California · Fish and Game Code - FGC

FGC §3961: (a) Whenever an employee of the department is not present to carry out the provisions of Section 3960 with respect to any dog inflicting injury or immediately threatening to inflict injury to any deer

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

This statute permits property owners to seize or kill dogs that injure or threaten to injure deer, elk, or antelope on their land during closed season, and provides immunity from legal action for doing so lawfully.

Read the full statutory text

(a) Whenever an employee of the department is not present to carry out the provisions of Section 3960 with respect to any dog inflicting injury or immediately threatening to inflict injury to any deer, elk, or prong-horned antelope during the closed season for these mammals, any property owner, lessee, person holding a permit for the purpose of grazing livestock, or their employee, may seize or dispatch the dog if it is found on their land or premises without the permission of the person who is in immediate possession of the land. If the dog has on it any readily visible identification tag or license tag as prescribed by Section 30951 of the Food and Agricultural Code, and the dog is found in the act of immediately threatening to injure deer, elk, or prong-horned antelope, the dog may only be dispatched under this section if the dog has, and the owner has been notified that the dog has, previously threatened any of these species. (b) No action, civil or criminal, shall be maintained for a dog lawfully seized or dispatched pursuant to this section. (c) The owner of a dog shall be notified within 72 hours of the seizure or dispatching of that dog under this section if it had the identification tag or license tag which is required pursuant to Section 30951 of the Food and Agricultural Code.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.