Title FGC — California Fish & Game Code

The commission may prohibit the taking or possessing of tuna in the same manner as taking or possessing tuna is prohibited by federal law or by rules or regulations adopted pursuant to the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950, as amended by Public Law 87-814 of the 87th Congress, notwith…

The commission at any time may close to the taking of any species or subspecies of bird or mammal any area newly stocked by the department with resident or migratory game birds or game or fur-bearing mammals, or any area where, in the judgment of the commission, added protection …

The commission may at any time close any stream, lake, or other inland waters, or portions thereof, to the taking of any species or subspecies of fish to protect and properly conserve the fish, except for the taking of fish otherwise permitted by this code under a commercial fish…

The commission may open any stream, lake, or other inland waters, or any part of any stream, lake, or other inland waters, to the taking of any species or subspecies of fish for the proper utilization of the fish, for an amount of time specified by the commission, or until new le…

The commission may prohibit the taking or possessing of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus) in the same manner as the taking or possessing of Pacific halibut is prohibited by federal law or by rules or regulations adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, notwithstandin…

The commission may prohibit the taking or possessing of salmon in the same manner as the taking or possessing of salmon is prohibited by federal law or by rules or regulations adopted by the United States Secretary of Commerce, notwithstanding any other provision of this code.

Any organization conducting a special hunt for servicemen or veterans residing in or assigned to a United States veterans or armed services medical facility may apply to the commission for, and the commission may issue, under such terms and conditions as it may impose, a permit t…

Whenever after due investigation the commission finds that game mammals, other than deer, and fur-bearing mammals and resident game birds have increased in numbers in any areas, districts, or portions thereof other than a refuge or preserve established by statute, to such an exte…

Before adopting a regulation pursuant to Section 325, the commission at an open meeting shall publicly announce the contents of the proposed regulation, and fix a time and place for a hearing on the proposed regulation in each county that would be affected by the regulation. The …

Notice of the hearing shall be published at least once, and at least 10 days prior to the hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation in each of the counties in which the hearing is to be held, or if no such newspaper is published in that county or counties then in such a news…

Such employees of the department as may be necessary or are requested by any interested group of persons, shall be present at the hearing. After the hearing the commission may abandon the proposal or make a final regulation, with any modifications it deems appropriate, or without…

The regulation may fix a license fee for special hunting and designate the number of special licenses to be issued, the area in which such hunting will be permitted, the number and sex of animals or birds that may be killed by each holder of a special license, and the conditions …

Cooperative hunting areas, as described in Section 1575, may be established in connection with any area opened to hunting under the provisions of this article.

(a) The commission may determine and fix the area or areas, the seasons and hours, the bag and possession limit, and the sex and total number of pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) that may be taken under regulations that the commission may adopt from time to time. Only a …

(a) The commission may determine and fix the area or areas, the seasons and hours, the bag and possession limit, and the number of elk that may be taken under rules and regulations that the commission may adopt from time to time. The commission may authorize the taking of tule el…

(a) The commission may annually adopt regulations pertaining to migratory birds to conform with or to further restrict the rules and regulations prescribed pursuant to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. (b) Regulations adopted under this section are not subject to Sections 11343.4, 1…

(a) Migratory game birds may be taken in conformity with federal laws and regulations and the regulations of the commission adopted pursuant to this article. (b) In the event no regulations are prescribed by the proper federal agency, the commission may determine and fix the area…

The president of the commission may be a member ex officio of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission created by the act of Congress known as the “Migratory Bird Conservation Act.” (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

The commission may negotiate the terms of a compact between the States of Arizona and California with any appropriate officials of the State of Arizona in relation to reciprocal privileges and licenses for hunting and fishing by residents of one of the states within the territori…

The commission, subject to the approval of the Attorney General, may enter into reciprocal agreements with corresponding state or county official agencies of adjoining states pertaining to the establishment of a basis whereby valid sport fishing licenses issued by the parties to …

The department may exchange or release to any appropriate federal, state, or local agency or agencies in other states, for purposes of law enforcement, any information collected or maintained by the department under any provision of this code or any regulation adopted pursuant to…

(a) The director, or a designated representative, may enter into reciprocal operational agreements with authorized representatives of any Oregon, Nevada, or Arizona state law enforcement agency, including, but not limited to, the Oregon State Police, the Nevada Department of Wild…

(a) A regularly employed law enforcement officer of an Oregon, Nevada, or Arizona state law enforcement agency, including, but not limited to, the Oregon State Police, the Nevada Department of Wildlife, or the Arizona Game and Fish Department, is a peace officer in this state, if…

(a) The commission may adopt regulations for the possession or training, and the capture, importation, exportation, or intrastate transfer, of any bird in the orders Falconiformes and Strigiformes (birds-of-prey) used in the practice of falconry and may authorize the issuance and…

(a) The falconry license shall be valid for a license year beginning on July 1 and ending on the last day of June of the next succeeding calendar year. If issued after July 1 of any year, a falconry license is valid for the remainder of that license year. (b) For the license year…

(a) On or before three years after the date the Legislature makes an appropriation for purposes of this section, and then again on or before eight years after the date the Legislature makes an appropriation for purposes of this section, the department shall prepare a report and s…

The base year for determining the inflationary index applied to the fee established by Section 396 shall be the 1984–85 fiscal year.

