of scheduled
flights or departures, it is punishable by imprisonment of not more
than one year in a county jail.
(w) Refusing or failing to leave a battered women's shelter at any
time after being requested to leave by a managing authority of the
shelter.
(1) A person who is convicted of violating this subdivision shall
be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one
year.
(2) The court may order a defendant who is convicted of violating
this subdivision to make restitution to a battered woman in an amount
equal to the relocation expenses of the battered woman and her
children if those expenses are incurred as a result of trespass by
the defendant at a battered women's shelter.
(x) (1) Knowingly entering or remaining in a neonatal unit,
maternity ward, or birthing center located in a hospital or clinic
without lawful business to pursue therein, if the area has been
posted so as to give reasonable notice restricting access to those
with lawful business to pursue therein and the surrounding
circumstances would indicate to a reasonable person that he or she
has no lawful business to pursue therein. Reasonable notice is that
which would give actual notice to a reasonable person, and is posted,
at a minimum, at each entrance into the area.
(2) A person convicted of a violation of paragraph (1) shall be
punished as follows:
(A) As an infraction, by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars
($100).
(B) By imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by
a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that
fine and imprisonment, if the person refuses to leave the posted area
after being requested to leave by a peace officer or other
authorized person.
(C) By imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by
a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both that
fine and imprisonment, for a second or subsequent offense.
(D) If probation is granted or the execution or imposition of
sentencing is suspended for any person convicted under this
subdivision, it shall be a condition of probation that the person
participate in counseling, as designated by the court, unless the
court finds good cause not to impose this requirement. The court
shall require the person to pay for this counseling, if ordered,
unless good cause not to pay is shown.
(y) Except as permitted by federal law, intentionally avoiding
submission to the screening and inspection of one's person and
accessible property in accordance with the procedures being applied
to control access when entering or reentering a courthouse or a city,
county, city and county, or state building if entrances to the
courthouse or the city, county, city and county, or state building
have been posted with a statement providing reasonable notice that
prosecution may result from a trespass described in this subdivision.
(a) Any person who intentionally interferes with any lawful
business or occupation carried on by the owner or agent of a business
establishment open to the public, by obstructing or intimidating
those attempting to carry on business, or their customers, and who
refuses to leave the premises of the business establishment after
being requested to leave by the owner or the owner's agent, or by a
peace officer acting at the request of the owner or owner's agent, is
guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail
for up to 90 days, or by a fine of up to four hundred dollars
($400), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(b) Any person who intentionally interferes with any lawful
business carried on by the employees of a public agency open to the
public, by obstructing or intimidating those attempting to carry on
business, or those persons there to transact business with the public
agency, and who refuses to leave the premises of the public agency
after being requested to leave by the office manager or a supervisor
of the public agency, or by a peace officer acting at the request of
the office manager or a supervisor of the public agency, is guilty of
a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to
90 days, or by a fine of up to four hundred dollars ($400), or by
both that imprisonment and fine.
(c) This section shall not apply to any of the following persons:
(1) Any person engaged in lawful labor union activities that are
permitted to be carried out on the property by state or federal law.
(2) Any person on the premises who is engaging in activities
protected by the California Constitution or the United States
Constitution.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to supersede the
application of any other law.
Any ordinance or resolution adopted by a county which
requires written permission to enter vacant or unimproved private
land from either the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in
lawful possession of private land, shall not apply unless the land is
immediately adjacent and contiguous to residential property, or
enclosed by fence, or under cultivation, or posted with signs
forbidding trespass, displayed at intervals of not less than three to
a mile, along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails
entering the private land.
(a) A lodger who is subject to Section 1946.5 of the Civil
Code and who remains on the premises of an owner-occupied dwelling
unit after receipt of a notice terminating the hiring, and expiration
of the notice period, provided in Section 1946.5 of the Civil Code
is guilty of an infraction and may, pursuant to Section 837, be
arrested for the offense by the owner, or in the event the owner is
represented by a court-appointed conservator, executor, or
administrator, by the owner's representative. Notwithstanding Section
853.5, the requirement of that section for release upon a written
promise to appear shall not preclude an assisting peace officer from
removing the person from the owner-occupied dwelling unit.
(b) The removal of a lodger from a dwelling unit by the owner
pursuant to subdivision (a) is not a forcible entry under the
provisions of Section 1159 of the Code of Civil Procedure and shall
not be a basis for civil liability under that section.
