(2) A person who violates this section for the first time and by that violation either causes or permits any animal to suffer or be injured, or causes or permits any animal to be placed in a situation in which its life or health may be endangered, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(3) A person who violates this section for a second or subsequent time shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(c) A person who is guilty of a misdemeanor violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation. The court shall weigh the gravity of the violation in setting the fine.
(d) A notice describing the charge and the penalty for a violation of this section may be issued by any peace officer, animal control officer, as defined in Section 830.9, or humane officer qualified pursuant to Section 14502 or 14503 of the Corporations Code.
(e) This section shall not apply to the following:
(1) Events held by 4-H Clubs, Junior Farmers Clubs, or Future Farmers Clubs.
(2) The California Exposition and State Fair, district agricultural association fairs, or county fairs.
(3) Stockyards with respect to which the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture has posted notice that the stockyards are regulated by the federal Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 181 et seq.).
(4) The sale of cattle on consignment at any public cattle sales market, the sale of sheep on consignment at any public sheep sales market, the sale of swine on consignment at any public swine sales market, the sale of goats on consignment at any public goat sales market, and the sale of equines on consignment at any public equine sales market.
(5) Live animal markets regulated under Section 597.3.
(6) A public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group regulated under Division 14 (commencing with Section 30501) of the Food and Agricultural Code. For purposes of this section, “rescue group” is a not-for-profit entity whose primary purpose is the placement of dogs, cats, or other animals that have been removed from a public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, or humane society shelter, or that have been surrendered or relinquished to the entity by the previous owner.
(7) The sale of fish or shellfish, live or dead, from a fishing vessel or registered aquaculture facility, at a pier or wharf, or at a farmer’s market by any licensed commercial fisherman or an owner or employee of a registered aquaculture facility to the public for human consumption.
(8) A cat show, dog show, or bird show, provided that all of the following circumstances exist:
(A) The show is validly permitted by the city or county in which the show is held.
(B) The show’s sponsor or permittee ensures compliance with all federal, state, and local animal welfare and animal control laws.
(C) The participant has written documentation of the payment of a fee for the entry of his or her cat, dog, or bird in the show.
(D) The sale of a cat, dog, or bird occurs only on the premises and within the confines of the show.
(E) The show is a competitive event where the cats, dogs, or birds are exhibited and judged by an established standard or set of ideals established for each breed or species.
(9) A pet store as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 122350 of the Health and Safety Code.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to in any way limit or affect the application or enforcement of any other law that protects animals or the rights of consumers, including, but not limited to, the Lockyer-Polanco-Farr Pet Protection Act contained in Article 2 (commencing with Section 122125) of Chapter 5 of Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, or Sections 597 and 597l of this code.
(g) Nothing in this section limits or authorizes any act or omission that violates Section 597 or 597l, or any other local, state, or federal law. The procedures set forth in this section shall not apply to any civil violation of any other local, state, or federal law that protects animals or the rights of consumers, or to a violation of Section 597 or 597l, which is cited or prosecuted pursuant to one or both of those sections, or to a violation of any other local, state, or federal law that is cited or prosecuted pursuant to that law.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 162, Sec. 125. Effective January 1, 2013.)
597.5.
(a) Any person who does any of the following is guilty of a felony and is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16 months, or two or three years, or by a fine not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by both that 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 an offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(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 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.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 411. Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)
597.6.
(a) (1) No person may perform, or otherwise procure or arrange for the performance of, surgical claw removal, declawing, onychectomy, or tendonectomy on any cat that is a member of an exotic or native wild cat species, and shall not otherwise alter such a cat’s toes, claws, or paws to prevent the normal function of the cat’s toes, claws, or paws.
(2) This subdivision does not apply to a procedure performed solely for a therapeutic purpose.
(b) Any person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(c) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Declawing” and “onychectomy” mean any surgical procedure in which a portion of the animal’s paw is amputated in order to remove the animal’s claws.
(2) “Tendonectomy” means a procedure in which the tendons to an animal’s limbs, paws, or toes are cut or modified so that the claws cannot be extended.
(3) “Exotic or native wild cat species” include all members of the taxonomic family Felidae, except domestic cats (Felis catus or Felis