ARTICLE 2. Depredators [4180. - 4190.]

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC 2.

in effect

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4180. Section 4180.

(a) Except as provided for in Section 4005, fur-bearing mammals that are injuring property may be taken at any time and in any manner in accordance with this code or regulations made pursuant to this code. Raw furs, as defined in Section 4005, that are taken under this section, shall not be sold. (b) Traps used pursuant to this section shall be inspected and all animals in the traps shall be removed at least once daily. The inspection and removal shall be done by the person who sets the trap or the owner of the land where the trap is set or an agent of either.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4180.1. Section 4180.1.

(a) It is unlawful to do either of the following to an immature depredator mammal while it is in its den: (1) Use a snare, hook, or barbed wire to remove the mammal. (2) Use fire to kill the mammal. (b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of fire-ignited gas cartridges or other products registered or permitted under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.).

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4180.2. Section 4180.2.

As used in this article, “wild pigs” has the meaning set forth in Section 4650.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4181. Section 4181.

(a) Except as provided in Section 4181.1, any owner or tenant of land or property that is being damaged or destroyed or is in danger of being damaged or destroyed by elk, bear, bobcat, beaver, wild pig, wild turkeys, or gray squirrels may apply to the department for a permit to kill the animals. Subject to the limitations in subdivisions (b) and (d), the department, upon satisfactory evidence of the damage or destruction, actual or immediately threatened, shall issue a revocable permit for the taking and disposition of the animals under regulations adopted by the commission. The permit shall include a statement of the penalties that may be imposed for a violation of the permit conditions. Animals so taken shall not be sold or shipped from the premises on which they are taken except under instructions from the department. An iron-jawed or steel-jawed or any type of metal-jawed trap shall not be used to take any bear or bobcat pursuant to this section. Poison of any type shall not be used to take any gray squirrel or wild turkey pursuant to this section. The department shall designate the type of trap to be used to ensure the most humane method is used to trap gray squirrels. The department may require trapped squirrels to be released in parks or other nonagricultural areas. It is unlawful for any person to violate the terms of any permit issued under this section. (b) The permit issued for taking bears or bobcats pursuant to subdivision (a) shall contain the following facts: (1) Why the issuance of the permit was necessary. (2) What efforts were made to solve the problem without killing the bears or bobcats. (3) What corrective actions should be implemented to prevent a reoccurrence. (c) With respect to wild pigs, the department shall provide an applicant for a depredation permit to take wild pigs or a person who reports taking wild pigs pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 4181.1 with written information that sets forth available options for wild pig control, including, but not limited to, depredation permits, allowing periodic access to licensed hunters, and holding special hunts authorized pursuant to Section 4188. The department may maintain and make available to these persons lists of licensed hunters interested in wild pig hunting and lists of nonprofit organizations that are available to take possession of depredating wild pig carcasses. The department shall not limit the number of wild pigs to be taken under a depredation permit or based on the sex of the wild pig. (d) With respect to elk, the following procedures shall apply: (1) Before issuing a depredation permit pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall do all of the following: (A) Verify the actual or immediately threatened damage or destruction. (B) Provide a written summary of corrective measures necessary to immediately alleviate the problem. (C) Determine the viability of the local herd, and determine the minimum population level needed to maintain the herd. (D) Ensure the permit will not reduce the local herd below the minimum. (E) Work with affected landowners to develop measures to achieve long-term resolution while maintaining viability of the herd. (2) After completing the statewide elk management plan pursuant to Section 3952, the department shall use the information and methods contained in the plan to meet the requirements of subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) of paragraph (1).

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4181.1. Section 4181.1.

(a) Any bear that is encountered while in the act of inflicting injury to, molesting, or killing, livestock may be taken immediately by the owner of the livestock or the owner’s employee if the taking is reported no later than the next working day to the department and the carcass is made available to the department. (b) Notwithstanding Section 4652, any wild pig that is encountered while in the act of inflicting injury to, molesting, pursuing, worrying, or killing livestock or damaging or destroying, or threatening to immediately damage or destroy, land or other property, including, but not limited to, rare, threatened, or endangered native plants, wildlife, or aquatic species, may be taken immediately by the owner of the livestock, land, or property or the owner’s agent or employee, or by an agent or employee of any federal, state, county, or city entity when acting in their official capacity. The person taking the wild pig shall report the taking no later than the next working day to the department and shall make the carcass available to the department. Unless otherwise directed by the department and notwithstanding Section 4657, the person taking a wild pig pursuant to this subdivision, or to whom the carcass of a wild pig taken pursuant to this subdivision is transferred pursuant to subdivision (c), may possess the carcass of the wild pig. The person in possession of the carcass shall make use of the carcass, which may include an arrangement for the transfer of the carcass to another person or entity, such as a nonprofit organization, without compensation. The person who arranges this transfer shall be deemed to be in compliance with Section 4304. It is the intent of the Legislature that nothing in this subdivision shall be interpreted to authorize a person to take wild pigs pursuant to this subdivision in violation of a state statute or regulation or a local zoning or other ordinance that is adopted pursuant to other provisions of law and that restricts the discharge of firearms. (c) The department shall make a record of each report made pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) and may have an employee of the department investigate the taking or cause the taking to be investigated. The person taking a wild pig shall provide information as deemed necessary by the department. Upon completion of the investigation, the investigator may, upon a finding that the requirements of this section have been met with respect to the particular bear or wild pig taken under subdivision (a) or (b), issue a written statement to the person confirming that the requirements of this section have been met. The person who took the wild pig may transfer the carcass to another person without compensation. (d) Notwithstanding Section 4763, any part of any bear lawfully possessed pursuant to this section is subject to Section 4758. (e) Nothing in this section prohibits federal, state, or county trappers from killing or trapping bears when the bears are killing or molesting livestock, but no iron-jawed or steel-jawed or any type of metal-jawed trap shall be used to take the bear, and no person, including employees of the state, federal, or county government, shall take bear with iron-jawed or steel-jawed or any type of metal-jawed traps.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4181.2. Section 4181.2.

