Chico, CA Animal Ordinances: Animal Hoarding (2026)

Chico Municipal Code Title 7 (Animal Control) caps residential dog ownership at three dogs over three months of age per single street-address residence. Additional dogs require a kennel permit through Chico Animal Services and likely require commercial zoning under CMC Title 19. Cats are not capped by number under Title 7, but excessive numbers triggering a nuisance, odor, or sanitation issue can be abated under CMC Title 8 (Health & Safety). The substantive anti-hoarding law is state: Cal. Penal Code §597(b) makes it a crime to fail to provide an animal with proper food, drink, shelter, or protection from the weather, and §597t prohibits confining animals without adequate exercise space, food, and water. Animal hoarding situations — defined by HARC as keeping animals beyond one's capacity to provide care, failing to recognize their declining condition, and denial of the impact — are routinely prosecuted under §597(b) and may be charged as a felony with fines up to $20,000 and up to three years state prison. Pen. Code §599aa authorizes peace officers and animal control to seize animals from suspected cruelty/hoarding scenes. In Chico, enforcement is led by Chico Animal Services (2579 Fair St) with Butte County District Attorney prosecution. Title 7 violations carry administrative fines: $75 first offense, $150 second, $300 third (CMC §1.16).