Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) General Prohibition on Possession of
Wildlife. Except as provided in subsection (b) below or as otherwise
authorized, it is unlawful for any person to possess any live game mammal or
bird, exotic game mammal, nongame mammal or bird, furbearer, reptile or
amphibian.
(b) Temporary
Confinement of Wildlife. Except for big game mammals listed in Section
350, or exotic game mammals listed
in Section
375, Title 14, CCR, injured,
diseased or orphaned animals may be temporarily confined by persons if they
notify the nearest regional office of the department within forty-eight (48)
hours of finding or confining such wildlife. Notification shall include name
and address; the species of wildlife and a description of its injury, disease
or condition; the date and location the wildlife was found; and the location
where the wildlife is confined. Confined animals must be disposed of pursuant
to department direction, which may include placement in a department-approved
wildlife rehabilitation facility. (Department offices: Northern Region
(Redding), North Central Region (Rancho Cordova), Bay Delta Region
(Yountville), Central Region (Fresno), South Coast Region (San Diego), Inland
Deserts Region (Ontario), and Marine Region (Monterey).)
(c) Prohibition on Possession of Big Game
Mammals, Exotic Game Mammals, or Fully Protected, Threatened or Endangered
Species Except Under Department Permit. No person or wildlife rehabilitation
facility may possess any big game mammal listed in Section
350, exotic game mammal listed in
Section 375, Title 14, CCR, or any fully
protected, endangered or threatened bird, mammal, fish, reptile or amphibian
without specific written authorization from the department.
(d) Prohibition on Picking up Disabled
Wildlife in a Department Designated Oil/Toxic Spill Area. No person may enter a
department designated oil/toxic spill area for the purpose of picking up
disabled wildlife or transport or possess wildlife disabled by an oil spill or
other spilled toxic substance unless that person has completed the training
required by subsections
817.02(i) and
(j), Title 14, CCR, and has authorization
from the department. Designated oil/spill areas shall be clearly posted by the
department.
(e) Wildlife
Rehabilitation Facilities.
(1) Wildlife
Rehabilitation Facility Defined. For the purposes of these regulations, a
wildlife rehabilitation facility is defined as a site where activities are
undertaken to restore to a condition of good health, for the purpose of release
to the wild, animals occurring naturally and not normally domesticated in this
state.
(2) Approval of Wildlife
Rehabilitation Facility.
(A) The department
may approve and issue a permit in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) to only those wildlife rehabilitation facilities which meet the wildlife
care standards set forth in the Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation,
2000, Third Edition manual published jointly by the International Wildlife
Rehabilitation Council and the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association; or
as provided in the MOU. The above wildlife care standards are hereby adopted
and made a part of this Title 14. All wildlife rehabilitation facilities,
regardless of when established, shall comply with the wildlife care
standards.
(B) A person seeking a
MOU with the department for operating a new wildlife rehabilitation facility
shall submit to the department two letters from permitted facilities in the
nearby vicinity (the permitted facilities will be identified by the
department), stating that they believe there is a need for a new facility.
Within 30 days of receiving the letters, the department will provide a written
determination stating whether such a facility is needed. If the department
determines that there is not a need for a new facility the applicant may
request a hearing before the commission to show cause why their permit request
should not be denied. If the department determines that a new wildlife
rehabilitation facility is needed, that person shall submit, along with this
written determination, an application packet to the department that contains
all of the following:
1. A complete
application form "Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit Application/Renewal form," FG
542 (Rev 03/07) which is hereby incorporated by reference;
2. Documentation of the applicant's
experience working (paid or unpaid) at a permitted wildlife rehabilitation
facility. The applicant must document four hundred hours within a two year
period of experience working with a permitted wildlife rehabilitation facility
in California, or experience that the department determines is equivalent, to
be eligible for a permit.
3. A
letter from a veterinarian who agrees to sponsor the applicant by overseeing
diagnoses, medication and surgical procedures by the proposed
facility.
4. Pictures or diagrams
of the proposed facility's caging or proposed caging sufficient to demonstrate
that the caging will be appropriate for the types of animals the facility is
planning to rehabilitate and will comply with the standards identified in
subsection (e)(2)(A).
5. A
statement of general intent that includes a list of the species and number of
animals that the applicant proposes to rehabilitate and hold at the proposed
facility; and plans describing the proposed facility's record-keeping system,
animal intake process, euthanasia protocol, plan for carcass disposal, protocol
for handling public phone calls, volunteer training protocol, animal diets, and
disinfectant and disease control protocols. Plans provided as part of this
statement must be consistent with the requirements of subsection (f) and the
standards identified in subsection (e)(2)(A).
6. Payment of a non-refundable application
processing fee of $41.00 and an inspection fee of $114.54 to be determined by
the department pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section
2150.2
and adjusted annually pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section
713.
(C) The department shall determine whether
the application is complete and request any additional information it believes
is necessary to evaluate the proposal. The department may enter into a MOU with
the California Council for Wildlife Rehabilitators (CCWR) for the purpose of
obtaining CCWR's assistance with processing and evaluating applications. Such
assistance may include but is not limited to helping review and evaluate
applications, inspecting proposed facilities, and preparing recommendations to
the department. Any MOU between the department and CCWR may also provide for
payment by the department from revenue generated by the application and
inspection fees collected under subsection (e)(2) to reimburse CCWR's expenses
in providing assistance to the department. Within sixty days of receiving the
application, the department shall make a determination that the applicant and
the proposed facilities meet the requirements in subsection (e)(2). If the
department determines that the application is incomplete or that the applicant
or the proposed facilities do not meet the requirements in subsection (e)(2),
the department shall deny the permit and will return the inspection
fee.
