Title FGC — California Fish & Game Code

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), this article applies to a commission regulation that governs the take or possession of any bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, or reptile. (b) This article does not apply to a regulation governed by subdivision (b) of Section 200 or Section 2…

(a) When adopting, amending, or repealing a regulation governed by this article, the commission shall conduct the following steps at separate public meetings: (1) Approve the submission of a notice of proposed action to the Office of Administrative Law. (2) Consider public commen…

(a) The commission and the department may do anything that is deemed necessary and proper to publicize and distribute a regulation governed by this article so that persons likely to be affected will be informed of them. The failure of the commission to provide any notice of a reg…

A regulation governed by this article is not subject to the time periods for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation prescribed in Sections 11343.4, 11346.4, 11346.8, and 11347.1 of the Government Code.

The adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation governed by this article shall become effective at the time specified in the regulation, but not sooner than the date of the filing.

A regulation governed by this article shall remain in effect for the period specified in the regulation or until superseded by subsequent regulation of the commission or by statute.

Any person engaged in raising or importing, or who keeps in captivity, in this state domesticated game birds or domesticated game mammals which normally exist in the wild in this state shall procure a domesticated game breeder’s license if the birds or mammals are kept more than …

No person shall sell the carcass of any domesticated game bird or mammal without first obtaining a domesticated game breeder’s license from the department. The department may issue such a license upon terms and conditions as the commission may prescribe, and the commission may at…

There are classes of domesticated game breeder’s licenses, designated “class 1” and “class 2.” (a) A class 1 domesticated game breeder’s license authorizes the licensee to engage in all domesticated game breeding activities except that not more than 175 Chinese ringneck or Mongol…

The department shall issue a class 1 domesticated game breeder’s license upon the payment of a base fee of eight dollars ($8), as adjusted under Section 713, and a class 2 domesticated game breeder’s license upon the payment of a base fee of forty dollars ($40), as adjusted under…

Licenses issued under the provisions of this article are valid for a term of one year from January 1st, or, if issued after the beginning of such term, for the remainder thereof. A domesticated game breeder’s license shall be conspicuously displayed on the property where the bird…

Carriers for hire may carry within the State live domesticated game birds and mammals upon such terms and conditions as the commission may prescribe. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

No domesticated game bird or mammal shall be transported or sold dead unless each quarter and each loin of the carcass of each large mammal, the carcass of each bird, except as provided in Section 2401 for a domesticated game bird raised outside this State, and the carcass of eac…

The department shall collect three cents ($0.03) for each tag or seal. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

On or before January 31st of each year, every person to whom a domesticated game breeder’s license has been issued shall report the following to the department on a form provided by the department: (a) The total number of each species of game birds and mammals killed, sold, or sh…

(a) In lieu of the tag required by Section 3206, poultry processing plants licensed pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 18650) or Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 18940) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Food and Agricultural Code, which process domesticated game bird…

The keeper of a hotel, restaurant, boardinghouse, or club may sell portions of a quarter or loin of a large mammal, or the carcass of a game bird or mammal raised or imported under a domesticated game breeder’s license, to a patron for actual consumption on the premises only, and…

A retail meat dealer may, without a license, sell portions of a quarter or loin of a large mammal or the carcass of a game bird or mammal raised or imported under a domesticated game breeder’s license to a customer for actual consumption. Retail dealers shall submit their premise…

Domesticated game breeders or other persons holding domesticated game mammals in captivity shall confine the mammals in escape-proof cages or enclosures. In the event any of the mammals escape from the cages or enclosures, the owner shall immediately make every reasonable effort …

All domesticated game birds and mammals, excepting deer, sold under the provisions of this article, shall be killed otherwise than by shooting. This section does not apply to licensed pheasant clubs, licensed domesticated migratory game bird shooting areas, or to the training or …

The carcass of a game bird which shows that it has been killed by shooting shall constitute prima facie evidence that it was not a domesticated game bird. The fact that the bird has been tagged in accordance with Section 3206 of this code shall not alter this presumption. (Enacte…

Any license issued under this article may be revoked by the commission upon conviction of the licensee of a violation of any provision of this code, and no similar license may be issued to the licensee during the same license year.

