Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks

The City contracts with the LADAC for animal control services. The

The LADAC views its role for the City as primarily issuing dog licenses and operating animal shelters. However, the City defers to the LADAC for all animal issues, unless a zoning permit is requested, or a complaint is filed with the City.

The agreement between the City and the LADAC limits inspections of facilities and patrolling by the LADAC to specific City requests. (Ref-01)

The agreement between the City and the LADAC excludes animal license enforcement services and the permitting of animal facilities. (Ref-01)

In the Addendum to the Agreement between the City and Los Angeles County, the City specifically uses an outdated version [August 2012] of the Los Angeles County Code, Title 10, Animals. (Ref-01, Ref-02)

The LADAC uses the current version [October 2016] of the Los Angeles County Code, Title 10, Animals, rather than the 2012 version used by the City. (Ref-03)

The City, not the LADAC, is responsible for enforcement of Thousand Oaks Municipal Code Title 6, Article 2, Wild Animal Control. (Ref-04)

Thousand Oaks Municipal Code states no person shall have, keep, or maintain any wild animal without first obtaining a permit from the City. The code further establishes the City’s control of cages or other means of 2 Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks confinement. However, should an animal escape confinement, the owner is required to immediately notify LADAC, not the City. (Ref-04)

Violations of the Thousand Oaks Municipal Code, Title 6, Article 2, Wild Animal Control, may be prosecuted as an infraction punishable by fine, or as a misdemeanor and punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both. All violations shall be a misdemeanor unless specific actions are taken by the City Attorney. (Ref-05)

Los Angeles County Title 10, Section 10.40.070, requires that ”…wild animals must be maintained in buildings, enclosed yards, paddocks, or cages, as specified by the Director, and must be kept at distances from adjacent buildings as specified in applicable zoning and health code laws.” It also establishes a fee structure and financial penalties for failure to register or otherwise comply with these requirements. (Ref-03)

In July 2017, officials of LADAC, State Fish and Wildlife and the Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies raided a house in a residential neighborhood of Thousand Oaks, finding 84 snakes including cobras, king cobras, at least one monocled cobra, and numerous other wild animals. Animal control officers also discovered a pool full of alligators at the house. (Ref-06, Ref- 07)

The owner of the house with the 84 snakes had permits for some of the reptiles at a facility in unincorporated Ventura County (County). The facility itself was permitted by both the County and State Fish and Wildlife. Information regarding permits in unincorporated parts of the County is not commonly shared with the City by the County Planning Department unless specifically required in the permit or related environmental documents.

Information regarding permits in the unincorporated parts of the County is not shared with the City by State Fish and Wildlife. Despite the existence of State records of wild and dangerous animal permits, there is no listing of permits and permitted wild animals available to either cities or the general public. State Fish and Wildlife has a condition for denial of a permit, which is the requirement to comply with local ordinances, but does not require proof of compliance when they issue the permit. However, on the application, applicants must “certify under penalty of perjury…that all information on this application is true and correct and I am not violating any city or county laws.” State Fish and Wildlife does assist in investigations and responds to local government requests for specific information. (Att- 01, Att-02)

In 2014, the City determined it did not have sufficient cause to search neighboring properties where an albino monocled cobra was caught. The Grand Jury was unable to find any evidence that the State had provided the City with information that one of the neighboring residents had a State permit for the snake at a different address in the County. It was not until a July 2017 incident with another escaped cobra at the same location that the State apparently partnered with the City. Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks 3

In the July 2017 incident involving 84 snakes, including a number of deadly cobras, the LADAC [acting as an agent of the City] referred a possible complaint of “felonious cruelty to animals” and twenty-six misdemeanors to the Ventura County District Attorney. (Ref-06)

The referral of the case to the District Attorney, in effect, ruled out action being taken against the snake owner for violation of City codes, as the District Attorney does not investigate or prosecute city code violations.

