Tuolumne County, CA Animal Ordinances: Animal Hoarding (2026)

Tuolumne County does not use the term 'animal hoarding' in its Animal Control Ordinance (Ch. 6.04, Ord. 3311, 2017), but several provisions reach the underlying conduct. First, the 'Care of animals' section requires every owner to keep stables, yards, pens, coops, and similar places clean and sanitary and to provide proper and adequate food, water, shelter, and qualified medical care 'at a level which ensures the animal's safety, good health, and well-being.' Second, keeping animals at or above the kennel thresholds—five or more dogs, seven or more cats, or seven or more combined (with five or more dogs)—for more than five weeks a year requires a kennel license and proper zoning, so amassing many animals without that license is itself a violation. Third, the code's definition of 'animal nuisance' expressly includes conditions that 'cause offense or danger to public health, safety, or welfare by virtue of the number or types of animals maintained,' along with accumulated fecal waste, unsanitary surroundings, and odor—classic hoarding indicators. The ordinance also prohibits abandoning animals and leaving animals in unattended vehicles in harmful conditions. Animal Control may seize and impound animals, and serious neglect is prosecutable under California Penal Code section 597 (cruelty to animals). Together these tools let Tuolumne County Animal Control intervene in hoarding situations even though the code does not name them as such.