(c) Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1980) of Title 5 of Part 4
of Division 3 of the Civil Code applies to any personal property of
the lodger which remains on the premises following the lodger's
removal from the premises pursuant to this section.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the owner'
s right to have a lodger removed under other provisions of law.
(e) Except as provided in subdivision (b), nothing in this section
shall be construed to limit or affect in any way any cause of action
an owner or lodger may have for damages for any breach of the
contract of the parties respecting the lodging.
(f) This section applies only to owner-occupied dwellings where a
single lodger resides. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
determine or affect in any way the rights of persons residing as
lodgers in an owner-occupied dwelling where more than one lodger
resides.
(a) A person who enters or remains on airport property owned
by a city, county, or city and county, but located in another
county, and sells, peddles, or offers for sale any goods,
merchandise, property, or services of any kind whatsoever, including
transportation services to, on, or from the airport property, to
members of the public without the express written consent of the
governing board of the airport property, or its duly authorized
representative, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Nothing in this section affects the power of a county, city,
or city and county to regulate the sale, peddling, or offering for
sale of goods, merchandise, property, or services.
(c) For purposes of this section, when a charter-party carrier
licensed by the Public Utilities Commission operates at an airport on
a prearranged basis, as defined in Section 5360.5 of the Public
Utilities Code, that operation shall not constitute the sale,
peddling, or offering of goods, merchandise, property, or services.
(a) Every person other than a public officer or employee
acting within the course and scope of his or her employment in
performance of a duty imposed by law, who enters or remains in any
noncommercial dwelling house, apartment, or other residential place
without consent of the owner, his or her agent, or the person in
lawful possession thereof, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Every person other than a public officer or an employee acting
within the course and scope of his employment in performance of a
duty imposed by law, who, without the consent of the owner, his or
her agent, or the person in lawful possession thereof, enters or
remains in any noncommercial dwelling house, apartment, or other
residential place while a resident, or another person authorized to
be in the dwelling, is present at any time during the course of the
incident is guilty of aggravated trespass punishable by imprisonment
in a county jail for not more than one year or by a fine of not more
than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
(c) If the court grants probation, it may order a person convicted
of a misdemeanor under subdivision (b) to up to three years of
supervised probation. It shall be a condition of probation that the
person participate in counseling, as designated by the court.
(d) If a person is convicted of a misdemeanor under subdivision
(b), the sentencing court shall also consider issuing an order
restraining the defendant from any contact with the victim, that may
be valid for up to three years, as determined by the court. In
determining the length of the restraining order, the court shall
consider, among other factors, the seriousness of the facts before
the court, the probability of future violations, and the safety of
the victim and his or her immediate family.
(e) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under
Section 459 or any other provision of law.
Every person who enters or remains in, or upon, any state,
county, district, or citrus fruit fair buildings or grounds, when the
buildings or grounds are not open to the general public, after
having been ordered or directed by a peace officer or a fair manager
to leave the building or grounds and when the order or direction to
leave is issued after determination that the person has no apparent
lawful business or other legitimate reason for remaining on the
property, and fails to identify himself or herself and account for
his or her presence, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Every person who enters or remains on any property,
facility, or vehicle owned by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid
Transit District or the Southern California Rapid Transit District,
and sells or peddles any goods, merchandise, property, or services of
any kind whatsoever on the property, facilities, or vehicles,
without the express written consent of the governing board of the San
Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District or the governing board of
the Southern California Rapid Transit District, or its duly
authorized representatives, is guilty of an infraction.
Nothing in this section affects the power of a county, city,
transit district, or city and county to regulate the sale or peddling
of goods, merchandise, property, or services.
(a) Any person who without the written permission of the
landowner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession of
the land, willfully enters any lands under cultivation or enclosed by
fence, belonging to, or occupied by, another, or who willfully
enters upon uncultivated or unenclosed lands where signs forbidding
trespass are displayed at intervals not less than three to the mile
along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering
the lands, is guilty of a public offense.
(b) Any person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) shall
be punished as follows:
(1) A first offense is an infraction punishable by a fine of
seventy-five dollars ($75).
(2) A second offense on the same land or any contiguous land of
the same landowner, without the permission of the landowner, the
landowner's agent, or the person in lawful possession of the land, is
an infraction punishable by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars
($250).
(3) A third or subsequent offense on the same land or any
contiguous land of the same landowner, without the permission of the
landowner, the landowner's agent, or the person in lawful possession
of the land, is a misdemeanor.
