10 rules for unincorporated Siskiyou County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Siskiyou County has no county-wide cap on backyard chickens. In the unincorporated county, poultry and farm-animal keeping is governed by the zoning code (Title 10, Chapter 6) - including Article 48's Rural Residential Agricultural District and Article 30 on incidental keeping of agricultural animals - by zone and parcel size, and is supported by the county's Right to Farm ordinance.
In unincorporated Siskiyou County, an owner may not let a dog roam, run, or stray off the premises where it is kept unless the dog is under the control of a responsible person. Dogs working livestock or lawfully pursuing game are treated as under control. The rule is County Code Title 5, Chapter 3, Article 14.
Siskiyou County does not ban or restrict any dog breed. The county's dangerous-dog process (County Code Title 5, Chapter 3, Article 12, Potentially Dangerous and Vicious Dogs) judges individual dogs by behavior, not breed. California Food & Agricultural Code 31683 forbids any local dog program from being breed-specific, except spay/neuter programs.
Siskiyou County addresses bees in County Code Title 4, Chapter 6 (Bees and Apiaries) and runs an Apiary Program through the Agricultural Commissioner that emphasizes registration and site location of colonies. Statewide, California Food & Agricultural Code 29040 requires every apiary to be registered annually with the county Agricultural Commissioner.
Siskiyou County's animal code focuses on dogs, livestock, and rabies, and does not authorize exotic-animal keeping. California's statewide restricted-species law controls: Fish & Game Code 2118 and Title 14 CCR Section 671 bar private possession of many wild and exotic animals - including ferrets, most non-domestic cats, primates, and certain reptiles - without a state Restricted Species Permit.
Siskiyou County's animal code has no ordinance dedicated to feeding deer, bears, or other wildlife. California state law controls: Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 251.3, makes it unlawful to knowingly feed big game mammals - which by Section 350 include deer, elk, pronghorn, wild pig, and black bear, all found in this forested county.
Livestock keeping is a core rural use in unincorporated Siskiyou County, governed by zoning (Title 10, Chapter 6, including the Rural Residential Agricultural District) and protected by the Right to Farm ordinance. Siskiyou is a designated fencing (grazing) county under California Food & Agricultural Code, so owners generally must fence livestock in to keep them off roads and neighboring land.
Siskiyou County has no ordinance using the word 'hoarding,' but addresses it through its Animal Control code (Title 5, Chapter 3) - including the Animal Control Officer's authority, impoundment, and rabies/care provisions - plus zoning limits (Title 10, Chapter 6). California Penal Code 597 and 597.1 cruelty and neglect law also apply, allowing seizure and prosecution.
Siskiyou County does not set a simple numeric cap on dogs per household in its animal code; numbers of animals are shaped by zoning (Title 10, Chapter 6). Every dog four months or older in the unincorporated county must be licensed: $10 if spayed/neutered, $30 if unaltered, with rabies proof required. Cats are not licensed.
Siskiyou County's Animal Control code centers on dogs, livestock, and rabies; it does not impose a cat license, a cat leash law, or a numeric cat limit in the unincorporated county. General nuisance and animal-care duties, plus California's animal-cruelty law, still apply to cats, and rabies-control rules can reach cats.
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