Elk Grove, CA Animal Ordinances: Animal Hoarding (2026)

Sacramento County does not advertise a stand-alone 'hoarding' ordinance, but two layers of law apply in unincorporated areas. First, the County's Title 8 framework caps mature dogs and cats at four each per premises and requires animals to be kept in healthy, sanitary, nuisance-free conditions; exceeding the limit without a kennel or cattery use permit, or keeping animals in unsanitary/overcrowded conditions, is enforceable by Code Enforcement and Animal Care and Regulation. Second, California Penal Code section 597 makes it a crime to maliciously harm an animal or to neglect one by failing to provide proper food, drink, shelter, or care; hoarding situations where overcrowding compromises animal health and safety can be charged under section 597. A 597 violation can be a misdemeanor (up to one year in county jail) or a felony (up to three years in state prison), and a conviction triggers a mandatory ban on owning or living with animals under Penal Code section 597.9 — five years for a misdemeanor and ten years for a felony. Suspected hoarding or neglect in unincorporated Sacramento County should be reported to Animal Care and Regulation, which investigates and can seize animals, with criminal cases referred for prosecution.