Animal Ordinances in Stockton, CA (2026)
12 verified animal ordinances for Stockton, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Stockton bans hogs, pigs, roosters and cockerels outright, anywhere in the City, under § 6.04.440. Hens and other fowl or livestock are not flatly banned but are folded into zoning: § 6.04.420 makes keeping them unlawful "except where permitted within a particular zone or district" of the Development Code.
Stockton Backyard Chicken and Livestock Rules
Significant RestrictionsStockton Municipal Code §§ 6.04.420, 6.04.440
§ 6.04.420. Keeping and maintaining animals or domestic fowl. It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to keep any domestic or wild animal (excluding dogs, cats and other household pets), reptile, apiary, or fowl, within the City except where permitted within a particular zone or district as provided in the Development Code of the City. § 6.04.440. Keeping or maintaining hogs, shoats...
Dog Leash Laws
Letting a dog off-leash on a public street, alley or public place is unlawful in Stockton. Municipal Code § 6.04.120 requires the dog be "securely confined by a rope, chain, or other leash, securely and continuously held by a competent person," with narrow exceptions for service, signal and police dogs.
Stockton Dog Leash and At-Large Law
Some RestrictionsStockton Municipal Code § 6.04.120
Except in the case of a Seeing Eye dog actually being used by a blind person, a signal dog actually being used by a hearing impaired person, or a service dog actually being used by a handicapped person, or a police dog being used by any Federal, State, County, City, or City and County law enforcement agency for any law enforcement purpose, it is unlawful for any person owning or having in charg...
Breed Restrictions
California Food & Agricultural Code § 31683 preempts cities from banning or restricting dogs based on breed. Stockton has no breed ban and no breed-specific mandatory spay/neuter ordinance: all dogs are regulated the same way under SMC Chapter 6.04, with individual dogs declared potentially dangerous or vicious based on behavior, not breed.
Breed Restrictions in Stockton (State Preemption)
Some RestrictionsCal. Food & Agric. Code § 31683
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 ...
Beekeeping
Residential lots in Stockton can keep only two beehives, unless the parcel is zoned RE and used as a market garden. Development Code Section 16.80.350(E) also sets 20-foot setbacks from dwellings, sidewalks, and streets, plus flyway barrier rules.
Stockton Urban Beekeeping Limits
Some RestrictionsStockton Development Code § 16.80.350(E)
E. Urban Beekeeping. It is unlawful to permanently keep, have or ranch more than two beehives on a single parcel of residentially zoned property within the City, unless such parcel of property is zoned "RE" and utilized as a market garden/urban farm. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorize anyone to keep, harbor or maintain any such hives in violation of any other applicable law. 1...
Exotic Pets
Keeping any wild animal within Stockton city limits is flatly unlawful under § 6.04.470. The code defines "wild animal" as anything not ordinarily and customarily domesticated, naming skunks, raccoons, opossums, squirrels and foxes as examples, and allows only two narrow institutional exceptions.
Stockton Wild Animal Ownership Ban
Heavy RestrictionsStockton Municipal Code § 6.04.470
It is unlawful for any person to keep or maintain or cause to be kept or maintained within the City a wild animal, as defined in Stockton Municipal Code Section 6.04.020, except as provided in Stockton Municipal Code Section 6.04.480.
Wildlife Feeding
Stockton Municipal Code Title 6 (Animals) and Title 8 (Health and Safety) as identified through Animal Services do not contain a stand-alone ordinance prohibiting feeding of wildlife such as coyotes, deer, raccoons or waterfowl. California Department of Fish and Wildlife's 'Keep Me Wild' program strongly discourages feeding, and feeding that creates a public-safety hazard or attracts protected wildlife can violate Fish and Game Code provisions and SMC Title 8 nuisance rules.
Wildlife feeding: no Stockton-specific ban; CDFW 'Keep Me Wild' guidance + Cal. F&G Code apply
Light RestrictionsCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife - Keep Me Wild Program
Vision: To proactively address human-wildlife conflicts and improve wildlife incident responses; to support safe human-wildlife interactions; and to increase understanding, awareness and appreciation of wildlife in California. Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) can occur when humans encounter or interact with wild animals in an unwanted or unsafe way. In California, habitat loss and a changing clima...
