Norwalk, CA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

28 does not create a breed list: it defines a "wild or vicious animal" by conduct, not lineage, consistent with California's ban on breed-specific ordinances under Food and Agricultural Code § 31683. Any dog that shows a disposition or propensity to attack or bite a person or animal without provocation meets Norwalk's definition. Once the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority's (SEAACA) Executive Director makes that finding, the department sends the owner or harborer written notice ordering the dog kept inside a substantial enclosure, on a secure chain, or under some other control adequate for the circumstances.

If confinement is impossible or impracticable, the Executive Director impounds the animal on the spot. " The ordinance also sets an evidentiary shortcut. If official records show the dog has bitten a person or animal on at least two separate occasions, or that it was trained to fight, attack or kill and caused substantial physical injury in even one bite, that record alone is prima facie evidence the dog is wild or vicious, no further proof is required. 040. Norwalk's animal provisions are enforced by SEAACA rather than a City department, since Norwalk contracts with the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority for field animal control. 160) governs exotic species like lions and reptiles, not declared vicious dogs.