(c) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) Any person engaged in lawful labor union activities which are
permitted to be carried out on property by the California
Agricultural Labor Relations Act, Part 3.5 (commencing with Section
1140) of Division 2 of the Labor Code, or by the National Labor
Relations Act.
(2) Any person on the premises who is engaging in activities
protected by the California or United States Constitution.
(3) Any person described in Section 22350 of the Business and
Professions Code who is making a lawful service of process.
(4) Any person licensed pursuant to Chapter 15 (commencing with
Section 8700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code who
is engaged in the lawful practice of land surveying as authorized by
Section 846.5 of the Civil Code.
(d) For any infraction charged pursuant to this section, the
defendant shall have the option to forfeit bail in lieu of making a
court appearance. Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 853.6,
if the offender elects to forfeit bail pursuant to this subdivision,
no further proceedings shall be had in the case.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), any person who,
without the owner's or owner's agent's consent, claims ownership or
claims or takes possession of a residential dwelling for the purpose
of renting that dwelling to another is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), or by both that imprisonment and fine. Each violation is a
separate offense.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), any person who, without
the owner's or owner's agent's consent, causes another person to
enter or remain in any residential dwelling for the purpose of
renting that dwelling to another, is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), or by both that imprisonment and fine. Each violation is a
separate offense.
(c) This section does not apply to any tenant, subtenant, lessee,
sublessee, or assignee, nor to any other hirer having a lawful
occupancy interest in the residential dwelling.
(d) Nothing in this section shall preclude the prosecution of a
person under any other applicable provision of law.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that this section shall
not preclude the prosecution of a person on grand theft or fraud
charges. The Legislature finds that this section has never precluded
prosecution of a person on grand theft or fraud charges.
Every person who, by physical force and with the intent to
prevent attendance or instruction, willfully obstructs or attempts to
obstruct any student or teacher seeking to attend or instruct
classes at any of the campuses or facilities owned, controlled, or
administered by the Regents of the University of California, the
Trustees of the California State University, or the governing board
of a community college district shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), by imprisonment in a county
jail for a period of not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and
imprisonment.
As used in this section, "physical force" includes, but is not
limited to, use of one's person, individually or in concert with
others, to impede access to, or movement within, or otherwise to
obstruct the students and teachers of the classes to which the
premises are devoted.
(a) Any person, alone or in concert with others, who
intentionally prevents an individual from entering or exiting a
health care facility, place of worship, or school by physically
detaining the individual or physically obstructing the individual's
passage shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment
in the county jail, or a fine of not more than two hundred fifty
dollars ($250), or both, for the first offense; imprisonment in the
county jail for not less than five days and a fine of not more than
five hundred dollars ($500) for the second offense; and imprisonment
in the county jail for not less than 30 days and a fine of not more
than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for a third or subsequent offense.
However, the court may order the defendant to perform community
service, in lieu of any fine or any imprisonment imposed under this
section, if it determines that paying the fine would result in undue
hardship to the defendant or his or her dependents.
(b) As used in subdivision (a), the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Physically" does not include speech.
(2) "Health care facility" means a facility licensed pursuant to
Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1200) of Division 2 of the Health
and Safety Code, a health facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 1250) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety
Code, or any facility where medical care is regularly provided to
individuals by persons licensed under Division 2 (commencing with
Section 500) of the Business and Professions Code, the Osteopathic
Initiative Act, or the Chiropractic Initiative Act.
(3) "Person" does not include an officer, employee, or agent of
the health care facility, or a law enforcement officer, acting in the
course of his or her employment.
(c) This section shall not be interpreted to prohibit any lawful
activities permitted under the laws of the State of California or by
the National Labor Relations Act in connection with a labor dispute.
(a) Any person who enters the residential real property of
an academic researcher for the purpose of chilling, preventing the
exercise of, or interfering with the researcher's academic freedom is
guilty of trespass, a misdemeanor.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply:
(1) "Academic researcher" means any person lawfully engaged in
academic research who is a student, trainee, employee, or affiliated
physician of an accredited California community college, a campus of
the California State University or the University of California, or a
Western Association of Schools and Colleges accredited, degree
granting, nonprofit institution. Academic research does not include
routine, nonlaboratory coursework or assignments.
(2) "Academic freedom" means the lawful performance,
dissemination, or publication of academic research or instruction.
(c) This section shall not apply to any person who is lawfully
engaged in labor union activities that are protected under state or
federal law.
(d) This section shall not preclude prosecution under any other
provision of law.
