Perris, CA Animal Ordinances: Animal Hoarding (2026)

Perris does not use the word 'hoarding,' but several provisions combine to address it. First, the numerical limits cap accumulation: Section 8.02.040 allows no more than four dogs and four cats per parcel without a kennel or cattery permit, and Section 8.01.090 caps small animals and fowl at a collective total of five. Second, Chapter 8.03 (Abandoned, Neglected and Cruelly Treated Animals) incorporates California Penal Code Section 597.1 at Section 8.03.010 and, at Section 8.03.040, makes it unlawful to abandon, starve, neglect or treat any domesticated or wild animal in a cruel or inhumane manner; animals so treated may be impounded and disposed of humanely, with owners entitled to notice and a hearing. Section 8.03.060 (Sanitary conditions) requires premises to be kept sanitary with manure and refuse removed at least weekly and bars creating a nuisance. The enforcement machinery in Section 8.01.020 lets the senior animal control officer seize neglected, sick or cruelly treated animals — under exigent circumstances immediately, otherwise after a pre-seizure hearing — and the cost of caring for impounded animals becomes a lien on them. The grandfather clause in Section 8.01.080 lets pre-2019 owners keep nonconforming numbers only if continuously maintained, with replacement within 90 days. Together these rules give the city authority to intervene where excessive numbers of animals are kept in neglectful or unsanitary conditions.