(D) If the department
determines that the application is complete and that the applicant and the
proposed facilities meet the requirements in subsection (e)(2), the proposed
facility shall be inspected by the department, CCWR or another designee.
Failure to cooperate with inspectors provided by the department, CCWR or
another designee may result in application denial.
(E) After inspection of the proposed
facility, the department shall approve a MOU to permit a new wildlife
rehabilitation facility only if the applicant and facility meets all applicable
standards specified above. The department may deny a permit if the applicant
has failed to allow an inspection of the proposed facility by the department or
its designee or it is found that the facility does not meet the minimum
standards. An applicant has one year to build the proposed facility from the
time the MOU is signed by both parties. If the applicant has not built the
proposed facility within one year of when the MOU was signed the permit will be
revoked. Any person denied a permit under these regulations may request a
hearing before the commission to show cause why their permit request should not
be denied. MOU will be valid for three years. At the end of three years if a
permittee wishes to renew a wildlife rehabilitation permit, a permit renewal
form FG 542 (Rev 03/07) will be submitted along with a processing fee of $41.00
pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section
2150.2
and adjusted annually pursuant to Fish and Game Code 713.
(f) Provisions Related
to the Operation of a Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility.
(1) Responsibility for Costs Incurred. The
operator of a wildlife rehabilitation facility shall be responsible for any and
all costs incurred in connection with the treatment, confinement or
transportation of wildlife.
(2)
Liability. The operator of a wildlife rehabilitation facility shall indemnify,
defend and save harmless the State, its officers, agents, and employees from
any and all claims and losses occurring or resulting to any person or property
in connection with the treatment, confinement or transportation of
wildlife.
(3) Restrictions Related
to Holding Wildlife. Wildlife temporarily held for rehabilitation must be
maintained separate from domestic animals and shall not be displayed to the
public. Such wildlife shall have minimal direct human contact. Every effort
shall be made to prevent imprinting.
(4) Department Approval Requirement for
Release of Wildlife Back into the Wild. Rehabilitated wildlife may be released
back into the wild only as directed by the department. The department may
provide bands and tags for rehabilitated wildlife when deemed necessary by the
department. If any animal cannot be released, it shall be transferred to a
zoological garden, museum, college, university or other educational/research
institution or wildlife exhibitor. If it cannot be released or transferred, it
shall be humanely euthanized. These regulations do not authorize any person,
facility or organization to accept, possess or relocate nuisance wildlife. Any
healthy wildlife trapped in towns or cities or removed from under buildings or
otherwise taken or trapped in accordance with Section
4152 or
4180,
Fish and Game Code shall be immediately released in the area where trapped or
disposed of as directed or authorized by the department. Any such wildlife that
has been determined by a veterinarian to be so seriously ill that it cannot be
treated shall be euthanized and tested as directed by the appropriate county
public health agency or the department.
(5) Notification Requirement for Dead or
Diseased Animals. The operator of a wildlife rehabilitation facility shall
notify the nearest department region office within twenty-four (24) hours if
any animal dies of a disease specified in the facility's permit or is suspected
to have died from one of those diseases and shall make the dead animal
available for delivery to the department or other facility as directed by the
department.
(6) Written Record
Requirement. The operator of a wildlife rehabilitation facility shall maintain
a written record for each animal being cared for. This record shall include the
name and address of the person finding the animal, the location where the
animal was found (when available), a description of its condition and
treatment, the dates it was received and transferred from the facility and the
location of its final disposition.
(7) Availability of Records. The operator of
a wildlife rehabilitation facility shall make all records, wildlife being
rehabilitated and any materials used for the confinement, treatment, or care of
wildlife, available for inspection by department employees or employees of the
Department of Food and Agriculture or Department of Health Services or any
other person authorized to enforce these regulations.
(8) All wildlife rehabilitation facility
personnel, professional and volunteer, shall satisfactorily complete one
department-approved wildlife rehabilitation training session each year.
Training may include sessions of wildlife identification, wildlife capture and
restraint, wildlife laws and regulations, veterinary medical and other subjects
approved by the department. The training shall be a minimum of two
hours.
(g) Compliance
With Other Restrictions. These regulations, or any permit issued pursuant
thereto, do not authorize possession of any wild animal in violation of any
other Federal, state, city, or county law, ordinance or regulation, including
but not limited to any California Department of Health Services Rabies Control
regulations.
Note: Authority cited: Sections
200,
1050,
2000,
2127,
2150.2,
3005.5,
3800
and
4150,
Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections
200,
713,
1008,
2000,
2001,
2150.4,
2192,
3005.5,
3511,
3800,
3950,
3965,
4150,
4190,
4700
and
4800,
Fish and Game Code; and Section 8670.61.5, Government Code.
Note: Authority cited: Sections
200,
1050,
2000,
2127,
2150.2,
3005.5,
3800
and
4150,
Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections
200,
713,
1008,
2000,
2001,
2150.4,
2192,
3005.5,
3511,
3800,
4150,
4190
and
4800,
Fish and Game Code; and Section
8670.61.5,
Government Code.
