Visalia, CA Animal Ordinances: Animal Hoarding (2026)

Tulare County addresses the conditions associated with animal hoarding through several Chapter 4-7 mechanisms rather than a single hoarding ordinance. First, the numeric cap in Section 4-07-4005 limits any lot to four adult dogs without a kennel permit, so keeping large numbers of dogs requires a permit. Kennel permits are tied to a Special Use Permit and to minimum kennel standards covering the care of animals, and they cap the total at no more than twenty-five adult dogs; the code lets the county revoke or suspend a kennel or breeder permit for failure to meet minimum care standards. Kennel operators must keep records identifying each animal and maintain rabies and vaccination documentation, and premises are subject to inspection. Repeat violations of kennel or care standards escalate from citations to permit revocation and a multi-year ban on holding a permit. Layered on top of these provisions are the county's humane-care expectations and California's broader animal-cruelty statutes (Penal Code Section 597 and related sections), which give Animal Services and law enforcement authority to intervene where animals are kept in unsafe or inhumane conditions and to seize and impound them. Together, the dog cap, the permit-and-inspection regime, and state cruelty law give the county the tools to act on overcrowding and neglect even though no provision is labeled "hoarding."