(a) A mammal occurring naturally in California that is not a game mammal, exotic game mammal, fully protected mammal, or fur-bearing mammal is a nongame mammal. A nongame mammal may not be taken or possessed except as provided in this code or in accordance with regulations adopte…

Any house cat (Felis domesticus) found within the limits of any fish and game refuge is a nongame mammal, unless it is in the residence of its owner or upon the grounds of the owner adjacent to such residence.

(a) Except as provided in Section 4005, nongame mammals and black-tailed jackrabbits, muskrats, subspecies of red fox that are not the native Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator), and red fox squirrels that are found to be injuring growing crops or other property may be …

(a) The department may enter into cooperative agreements with any agency of the state or the United States for the purpose of controlling harmful nongame mammals. (b) The department may take any mammal that, in its opinion, is unduly preying upon any bird, mammal, or fish. (c) Th…

(a) The department may enter into cooperative contracts with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of the Interior for the purpose of controlling or eradicating any nongame mammal, and may expend any money made available to the department for that purpose.…

(a) Beginning January 1, 2014, it shall be unlawful to trap a bobcat, or attempt to do so, or to sell or export a bobcat taken in the area surrounding Joshua Tree National Park, defined as follows: East and South of State Highway 62 from the intersection of Interstate 10 to the i…

(a) Except as provided in Section 4157 and notwithstanding any other law, it is unlawful for a person to hunt, trap, or otherwise take a bobcat. (b) The prohibitions of this section shall not apply to any of the following: (1) The take of a bobcat by a law enforcement officer or …

(a) Upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature for purposes of this section, commencing January 1, 2025, the commission may open a bobcat hunting season in any area determined by the commission to require a hunt. (b) Before opening a bobcat hunting season in any area, the com…

(a) Before opening a bobcat hunting season pursuant to Section 4157, the department, in consultation with other relevant state agencies, local governments, federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, landowners, and scientific entities, shall develop, upon appropriation by t…

(a) Except as provided for in Section 4005, fur-bearing mammals that are injuring property may be taken at any time and in any manner in accordance with this code or regulations made pursuant to this code. Raw furs, as defined in Section 4005, that are taken under this section, s…

(a) It is unlawful to do either of the following to an immature depredator mammal while it is in its den: (1) Use a snare, hook, or barbed wire to remove the mammal. (2) Use fire to kill the mammal. (b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of fire-ignited gas cartridges…

As used in this article, “wild pigs” has the meaning set forth in Section 4650.

(a) Except as provided in Section 4181.1, any owner or tenant of land or property that is being damaged or destroyed or is in danger of being damaged or destroyed by elk, bear, bobcat, beaver, wild pig, wild turkeys, or gray squirrels may apply to the department for a permit to k…

(a) Any bear that is encountered while in the act of inflicting injury to, molesting, or killing, livestock may be taken immediately by the owner of the livestock or the owner’s employee if the taking is reported no later than the next working day to the department and the carcas…

For the purposes of this article relating to damage caused by wild pigs, “damage” means loss or harm resulting from injury to person or property. The department shall develop statewide guidelines to aid in determining the damage caused by wild pigs. The guidelines shall consider …

(a) Any owner or tenant of land or property that is being damaged or destroyed or is in immediate danger of being damaged or destroyed by deer may apply to the department for a permit to kill those deer. The department, upon satisfactory evidence of actual or immediately threaten…

In any district or part of a district within San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, bears may be taken at any time with traps within a good and substantial fence, as such fence is described in Section 17121 of the Food and Agricultural Code, surrounding beehives, if no part of th…

Nothing in this code prohibits the owner or tenant of land, or any person authorized in writing by that owner or tenant, from taking cottontail or brush rabbits during any time of the year when damage to crops or forage is being experienced on that land. Any person other than the…

(a) If a landowner or tenant applies for a permit under Section 4181 to take wild pigs or wild turkeys, or under Section 4181.5 to take deer, the department shall notify the applicant about available options for allowing access by licensed hunters, including, but not limited to, …

The department shall tag, brand, or otherwise identify in a persistent and distinctive manner any large depredatory mammal relocated by, or relocated with the approval of, the department for game management purposes.

As used in this chapter: (a) “Dam” includes all artificial obstructions. (b) “Conduit” includes pipe, millrace, ditch, flume, siphon, tunnel, canal, and any other conduit or diversion used for the purpose of taking or receiving water from any river, creek, stream, or lake. (c) “O…

Except as otherwise provided in this code, it is unlawful to construct or maintain in any stream in Districts 1, 13/8, 11/2, 2, 21/4, 21/2, 3, 31/2, 4, 41/8, 41/2, 43/4, 11, 12, 13, 23, and 25, any device or contrivance that prevents, impedes, or tends to prevent or impede, the p…

In including the United States within the scope of this chapter the Legislature declares that it understands that the law and policy of the United States with respect to the development of water resources, the reclamation of land from flood and overflow, and in all other respects…