In the July 2017 incident, the LADAC [acting as an agent of the City] did not refer the case to the City Attorney for action under Thousand Oaks Municipal Code. The department did, however, issue a strongly worded statement: “It appears that, despite the multiple levels of permits, approvals, and periodic inspections required, the permit holder was housing deadly venomous snakes in an unauthorized, densely populated, residential neighborhood, and in such a manner that they posed a substantial risk to public safety." (Ref-04, Ref-07) Conclusions C-01. The Grand Jury concluded the roles, responsibilities and communication between the City and the LADAC are not clearly defined and understood, resulting in confusion and gaps in enforcement. (FA-01, FA-02, FA-04, FA- 05, FA-06, FA-07, FA-08) C-02. The Grand Jury concluded there is a lack of communication between City, County, and State agencies regarding the permitting of wild and dangerous animals. (FA-12, FA-13, FA-14) C-03. The Grand Jury concluded there is no ongoing communication between the City and State except during specific investigations. Even in cases where a specific incident has occurred, information sharing may not be broad or complete. (FA-10, FA-11, FA-15) C-04. The Grand Jury concluded the City appears to request inspections of wild- animal sites only when there is unfavorable public attention. There appears to be little will to enforce or prosecute violations of the Thousand Oaks Municipal Code Title 6, Article 2, Wild Animal Control. (FA-03, FA-07, FA- 18) C-05. The Grand Jury concluded that when the City has turned cases over to the District Attorney, City codes may not be enforced, as the District Attorney is not responsible for enforcing the Thousand Oaks Municipal Code. (FA- 07, FA-09, FA-16, FA-17) C-06. The Grand Jury concluded there have been instances where the LADAC has not referred cases to the City when wild animals posed a substantial risk to public safety. (FA-18) C-07. The Grand Jury concluded because the State does not require wild-animal permit applicants to provide any documentation that they have complied with local government ordinances, the regulation fails to insure that people 4 Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks who are keeping state-permitted wild animals in the City also comply with the City’s laws. (FA-14) Recommendations R-01. The Grand Jury recommends the City seek to establish an effective partnership between LADAC and executive management of the City. (C- 01) R-02. The Grand Jury recommends the City be more proactive in enforcing Thousand Oaks Municipal Code Title 6, Article 2, Wild Animal Control, as lax enforcement poses a substantial risk to public safety. (C-04, C-05, C- 06) R-03. The Grand Jury recommends the City consider establishing a process to obtain information about applications made to State Fish and Wildlife to keep dangerous animals in and around the City. (C-02, C-03, C-07) Responses Responses Required From: City Council, City of Thousand Oaks (C-01, C-02, C-03, C-04, C-05, C-06, C-07, R- 01, R-02, R-03) References Ref-01. Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement between the County of Los Angeles and the City of Thousand Oaks relating to Animal Care and Control Services, June 24, 2014. http://71.165.173.179/WebLinkPublic/0/doc/1093294/Page1.aspx Accessed April 25, 2018 Ref-02. Thousand Oaks Municipal Code Title 6, Article 1, Regulation of animals: Los Angeles County Code as [Thousand Oaks] City Code. http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/California/thousandoaks_ca/ thecityofthousandoakscaliforniamunicipal?f=templates$fn=default.htm$ 3.0$vid=amlegal:thousandoaks_ca Accessed April 25, 2018 Ref-03. Title 10, Animals of the Los Angeles County Code. October 2016. http://www.file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dacc/195450_Title10- 20132.19.14.pdf Accessed April 25, 2018 Ref-04. Thousand Oaks Municipal Code Title 6, Article 2. http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/California/thousandoaks_ca/ thecityofthousandoakscaliforniamunicipal?f=templates$fn=default.htm$ 3.0$vid=amlegal:thousandoaks_ca Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks 5 Accessed April 25, 2018 Ref-05. Thousand Oaks Municipal Code Title 6, Article 2, section 6-1.206. http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/California/thousandoaks_ca/ thecityofthousandoakscaliforniamunicipal?f=templates$fn=default.htm$ 3.0$vid=amlegal:thousandoaks_ca Accessed April 25, 2018 Ref-06. After raid in Thousand Oaks, search widens for reptiles. John Scheibe, Ventura County Star, July 8, 2017. www.vcstar.com/story/news/2017/07/07/thousand-oaks-man-found- poisonous-snakes-remains-jail/460274001/ Accessed April 25, 2018 Ref-07. Animal control officers uncover 80 snakes and a pool full of alligators at Thousand Oaks home. Joseph Serna and Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, July 6, 2017. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-alligators-snakes- thousand-oaks-20170706-story.html Accessed April 25, 2018 Attachments Att-01. California Code of Regulations. § 671.1. Permits for Restricted Species Att-02. Excerpts from Fish and Game Manual for Applicants 6 Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks Glossary TERM DEFINITION State Fish and Wildlife California Department of Fish and Wildlife City City of Thousand Oaks County County of Ventura Grand Jury 2017-2018 Ventura County Grand Jury LADAC Los Angeles County Department of Animal Control State State of California Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks 7 Attachment 01 California Code of Regulations § 671.1. Permits for Restricted Species 8 Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks California Code of Regulations § 671.1. Permits for Restricted Species. (a) General. It is unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, maintain, sell, dispose of, or use for any purpose any animal restricted by Section 671 except as authorized in a permit issued by the department. (1) Limited Scope. A permit issued pursuant to this Section 671.1 does not supersede any federal, state, or local law regulating or prohibiting the animals or the activities authorized in the permit. Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks 9 Attachment 02 Excerpts from Fish and Game Manual for Applicants 10 Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks 11

C-05. The Grand Jury concluded that when the City has turned cases over to the District Attorney, City codes may not be enforced, as the District Attorney is not responsible for enforcing the Thousand Oaks Municipal Code. (FA- 07, FA-09, FA-16, FA-17) C-06. The Grand Jury concluded there have been instances where the LADAC has not referred cases to the City when wild animals posed a substantial risk to public safety. (FA-18) C-07. The Grand Jury concluded because the State does not require wild-animal permit applicants to provide any documentation that they have complied with local government ordinances, the regulation fails to insure that people 4 Wild-Animal Regulations in Thousand Oaks who are keeping state-permitted wild animals in the City also comply with the City’s laws. (FA-14)