California Code of Regulations › Title 14 - Natural Resources › Division 1 - Fish and Game Commission-Department of Fish and Game › Subdivision 3 - General Regulations › Chapter 3 - Miscellaneous › Section 679 - Possession of Wildlife and Wildlife Rehabilitation

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a)
				  General Prohibition on Possession of Wildlife. Except as provided in subsection
				  (b) below or as otherwise authorized, it is unlawful for any person to possess
				  any live game mammal or bird, exotic game mammal, nongame mammal or bird,
				  furbearer, reptile or amphibian.
(b) Temporary Confinement of Wildlife. Except
				  for big game mammals listed in Section
				  350, or exotic game mammals listed
				  in Section
				  375, Title 14, CCR, injured,
				  diseased or orphaned animals may be temporarily confined by persons if they
				  notify the nearest regional office of the department within forty-eight (48)
				  hours of finding or confining such wildlife. Notification shall include name
				  and address; the species of wildlife and a description of its injury, disease
				  or condition; the date and location the wildlife was found; and the location
				  where the wildlife is confined. Confined animals must be disposed of pursuant
				  to department direction, which may include placement in a department-approved
				  wildlife rehabilitation facility. (Department offices: Northern Region
				  (Redding), North Central Region (Rancho Cordova), Bay Delta Region
				  (Yountville), Central Region (Fresno), South Coast Region (San Diego), Inland
				  Deserts Region (Ontario), and Marine Region (Monterey).)
(c) Prohibition on Possession of Big Game
				  Mammals, Exotic Game Mammals, or Fully Protected, Threatened or Endangered
				  Species Except Under Department Permit. No person or wildlife rehabilitation
				  facility may possess any big game mammal listed in Section
				  350, exotic game mammal listed in
				  Section 375, Title 14, CCR, or any fully
				  protected, endangered or threatened bird, mammal, fish, reptile or amphibian
				  without specific written authorization from the department.
(d) Prohibition on Picking up Disabled
				  Wildlife in a Department Designated Oil/Toxic Spill Area. No person may enter a
				  department designated oil/toxic spill area for the purpose of picking up
				  disabled wildlife or transport or possess wildlife disabled by an oil spill or
				  other spilled toxic substance unless that person has completed the training
				  required by subsections
				  817.02(i) and
				  (j), Title 14, CCR, and has authorization
				  from the department. Designated oil/spill areas shall be clearly posted by the
				  department.
(e) Wildlife
				  Rehabilitation Facilities.
(1) Wildlife
				  Rehabilitation Facility Defined. For the purposes of these regulations, a
				  wildlife rehabilitation facility is defined as a site where activities are
				  undertaken to restore to a condition of good health, for the purpose of release
				  to the wild, animals occurring naturally and not normally domesticated in this
				  state.
(2) Approval of Wildlife
				  Rehabilitation Facility.
(A) The department
				  may approve and issue a permit in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding
				  (MOU) to only those wildlife rehabilitation facilities which meet the wildlife
				  care standards set forth in the Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation,
				  2000, Third Edition manual published jointly by the International Wildlife
				  Rehabilitation Council and the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association; or
				  as provided in the MOU. The above wildlife care standards are hereby adopted
				  and made a part of this Title 14. All wildlife rehabilitation facilities,
				  regardless of when established, shall comply with the wildlife care
				  standards.
(B) A person seeking a
				  MOU with the department for operating a new wildlife rehabilitation facility
				  shall submit to the department two letters from permitted facilities in the
				  nearby vicinity (the permitted facilities will be identified by the
				  department), stating that they believe there is a need for a new facility.
