SECTIONS 9561-9574 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 9561-9574

9561. The State Veterinarian may establish such quarantine,
sanitary, and police regulations as may be necessary to prevent,
circumscribe, or exterminate, any condition designated pursuant to
Section 9562.

9562. (a) Subject to the rights and procedures established pursuant
to Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400) of Division 3 of
Title 2 of the Government Code, and in accordance with regulations
adopted pursuant to this code, the State Veterinarian shall impose a
quarantine if he or she believes, upon any basis reasonably
supportable by standard epidemiological practice or credible
scientific research, that a population of domestic animals or food
product from animals has contracted, or may carry, an illness,
infection, pathogen, contagion, toxin, or condition that, without
intervention, could transmit an illness that could kill or seriously
damage other animals or humans, including, in addition to the
original condition, those clinically plausible secondary illnesses,
infections, pathogens, contagions, toxins, or conditions arising from
the effects of the original.
(b) (1) Because the authority conferred by this section is
designed to protect the health and safety of the citizens of this
state, the authority shall be interpreted broadly to give full effect
to the purpose of protecting the public health and safety and shall
be construed to include the imposition of quarantines in the
circumstances of natural disaster, whether occurring or imminent, or
declared emergencies.
(2) In furtherance of the objectives of the quarantine, the State
Veterinarian may impose restrictions not only on the affected animals
themselves and the uses to which those animals may be put, but on
products produced from, by, or with those animals in order to
minimize the risk or spread of food-borne illness.
(3) The State Veterinarian's quarantine powers set forth in this
section expressly include the power to order movement, segregation,
isolation, or destruction of animals or food products, as well as the
power to hold animals or food products in place.

9563. It is unlawful for any person to move or allow to be moved
any of the animals, food product from animals, vehicles, farm
equipment, farm products, or other materials that are subject to
restrictions established pursuant to Section 9562 or 9569 unless that
person has first obtained authorization from the State Veterinarian.

9564. If it is necessary to restrict the movements of animals
pursuant to Section 9562, the State Veterinarian may fix and proclaim
the boundaries of a quarantine area in lieu of separate, individual
orders issued to each owner pursuant to Section 9562. While the
boundaries are in force, it is unlawful for any person to move or
allow to be moved any such animals from or within the boundaries of
the quarantine area, unless that person is authorized to do so by the
State Veterinarian.

9569. In addition to actions that may be directed by the State
Veterinarian pursuant to Section 9562, the State Veterinarian may:
(a) Regulate, restrict, or restrain the movements of persons,
vehicles, farm equipment, farm and dairy products, and other property
from or into the quarantine area, or from place to place within it,
during the existence of the quarantine.
(b) Impose, as a condition to travel through or within the
quarantine area, that no person or vehicle which is permitted to
travel on any road or highway shall depart from the road or highway
while within the quarantine area.
(c) Order all animals within the quarantine area to be detained
for purposes of examination or inspection at any place which is
specified by him or her in the order.
(d) Cause to be destroyed all animals or property which may be
found within the area that are affected with the disease,
infestation, or condition or which have been so exposed as to be
dangerous to themselves or other animals.
(e) Require a proper disposal to be made of the hide and carcass
of any animal which is destroyed.
(f) Adopt and enforce all necessary regulations for cleaning and
disinfecting any premises or property where the disease, infestation,
or condition exists or has existed by treatment, disposal, or
otherwise, and such other regulations as he may deem necessary to
eradicate the disease and to prevent its dissemination.

9570. If the State Veterinarian invokes Section 9562, and the
importation of animals, animal products, or other property from any
state, territory, or foreign country may transmit, carry or
disseminate the illness, infection, pathogen, contagion, toxin, or
condition designated pursuant to Section 9562, the State Veterinarian
shall prescribe the conditions, if any, under which these animals,
animal products, or property may be imported into this state.

9573. A quarantine shall not be established by one county or city
against another county or city on account of the existence of any
disease or condition subject to the authority of the State
Veterinarian pursuant to Section 9562 or 9569.

9574. (a) Any person who negligently or intentionally violates any
state or federal law or regulation, including any quarantine
regulation, by importing any animal or other article, which by virtue
of being pest infested or disease infected, causes an infestation or
infection of a pest, animal, or disease, or causes an existing
infestation to spread beyond any quarantine boundaries is liable
civilly in a sum not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000)
for each act that constitutes a violation of the law or regulation.
(b) The Attorney General, upon request of the State Veterinarian,
shall petition the superior court to impose, assess, and recover the
sum imposed pursuant to subdivision (a). In determining the amount to
be imposed, the court shall take into consideration all relevant
circumstances, including, but not limited to, the extent of harm
caused by the violation and the nature and persistence of the
violation.
(c) The remedy under this section is in addition to, and does not
supersede or limit, any and all other remedies, civil or criminal,
that are otherwise available to the state.
(d) Any funds recovered pursuant to this section shall be
deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund for
emergency pest or disease exclusion, detection, eradication, and
research of agricultural plant or animal pests or diseases. These
funds may be allocated to cover costs related to the enforcement of
this division. These funds are in addition to any funds appropriated
for those purposes pursuant to Section 224.