Pet Limits
An ordinary Stockton household is capped at three dogs and three cats over four months old under Municipal Code §§ 6.04.390 and 6.04.400. Community cats do not count toward the cat cap, and licensed kennels, shelters, breeders and approved fosters are exempt entirely.
Stockton Household Pet Limit: 3 Dogs, 3 Cats
Some RestrictionsStockton Municipal Code §§ 6.04.390, 6.04.400
§ 6.04.390. Number of dogs. It is unlawful for any person to keep on any one premises more than three dogs if said dogs are more than four months old. § 6.04.400. Number of cats. It is unlawful for any person to keep on any one premises more than three cats (excluding community cats) if such cats are more than four months old.
Cat Rules
Every cat four months or older in Stockton must carry a City license under Municipal Code § 6.04.090, renewed on the rabies-vaccination expiration date, with a reduced fee if the cat is sterilized. Sterilized community and feral cats are excused from that requirement entirely under § 6.04.140(E).
Stockton Cat Licensing and Feral Colony Rules
Some RestrictionsStockton Municipal Code § 6.04.090
Except as provided herein, the owner of each dog and the owner of each cat four months old or older shall obtain a dog/cat license from the City for the privilege of having and keeping such animal in the City. Each license so issued shall expire on the expiration date of the anti-rabies vaccination of the animal and the City shall issue a new license upon the owner's paying all required fees an...
Mandatory Spay/Neuter
Stockton does not sterilize every pet by default, but § 6.04.210 makes it unlawful for a female dog or cat to breed "without first obtaining a litter permit," and if a cited owner does not get that permit, § 6.04.220(B) forces them to spay or neuter the animal instead.
Stockton Breeding Permit and Spay/Neuter Rule
Significant RestrictionsStockton Municipal Code § 6.04.210
No person shall cause or allow any female dog or cat owned, harbored, or kept within the jurisdiction of the City to breed without first obtaining a litter permit. A litter permit is written authorization, issued annually by the Animal Services Supervisor or authorized designee, giving its lawful holder permission to breed a dog or cat. The litter permit shall be valid for one year from the dat...
Microchipping
Stockton conditions every dog and cat license on microchipping, not just a rabies shot. Municipal Code § 6.04.100 requires a veterinarian's certificate confirming an anti-rabies vaccination AND an inserted microchip before Animal Services will issue the license.
Stockton Pet Microchipping Requirement
Some RestrictionsStockton Municipal Code § 6.04.100
As a condition for the issuance of a dog or cat license, all applicants for such license shall procure and deliver a certificate issued by a duly-licensed veterinarian, certifying that each dog or cat to be licensed has been administered an anti-rabies vaccination and has had a microchip inserted prior to the issuance of said license for the current license period. Currently, licensed dogs or c...
Pet Store Rules
Stockton allows retail stores to sell dogs and cats, but § 6.04.210(B)(3) forces every commercial seller to post the breeder's litter-permit number for animals bred in the City, or the breeder's name and address for animals bred outside it, prominently where customers can see it.
Stockton Pet Store Dog and Cat Sale Disclosure Rule
Some RestrictionsStockton Municipal Code § 6.04.210(B)(3)
Any person or commercial establishments selling locally bred dogs or cats (with the exception of government agencies; nonprofit animal rescue organizations exempt from taxation under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3); or humane societies or societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals if such societies are incorporated under the provisions of California Corporations Code Section 104...
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Stockton keeps veterinary hospitals away from homes: the front and side walls of an animal hospital building must sit at least 35 feet from a dwelling, though the rear wall can come within 15 feet. Chapter 6.12 also demands sanitary construction and requires hospitals to pay the City monthly to collect and dispose of dead animals.
Stockton Veterinary Hospital Setback Rules
Some RestrictionsStockton Municipal Code §§ 6.12.010, 6.12.020, 6.12.030
Any and all buildings used or designed to be used as a hospital for the care and treatment of animals suffering from or afflicted with sickness or disease, shall be so constructed as to be sanitary and shall be maintained so as not to be offensive or endanger the public health or comfort. ... The business of carrying on and conducting a veterinary hospital for the care and treatment of animals ...
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