(a) It is the policy of this state to conserve its natural resources and to prevent the willful or negligent destruction of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibia.

(b) The state may recover damages in a civil action against any person or local agency which unlawfully or negligently takes or destroys any bird, mammal, fish, reptile, or amphibian protected by the laws of this state.

Terms Used In California Fish and Game Code 2014

  • Bird: means a wild bird or part of a wild bird. See California Fish and Game Code 22
  • County: includes city and county. See California Fish and Game Code 32
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Department: means the Department of Fish and Wildlife. See California Fish and Game Code 37
  • District: means fish and game district. See California Fish and Game Code 41
  • Fish: means a wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part, spawn, or ovum of any of those animals. See California Fish and Game Code 45
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Mammal: means a wild or feral mammal or part of a wild or feral animal, but not a wild, feral, or undomesticated burro. See California Fish and Game Code 54
  • Person: means any natural person or any partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust, or other type of association. See California Fish and Game Code 67
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Fish and Game Code 83
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Fish and Game Code 73
  • Wildlife: means and includes all wild animals, birds, plants, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and related ecological communities, including the habitat upon which the wildlife depends for its continued viability. See California Fish and Game Code 89.5

(c) The measure of damages is the amount that will compensate for all the detriment proximately caused by the taking or destruction of the birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibia.

(d) An action to recover damages under this section shall be brought in the name of the people of the state, in a court of competent jurisdiction in the county in which the cause of action arose. The State Water Resources Control Board shall be notified of, and may join in, any action brought under this section when the activities alleged to have caused the destruction of any bird, mammal, fish, reptile, or amphibian may involve either the unlawful discharge of pollutants into the waters of the state or other violation of Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code.

(e) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Persons or local agencies engaged in agricultural pest control.

(2) The destruction of fish in irrigation canals or works, or irrigation drainages.

(3) The lawful destruction of a bird or mammal killed while damaging crops.

(f) No damages may be recovered against a local agency pursuant to this section if civil or administrative penalties are assessed against the local agency for the same detriment pursuant to Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code.

(g) Any recovery or settlement of money damages, including, but not limited to, civil penalties, arising out of any civil action filed and maintained by the Attorney General in the enforcement of this section shall be deposited by the department in the subaccounts of the Fish and Wildlife Pollution Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund as specified in Section 13011.

(h) For purposes of this section, “local agency” includes any city, county, city and county, district, public authority, or other political subdivision.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 132, Sec. 34. (AB 1760) Effective January 1, 2024.)

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