Domesticated reindeer may be imported into this State and sold only in accordance with regulations which the commission may prescribe. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

(a) For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Commercial hunting club” means property with respect to which a fee is imposed or collected for either of the following: (A) Taking or attempting to take birds or mammals on the property. (B) …

(a) An application for a commercial hunting club license shall be submitted on a form furnished by the department. The application, which shall set forth all of the exemptions and conditions established in Section 3240.5, shall require the applicant to include all of the followin…

(a) The department may issue a commercial hunting club license to any person upon submission of a completed application and payment of the required fee, according to the number of properties used by the club, as follows: (1) The fee for one property shall be two hundred dollars (…

The commission may transfer a commercial hunting club license to other land owned or controlled by the licensee, in the same county as the originally licensed land, without an additional fee, if the commission finds the new land suitable for the purposes of the license and the tr…

Commercial hunting club licenses are valid for a term of one year from July 1st, or, if issued after the beginning of such term, for the remainder thereof. A license authorizes the person to whom it is issued to maintain a hunting club in accordance with the provisions of this co…

Any license issued under this article may be revoked by the commission at one of the commission’s regularly scheduled meetings, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, upon the licensee’s conviction of a violation of this code, and no new license may be issued to the licensee du…

In order to provide additional hunting by stocking domestically propagated game birds, and to permit the taking of game birds under conditions that will not conflict with the public interest, any person who owns or controls the hunting rights on a tract of land may apply to the d…

It is unlawful for any person to engage in the raising and releasing, or the releasing, of domesticated migratory game birds for shooting by persons who pay for that privilege, unless the person has a revocable nontransferable license issued by the department. The licenses may be…

The application for a license shall show the size and location of the area to be licensed. If an application is approved and a license is issued, the licensee shall post the boundaries of the licensed area with signs, at intervals of not more than 500 feet, which shall indicate t…

The commission may prescribe additional regulations deemed necessary for the releasing and shooting of domesticated migratory game birds and shall set the season and areas where such birds may be taken. If the licensee violates any of the provisions of this article or any regulat…

Where domesticated migratory game birds are reared or held for release by the licensee, the licensee shall provide proper and adequate care for the birds and shall raise and hold them only under sanitary conditions. Conditions for proper care and raising shall be prescribed by th…

All domesticated migratory game birds at time of release for shooting shall be at least 14 weeks of age, capable of strong and sustained flight, fully feathered, and otherwise in condition to survive in the wild. Birds that are altered in any manner which would, in the opinion of…

Shooting shall be confined to blinds, except for shooting necessary to recover a downed and injured bird, and not more than three shooters shall occupy or use each blind. Such blinds shall be constructed to prevent the shooting of domestic migratory game birds over water and to i…

All birds killed or injured by shooters shall be retrieved without delay, and all injured birds shall be humanely dispatched. The licensee shall not permit injured birds to remain on a pond or feeding area, nor shall he knowingly permit such birds to be used in any subsequent rel…

Licensees shall pay the department an inspection fee not to exceed five cents ($0.05) for each domesticated migratory game bird raised or used on a licensed area to insure proper adherence to these regulations.

No dead, domesticated migratory game bird shall be removed from the premises of a licensed area until there is securely attached to the carcass a seal, and such seal shall remain attached to the carcass until it is finally prepared for consumption. Each such seal shall be supplie…

It shall be unlawful for any person to shoot domesticated migratory game birds on a licensed area without having a valid hunting license as provided by Section 3031.

The licensee shall comply with all applicable federal laws or regulations relating to the releasing and shooting of domesticated migratory game birds.

It is the policy of the state actively to ensure the improvement of wildlife habitat on private land in order to encourage the propagation, utilization, and conservation of fish and wildlife resources on those lands now and for the future in cooperation with private landowners. T…

(a) The commission may authorize the department to issue revocable, nontransferable licenses for the operation of wildlife habitat enhancement and management areas on any private lands it determines are suitable for habitat enhancement, management, utilization, propagation, and c…

(a) A license for a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area may be issued to any landholder or combination of landholders upon approval by the commission of an application submitted by the landholder. As used in this article, “landholder” means any person who owns, lease…

The commission shall require the landowners of a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area to post all or part of its boundaries with public land. The commission may require the owners of a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area to post all or part of its boundar…

(a) The commission may adopt regulations necessary for the administration of this article. (b) After notice and a hearing, the commission may revoke the license for any violation of any provision of this code or any regulations adopted pursuant thereto or for any violation of the…

(a) Upon approval of the wildlife habitat enhancement and management plan, the department shall issue a license, which shall be valid for five calendar years, authorizing the taking of those species of fish, game birds, and game mammals designated in the wildlife habitat enhancem…

(a) The commission may require that any fish, bird, or mammal taken in a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area licensed pursuant to this article be marked for identification with a distinctive tag or seal issued by the department prior to being removed from the area. (…

Any landholder who has paid the fee required by this article, has a valid license issued pursuant to this article, and who is conducting activities pursuant to an approved wildlife habitat enhancement and management plan that could be licensed or permitted pursuant to another pro…

It is the policy of the state to actively encourage the biologically sound management of fish and other wildlife resources on lands administered by the United States Department of Defense. The department may develop a program to implement this article in cooperation with the mili…