Poisoning
any animal
596. Every person
who, without the consent of the owner, willfully 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.
Maiming,
torturing, wounding or killing
597. (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 an offense punishable by imprisonment
in the state prison, or by a fine of not more than twenty
thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment,
or, alternatively, 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 the fine and mprisonment.
(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 every such offense, guilty of a crime punishable
as a misdemeanor or as a felony or alternatively punishable
as a misdemeanor or a felony and by a fine of not more than
twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).
Failing
to provide proper care and attention
597.1. (a)
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.
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.
Dog
fighting
597.5.
(a) Any person who does any of the following is guilty of a felony
and is punishable by imprisonment in a state prison for 16 months,
or two or three years, or by a fine not to exceed fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000), or by both such 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 a misdemeanor.
(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 3286, 3509, 3510, 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.
In Sacramento, California,
a former veterinary technician who trained dogs to fight to the death
was sentenced July 23, 1999, to seven years in prison. Prosecutors
called it the nation's longest animal cruelty sentence. Cesar Cerda, 26,
who earned up to $5,000 a month from bettors who watched the animals fight
in a bloodstained pit, pleaded no contest to 63 counts of animal cruelty,
torture and other charges.
Carrying
in a vehicle in a cruel manner
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 take
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.
Animal
fighting and worrying
597b.
Any person who, for amusement or gain, causes any bull, bear,
cock,
or other animal, not including any dog, to fight with like kind
of animal or creature, or causes any such 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
such bull, bear, cock, dog or other animal, or causes any such
bull,
bear, cock, or other animal, not including any dog, to worry or
injure
each other; and any person who permits the same to be done on
any
premises under his charge or control; and any person who aids,
abets,
or is present at such fighting or worrying of such animal or
creature,
as a spectator, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Failing
to supply wholesome food and water
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.
Pet
shop cruelty
597l.
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 care and control.
(4) Take reasonable care to release for sale, trade,
or adoption only
those pet animals which are free of disease or injuries.
(5) Provide adequate space appropriate to the size, weight
and specie
of pet animals.
(b) As used in this section:
(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.
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this section
is guilty
of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not to exceed
one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail
for
not more than 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Abandonment
of dog or cat
Failure
to provide adequate exercise area
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.
Birds,
eggs and nests in cemetery
598.
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.
Dog
and cat pelts
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.
Pets
as food for humans
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.
Chicks,
rabbits, ducklings, or other fowl as a prize, colored, inadequate food
and water
599.
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.
Definitions
of terms
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, such corporation, must be held to be the act
and
knowledge of such corporation as well as such agent or employee.
Limitations
for game laws, dangerous animals, medical research
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.
Police
dogs and police horses
600.
(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, any horse being used by, or any dog under the supervision
of, any peace officer in the discharge or attempted discharge
of his or her duties, is guilty of a public offense. ...
(b) Any person who willfully and maliciously and with no
legal justification
interferes with or obstructs any horse or dog being used
by any peace officer in the discharge or attempted discharge of
his
or her 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 such 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 any 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 in the state prison for one
year.
Guide,
signal and service dogs
600.2.
(a) It is unlawful and constitutes an infraction 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) 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 disabled person 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.
600.5.
(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 the county
jail
not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding five thousand
dollars
($5,000), or by both a fine and imprisonment.
(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 disabled person who has custody or ownership of the dog for
any
veterinary bills and replacement costs of the dog if it is
disabled
or killed.
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