(a) Every person who enters into an animal enclosure at a
zoo, circus, or traveling animal exhibit, if the zoo, circus, or
exhibit is licensed or permitted to display living animals to the
public, and if signs prohibiting entrance into the animal enclosures
have been posted either at the entrance to the zoo, circus, or
traveling animal exhibit, or on the animal enclosure itself, without
the consent of the governing authority of the zoo, circus, or
traveling animal exhibit, or a representative authorized by the
governing authority, is guilty of an infraction or a misdemeanor,
subject to Section 19.8. This subdivision shall not apply to an
employee of the zoo, circus, or traveling animal exhibit, or to a
public officer acting within the course and scope of his or her
employment.
(b) For purposes of this section, "zoo" means a permanent or
semipermanent collection of living animals kept in enclosures for the
purpose of displaying the animals to the public. The term "zoo"
includes a public aquarium displaying aquatic animals.
(c) For purposes of this section, an "animal enclosure" means the
interior of any cage, stall, container, pen, aquarium or tank, or
other discrete containment area that is used to house or display an
animal and that is not generally accessible to the public.
(d) Prosecution under this section does not preclude prosecution
under any other provision of law.
Every person other than a peace officer engaged in the
performance of his duties as such who forcibly and without the
consent of the owner, representative of the owner, lessee or
representative of the lessee thereof, enters a dwelling house, cabin,
or other building occupied or constructed for occupation by humans,
and who damages, injures or destroys any property of value in, around
or appertaining to such dwelling house, cabin or other building, is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
Every person who maliciously injures or destroys any standing
crops, grain, cultivated fruits or vegetables, the property of
another, in any case for which a punishment is not otherwise
prescribed by this Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Every person who either:
1. Maliciously removes any monument erected for the purpose of
designating any point in the boundary of any lot or tract of land, or
a place where a subaqueous telegraph cable lies; or,
2. Maliciously defaces or alters the marks upon any such monument;
or,
3. Maliciously cuts down or removes any tree upon which any such
marks have been made for such purpose, with intent to destroy such
marks;
--Is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Every person who willfully and maliciously cuts, breaks,
injures, or destroys, or who, without the authority of the owner or
managing agent, operates any gate or control of, any bridge, dam,
canal, flume, aqueduct, levee, embankment, reservoir, or other
structure erected to create hydraulic power, or to drain or reclaim
any swamp, overflow, tide, or marsh land, or to store or conduct
water for mining, manufacturing, reclamation, or agricultural
purposes, or for the supply of the inhabitants of any city or town,
or any embankment necessary to the same, or either of them, or
willfully or maliciously makes, or causes to be made, any aperture or
plows up the bottom or sides in the dam, canal, flume, aqueduct,
reservoir, embankment, levee, or structure, with intent to injure or
destroy the same; or draws up, cuts, or injures any piles fixed in
the ground for the purpose of securing any sea bank, sea wall, dock,
quay, jetty, or lock; or who, between the first day of October and
the fifteenth day of April of each year, plows up or loosens the soil
in the bed on the side of any natural water course, reclamation
ditch, or drainage ditch, with an intent to destroy the same without
removing the soil within 24 hours from the water course, reclamation
ditch, or drainage ditch, or who, between the fifteenth day of April
and the first day of October of each year, plows up or loosens the
soil in the bed or on the sides of the natural water course,
reclamation ditch, or drainage ditch, with an intent to destroy the
same and does not remove therefrom the soil so plowed up or loosened
before the first day of October next thereafter, is guilty of
vandalism under Section 594. Nothing in this section shall be
construed so as to in any manner prohibit any person from digging or
removing soil from any water course, reclamation ditch, or drainage
ditch for the purpose of mining.
Every person who unlawfully masks, alters, or removes any
light or signal, or willfully exhibits any light or signal, with
intent to bring any vessel into danger, is punishable by imprisonment
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
Every person who willfully injures, defaces, or removes any
signal, monument, building, or appurtenance thereto, placed, erected,
or used by persons engaged in the United States Coast Survey, is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
Every person who intentionally defaces, obliterates, tears
down, or destroys any copy or transcript, or extract from or of any
law of the United States or of this State, or any proclamation,
advertisement, or notification set up at any place in this State, by
authority of any law of the United States or of this State, or by
order of any Court, before the expiration of the time for which the
same was to remain set up, is punishable by fine not less than twenty
nor more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the County
Jail not more than one month.