				  Within 30 days of receiving the letters, the department will provide a written
				  determination stating whether such a facility is needed. If the department
				  determines that there is not a need for a new facility the applicant may
				  request a hearing before the commission to show cause why their permit request
				  should not be denied. If the department determines that a new wildlife
				  rehabilitation facility is needed, that person shall submit, along with this
				  written determination, an application packet to the department that contains
				  all of the following:
1. A complete
				  application form "Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit Application/Renewal form," FG
				  542 (Rev 03/07) which is hereby incorporated by reference;
2. Documentation of the applicant's
				  experience working (paid or unpaid) at a permitted wildlife rehabilitation
				  facility. The applicant must document four hundred hours within a two year
				  period of experience working with a permitted wildlife rehabilitation facility
				  in California, or experience that the department determines is equivalent, to
				  be eligible for a permit.
3. A
				  letter from a veterinarian who agrees to sponsor the applicant by overseeing
				  diagnoses, medication and surgical procedures by the proposed
				  facility.
4. Pictures or diagrams
				  of the proposed facility's caging or proposed caging sufficient to demonstrate
				  that the caging will be appropriate for the types of animals the facility is
				  planning to rehabilitate and will comply with the standards identified in
				  subsection (e)(2)(A).
5. A
				  statement of general intent that includes a list of the species and number of
				  animals that the applicant proposes to rehabilitate and hold at the proposed
				  facility; and plans describing the proposed facility's record-keeping system,
				  animal intake process, euthanasia protocol, plan for carcass disposal, protocol
				  for handling public phone calls, volunteer training protocol, animal diets, and
				  disinfectant and disease control protocols. Plans provided as part of this
				  statement must be consistent with the requirements of subsection (f) and the
				  standards identified in subsection (e)(2)(A).
6. Payment of a non-refundable application
				  processing fee of $41.00 and an inspection fee of $114.54 to be determined by
				  the department pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section
				  2150.2
				  and adjusted annually pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section
				  713.
(C) The department shall determine whether
				  the application is complete and request any additional information it believes
				  is necessary to evaluate the proposal. The department may enter into a MOU with
				  the California Council for Wildlife Rehabilitators (CCWR) for the purpose of
				  obtaining CCWR's assistance with processing and evaluating applications. Such
				  assistance may include but is not limited to helping review and evaluate
				  applications, inspecting proposed facilities, and preparing recommendations to
				  the department. Any MOU between the department and CCWR may also provide for
				  payment by the department from revenue generated by the application and
				  inspection fees collected under subsection (e)(2) to reimburse CCWR's expenses
				  in providing assistance to the department. Within sixty days of receiving the
				  application, the department shall make a determination that the applicant and
				  the proposed facilities meet the requirements in subsection (e)(2). If the
				  department determines that the application is incomplete or that the applicant
				  or the proposed facilities do not meet the requirements in subsection (e)(2),
				  the department shall deny the permit and will return the inspection
				  fee.
(D) If the department
				  determines that the application is complete and that the applicant and the
				  proposed facilities meet the requirements in subsection (e)(2), the proposed
				  facility shall be inspected by the department, CCWR or another designee.
				  Failure to cooperate with inspectors provided by the department, CCWR or
				  another designee may result in application denial.
(E) After inspection of the proposed
				  facility, the department shall approve a MOU to permit a new wildlife
				  rehabilitation facility only if the applicant and facility meets all applicable
				  standards specified above. The department may deny a permit if the applicant
				  has failed to allow an inspection of the proposed facility by the department or
				  its designee or it is found that the facility does not meet the minimum
				  standards. An applicant has one year to build the proposed facility from the
				  time the MOU is signed by both parties. If the applicant has not built the
				  proposed facility within one year of when the MOU was signed the permit will be
				  revoked. Any person denied a permit under these regulations may request a
				  hearing before the commission to show cause why their permit request should not
				  be denied. MOU will be valid for three years. At the end of three years if a
				  permittee wishes to renew a wildlife rehabilitation permit, a permit renewal
				  form FG 542 (Rev 03/07) will be submitted along with a processing fee of $41.00
				  pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section
				  2150.2
				  and adjusted annually pursuant to Fish and Game Code 713.