Antioch, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- AMC § 6-1.505
- Novelty/prize sales
- Banned citywide
- Pet stores
- Exempt if humane display facility
- Private family-pet gifts
- Exempt
- Hatchery chick/duckling sales
- Exempt for brooder facilities
Summary
Antioch does not ban pet stores from selling dogs and cats. AMC § 6-1.505 bans selling, bartering or giving away any dog, cat or other animal as a "pet or novelty" and bans using live animals as contest prizes, but pet stores and shelters with humane display facilities are expressly exempted.
(A) No sale as pet or novelty; no prize. No person shall sell, offer for sale, barter, give away, or publicly display a dog, cat or other animal (including but not limited to baby chicks, ducklings, or other fowl) as pets or novelties. (See Cal. Penal Code § 597.3.) No person shall give away a live animal as a prize for or as an inducement to enter: a contest, game, or competition; a place of amusement; or business agreement to attract trade. (See Cal. Penal Code § 599.)
(B) Exception. This section shall not be construed to prohibit:
(1) The sale or display of natural chicks or ducklings in proper brooder facilities by hatcheries or stores engaged in the business of selling them to be raised for domestic consumption or commercial purposes;
(2) The sale or display in humane display facilities of a dog, cat or other animal by a pet store engaged in the business of selling them, or animal shelter engaged in placing the animal as a pet; or
(3) The sale or gift of a pet or its offspring by the owner as a family pet, from the owner's private property.
Full Breakdown
505(A) makes it unlawful to sell, offer for sale, barter, give away, or publicly display a dog, cat, or other animal, including baby chicks or ducklings, as a pet or novelty, cross-referencing the state cruelty statute at Cal. 3. The same subsection separately bars giving away a live animal as a prize or inducement to enter a contest, game, competition, place of amusement, or business promotion, tying that ban to Cal. Penal Code § 599. 505(B) keep normal commerce legal: hatcheries or stores may sell natural chicks or ducklings from proper brooder facilities for domestic consumption or commercial raising; a pet store or animal shelter that is in the business of selling or placing dogs, cats, or other animals as pets may do so through humane display facilities; and an owner may sell or give away a pet or its offspring as a family pet from private property. 506.
Violations & Fines
Violating the sale, prize, or novelty-display ban is enforceable as a misdemeanor under the citywide general penalty, AMC § 1-2.01, unless the City Attorney reduces the charge to an infraction, with each incident chargeable separately; conduct crossing into cruelty can also draw prosecution directly under the cross-referenced Cal. Penal Code §§ 597.3 and 599.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a pet store in Antioch sell dogs and cats?
Can a business give away a puppy as a game prize?
Can I give my dog's puppies to a neighbor?
Are baby chicks at feed stores covered by this ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Antioch
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