Redding, CA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Local BSL
- None: preempted by state law
- Preemption Statute
- CA Food & Ag Code Section 31683
- Allowed Local Rule
- Behavior-based dangerous-dog hearings
- Mandatory Spay/Neuter by Breed
- Allowed but not adopted in Redding
- Dangerous Dog Statute
- Food & Ag Code 31601-31683
- Enforcement
- Haven Humane Animal Regulation
Summary
Redding does not have a breed-specific dog ordinance and cannot enact one. California Food and Agricultural Code Section 31683 expressly preempts local breed bans: cities and counties may not adopt dog-control ordinances that are specific to any breed. Redding may regulate dangerous behavior on an individual-dog basis under the state dangerous and vicious dog statutes at Food & Ag Code Sections 31601-31683, but no breed (including pit bulls, Rottweilers, and German shepherds) may be singled out for prohibition or numerical restriction.
31683. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a city or county from adopting or enforcing its own program for the control of potentially dangerous or vicious dogs that may incorporate all, part, or none of this chapter, or that may punish a violation of this chapter as a misdemeanor or may impose a more restrictive program to control potentially dangerous or vicious dogs. Except as provided in Section 122331 of the Health and Safety Code, no program regulating any dog shall be specific as to breed.
Full Breakdown
). The statute permits cities and counties to maintain a program of identification, registration, and mandatory spay-or-neuter for breeds it determines are potentially dangerous or vicious, but bars any local program that is specific to any breed, that is, California allows mandatory spay/neuter by breed but not breed bans, ownership prohibitions, or breed-based numerical limits. Redding has not adopted any breed-specific spay/neuter program, so no breed-based restriction applies inside city limits. &article=): a dog is potentially dangerous if it has, on two occasions within a 36-month period, engaged in unprovoked aggressive behavior off the owner's property, or has bitten a human causing less-than-severe injury, or has killed or seriously injured another domestic animal off the owner's property; a dog is vicious if it inflicted severe injury or killed a person, or if a potentially dangerous dog continues that behavior despite an enclosure order.
Hearings on those determinations are conducted before an animal control official (Haven Humane) and may be appealed to the Shasta County Superior Court. Insurance underwriting by breed remains a separate matter of state insurance law and is not regulated by Section 31683.
Violations & Fines
Because breed-specific local ordinances are state-preempted, no Redding citation can be issued solely based on a dog's breed. Behavior-based potentially dangerous or vicious dog determinations under Food & Ag Code Sections 31621-31626 carry orders for enclosure, posting, microchipping, and (for vicious dogs) potential destruction. Owners of vicious dogs may be prohibited from owning, possessing, or controlling any dog for up to three years under Section 31645. Local citations issued contrary to Section 31683 are reversible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are pit bulls legal in Redding, CA?
Can Redding declare my dog dangerous because of its breed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Redding
How Redding compares: Cities with No Dog Breed Restrictions·California rules heatmap·Compare Redding to another location·View the California animal ordinances overview
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