For the purposes of this article relating to damage caused by wild pigs, “damage” means loss or harm resulting from injury to person or property. The department shall develop statewide guidelines to aid in determining the damage caused by wild pigs. The guidelines shall consider various uses of the land impacted by pigs.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4181.5. Section 4181.5.

(a) Any owner or tenant of land or property that is being damaged or destroyed or is in immediate danger of being damaged or destroyed by deer may apply to the department for a permit to kill those deer. The department, upon satisfactory evidence of actual or immediately threatened damage or destruction shall, pursuant to regulations adopted by the commission, issue a revocable permit for the taking and disposition of those deer, for a designated period not to exceed 60 days. (b) The regulations of the commission shall include provisions concerning the type of weapons to be used to kill the deer. The weapons shall be those as will ensure humane killing, but the regulations of the commission shall provide for the use of a sufficient variety of weapons to permit the designation of particular types to be used in any particular locality commensurate with the need to protect persons and property. Firearms using .22-caliber rimfire cartridges may be used only when authorized by the director or the director’s designee. No pistols shall be used. (c) The caliber and type of weapon to be used by each permittee shall be specified in each permit by the issuing officer who shall take into consideration the location of the area, the necessity for clean kills, the safety factor, local firearms ordinances, and other factors that apply. Rifle ammunition used shall have expanding bullets; shotgun ammunition shall have only single slugs, or, if authorized by the department, 0 or 00 buckshot. (d) At the time a permit is issued pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall issue tags similar to those provided for in Section 4331. The permittee shall carry the tags while hunting the deer for which the permit was issued, and upon killing any deer, shall immediately do all of the following: (1) Fill out both parts of the tag, and clearly punch out the date of the kill. (2) Attach one part of the completed tag to the antlers of antlered deer, or to the ear of any other deer, and keep that part of the tag attached to the deer until 10 days after the permit has expired. (3) Obtain a countersignature on the other part of the tag pursuant to Section 4341. (4) Send the countersigned part of the tag to the department. (e) A permit issued pursuant to this section may be renewed only after a finding by the department that further damage has occurred or will occur, unless that permit is renewed. A person seeking renewal of the permit pursuant to this subdivision shall do all of the following: (1) Account for all prior tags previously issued with all prior permits. (2) If any of the previously issued tags are unused, show either of the following: (A) That any deer previously killed pursuant to a previously issued permit could not reasonably have been tagged. (B) Why the killing was not accomplished within the time allotted for that killing, and why the killing would be accomplished under a new time period.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4185. Section 4185.

In any district or part of a district within San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, bears may be taken at any time with traps within a good and substantial fence, as such fence is described in Section 17121 of the Food and Agricultural Code, surrounding beehives, if no part of the fence is at a distance greater than 50 yards from a beehive, and if a conspicuous sign is posted and maintained at each entrance to the enclosed premises to give warning of the presence of the traps. No iron or steel-jawed or any type of metal-jawed trap shall be used to take bear under this section.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4186. Section 4186.

Nothing in this code prohibits the owner or tenant of land, or any person authorized in writing by that owner or tenant, from taking cottontail or brush rabbits during any time of the year when damage to crops or forage is being experienced on that land. Any person other than the owner or tenant of the land shall have in possession when transporting rabbits from the property, written authority from the owner or tenant of land where those rabbits were taken. Rabbits taken under this section shall not be sold.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4188. Section 4188.

(a) If a landowner or tenant applies for a permit under Section 4181 to take wild pigs or wild turkeys, or under Section 4181.5 to take deer, the department shall notify the applicant about available options for allowing access by licensed hunters, including, but not limited to, access authorized pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 1570) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 to control wild pigs, wild turkeys, and deer. (b) The commission, in lieu of a permit described in subdivision (a), and with the consent of, or upon the request of, the landowner or tenant, may pursuant to appropriate regulation authorize the issuance of permits to persons holding valid hunting licenses to take wild pigs, wild turkeys, or deer in sufficient numbers to stop the damage or threatened damage. Before issuing permits to licensed hunters, the department shall investigate and determine the number of permits necessary, the territory involved, the dates of the proposed hunt, the manner of issuing the permits, and the fee for the permit.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 4190. Section 4190.

The department shall tag, brand, or otherwise identify in a persistent and distinctive manner any large depredatory mammal relocated by, or relocated with the approval of, the department for game management purposes.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026