San Bernardino County residents may not keep injured wildlife without a California Department of Fish and Wildlife rehabilitator permit. SBC Animal Care refers calls to permitted facilities such as those serving the desert and mountain corridors.
California Code of Regulations Title 14 section 679 requires individual or facility rehabilitator permits for any holding of native wildlife. SBC Animal Care does not directly rehab wildlife but coordinates pickup and transport to permitted partners. Residents who find injured raptors, deer, bobcats, or fawns must call CDFW or a licensed rehabber rather than provide home care. Unauthorized possession is a misdemeanor and risks disease spread, especially rabies in skunks and bats common to the San Bernardino Mountains.
Misdemeanor wildlife possession charges, animal seizure, and CDFW administrative penalties. Compounding rabies-vector handling may add public-health misdemeanors and quarantine costs.
See how San Bernardino County's wildlife rescue permits rules stack up against other locations.
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