Chapter 1 - General Provisions

California Food and Agricultural Code — §§ 30501-30505

Sections (6)

Amended by Stats. 1993, Ch. 60, Sec. 4. Effective June 30, 1993.

(a)The board of supervisors of any county or the governing body of any city may adopt Sections 30801, 30802, 30803, 30804, 30805, 30952, 31105, 31106, 31107, 31108, 31152, 31153, 31251, 31252, and 31254. If those sections are adopted by the board of supervisors of any county or the governing body of any city, those sections shall apply within the territorial limits of the county or the city, as the case may be. Nothing in this division requires a county to enforce those provisions within the territorial limits of any city located within the county.

(b)Whenever the term “board of supervisors,” “county,” “county clerk,” or “animal control officer” is used in this division, those terms shall also be deemed to include the governing body of a city, a city, the city clerk, or the animal control officer of a city, respectively.

§ 30502

Enacted by Stats. 1967, Ch. 15.

Any dog license tag which is issued by any city and county or city constitutes compliance with this division if it is issued pursuant to an ordinance which does all of the following:

(a)Substantially complies with this division.

(b)Provides for the wearing of the license tag upon the collar of the dog.

(c)Provides for the keeping of a record which shall establish the identity of the person that owns or harbors the dog.

§ 30503

Amended (as amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 747, Sec. 2) by Stats. 2004, Ch. 253, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2005.

(a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), no public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group shall sell or give away to a new owner any dog that has not been spayed or neutered.

(2)For the purposes of this section a “rescue group” is a for-profit or not-for-profit entity, or a collaboration of individuals with at least one of its purposes being the sale or placement of dogs that have been removed from a public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, or humane shelter or that have been previously owned by any person other than the original breeder of that dog.

(b)(1) If a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine in this state certifies that a dog is too sick or injured to be spayed or neutered, or that it would otherwise be detrimental to the health of the dog to be spayed or neutered, the adopter or purchaser shall pay the public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group a deposit of not less than forty dollars ($40), and not more than seventy-five dollars ($75).

(2)The entity shall establish the amount of the deposit at the level it determines is necessary to encourage the spaying or neutering of dogs.

(3)The deposit shall be temporary, and shall only be retained until the dog is healthy enough to be spayed or neutered, as certified by a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine in this state.

(4)The dog shall be spayed or neutered within 14 business days of that certification.

(5)The adopter or purchaser shall obtain written proof of spaying or neutering from the veterinarian performing the operation.

(6)If the adopter or purchaser presents proof of spaying or neutering to the entity from which the dog was obtained within 30 business days of obtaining the proof, the adopter or purchaser shall receive a full refund of the deposit.

(c)Public animal control agencies or shelters, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelters, humane society shelters, and rescue groups may enter into cooperative agreements with each other and with veterinarians in lieu of requiring spaying and neutering deposits to carry out this section.

(d)Any funds from unclaimed deposits made pursuant to this section, as it read on January 1, 1999, and any funds from deposits that are unclaimed after January 1, 2000, may be expended only for programs to spay or neuter dogs and cats, including agreements with a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals or a humane society or licensed veterinarian to operate a program to spay or neuter dogs and cats.

(e)This section only applies to a county that has a population exceeding 100,000 persons as of January 1, 2000, and to cities within that county.

§ 30503.5

Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 430, Sec. 1. (AB 588) Effective January 1, 2020.

(a)For purposes of this section:

(1)“Animal shelter” means a public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group.

(2)“Rescue group” means a for-profit or not-for-profit entity or a collaboration of individuals that removes dogs from a public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, or humane shelter, or rehomes a dog that has been previously owned by any person other than the original breeder of that dog.

(b)If an animal shelter or rescue group knows, to the best of the knowledge of the shelter or rescue group, that a dog, at the age of four months or older, bit a person and broke that person’s skin, thus requiring a state-mandated bite quarantine, the animal shelter or rescue group shall, before selling, giving away, or otherwise releasing the dog, do both of the following:

(1)Disclose in writing to the person to whom the dog is sold, given away, or transferred, the dog’s known bite history and the circumstances related to the bite.

(2)Obtain a signed acknowledgment from the person to whom the

dog is sold, given away, or transferred that the person has been provided information about the dog as required by this section. The animal shelter or rescue group shall provide the person with a copy of the signed acknowledgment and retain the original copy in its files.

(c)These documentation and disclosure requirements are for the purpose of public safety and the appropriate placement of dogs. A documented bite history does not necessarily preclude a dog from being available for adoption, release, or transfer, notwithstanding any other law or local ordinance related to biting dogs.

(d)Notwithstanding Sections 31401 and 31402, any violation of this section shall be punished by a civil

fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), imposed by the city or county in which the animal shelter or rescue group is located. If the person who violates this section is a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group, the proceeds of the civil fine shall be paid to the local public animal control agency or shelter. If a public animal control agency or shelter violates this section, the proceeds of the civil fine shall be deposited into the treasury of the city or county in

which the public animal control agency or shelter is located.

§ 30504

Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 253, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2005.

For purposes of this division, each member of a litter of puppies, weaned or unweaned, shall be treated as an individual animal.

§ 30505

Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 205, Sec. 2. (SB 245) Effective January 1, 2020.

(a)A public animal shelter shall not charge an adoption fee for a dog if the person adopting the dog presents to the public animal shelter a current and valid driver’s license or identification card with the word “VETERAN” printed on its face pursuant to Section 12811 of the Vehicle Code.

(b)A public animal shelter may

limit the number of dogs adopted from that public animal shelter pursuant to this section to one dog each six-month period.