Every person who maliciously mutilates, tears, defaces,
obliterates, or destroys any written instrument, the property of
another, the false making of which would be forgery, is punishable by
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
Every person who willfully opens or reads, or causes to be
read, any sealed letter not addressed to himself, without being
authorized so to do, either by the writer of such letter or by the
person to whom it is addressed, and every person who, without the
like authority, publishes any of the contents of such letter, knowing
the same to have been unlawfully opened, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Every person who willfully alters the purport, effect, or
meaning of a telegraphic or telephonic message to the injury of
another, is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 1170, or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by fine
not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine
and imprisonment.
Every person who maliciously destroys, cuts, breaks,
mutilates, effaces, or otherwise injures, tears down, or removes any
law enforcement memorial or firefighter's memorial is guilty of a
crime punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 1170 or by imprisonment in a county jail for less than one
year.
Every person, not the owner thereof, who willfully injures,
disfigures, or destroys any monument, work of art, or useful or
ornamental improvement within the limits of any village, town, or
city, or any shade tree or ornamental plant growing therein, whether
situated upon private ground or on any street, sidewalk, or public
park or place, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
622½. Every person, not the owner thereof, who wilfully injures,
disfigures, defaces, or destroys any object or thing of archeological
or historical interest or value, whether situated on private lands
or within any public park or place, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 599c, any person
who, without the prior written permission of the owner of a cave,
intentionally and knowingly does any of the following acts is guilty
of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars
($1,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment:
(1) Breaks, breaks off, cracks, carves upon, paints, writes or
otherwise marks upon or in any manner destroys, mutilates, injures,
defaces, mars, or harms any natural material found in any cave.
(2) Disturbs or alters any archaeological evidence of prior
occupation in any cave.
(3) Kills, harms, or removes any animal or plant life found in any
cave.
(4) Burns any material which produces any smoke or gas which is
harmful to any plant or animal found in any cave.
(5) Removes any material found in any cave.
(6) Breaks, forces, tampers with, removes or otherwise disturbs
any lock, gate, door, or any other structure or obstruction designed
to prevent entrance to any cave, whether or not entrance is gained.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Cave" means any natural geologically formed void or cavity
beneath the surface of the earth, not including any mine, tunnel,
aqueduct, or other manmade excavation, which is large enough to
permit a person to enter.
(2) "Owner" means the person or private or public agency which has
the right of possession to the cave.
(3) "Natural material" means any stalactite, stalagmite,
helictite, anthodite, gypsum flower or needle, flowstone, drapery,
column, tufa dam, clay or mud formation or concretion, crystalline
mineral formation, and any wall, ceiling, or mineral protuberance
therefrom, whether attached or broken, found in any cave.
(4) "Material" means all or any part of any archaeological,
paleontological, biological, or historical item including, but not
limited to, any petroglyph, pictograph, basketry, human remains,
tool, beads, pottery, projectile point, remains of historical mining
activity or any other occupation found in any cave.
(c) The entering or remaining in a cave by itself shall not
constitute a violation of this section.
Every person who wilfully breaks, digs up, obstructs, or
injures any pipe or main for conducting water, or any works erected
for supplying buildings with water, or any appurtenances or
appendages connected thereto, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Every person who, with intent to defraud or injure, opens or
causes to be opened, or draws water from any stopcock or faucet by
which the flow of water is controlled, after having been notified
that the same has been closed or shut for specific cause, by order of
competent authority, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
625b. (a) Every person who willfully injures or tampers with any
aircraft or the contents or parts thereof, or removes any part of or
from an aircraft without the consent of the owner, and every person
who, with intent to commit any malicious mischief, injury or other
crime, climbs into or upon an aircraft or attempts to manipulate any
of the controls, starting mechanism, brakes or other mechanism or
device of an aircraft while it is at rest and unattended or who sets
in motion any aircraft while it is at rest and unattended, is guilty
of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by
imprisonment for not more than six months or by a fine of not more
than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
(b) Every person who willfully and maliciously damages, injures,
or destroys any aircraft, or the contents or any part thereof, in
such a manner as to render the aircraft unsafe for those flight
operations for which it is designed and equipped is punishable by
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine
not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both such fine
and imprisonment.
625c. Any person who, with the intent to cause great bodily injury
to another person, willfully removes, tampers with, injures or
destroys any passenger transit vehicle or the contents or parts
thereof, or who willfully removes, tampers with or destroys, or
places an obstruction upon any part of the transit system, including
its right-of-way, structures, fixtures, tracks, switches or controls,
or who willfully sets a vehicle in motion while it is at rest and
unattended is guilty of a felony.