Pleasanton, CA Animal Ordinances: Animal Hoarding (2026)

Pleasanton does not have a separate 'hoarding' ordinance, but the conduct is squarely covered by California law that the city enforces. Penal Code Section 597 makes it a crime to deprive an animal of necessary food, water, or shelter, to subject it to needless suffering, or to neglect it - the core harms that occur when too many animals are kept in conditions that compromise their health and safety. While a person may keep multiple animals, doing so in a way that causes overcrowding, filth, or suffering can be charged as cruelty under Section 597, which carries penalties up to a $20,000 fine and a year in county jail as a misdemeanor, or state-prison time as a felony. Section 597.9 separately bars people convicted of certain animal offenses from owning or residing with animals for five years (misdemeanor) or ten years (felony). At the city level, Pleasanton's animal regulations require that enclosures be kept clean and sanitary, and severe odor, filth, or unsafe conditions from too many animals can be abated under the city's nuisance authority. Cases typically involve Pleasanton Police Animal Services and the East County Animal Shelter, sometimes alongside county agencies, with seizure of animals when their welfare is at risk.