California mountain lion laws classify the cougar as a “specially protected mammal,” which makes it illegal to kill, injure, possess, transport, or sell one except in a few tightly defined situations. The core protections come from Fish and Game Code Section 4800, enacted through Proposition 117 in 1990, and a violation is a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in county jail and a $10,000 fine per animal.1California Legislative Information. California Code FGC 4800 – Mountain Lions Federal law has layered on a separate ban on private ownership since late 2022.
Protected Status
Mountain lions have no sport-hunting season in California. Section 4800 makes it unlawful to take, injure, possess, transport, import, or sell a mountain lion or any mountain lion product.1California Legislative Information. California Code FGC 4800 – Mountain Lions Everything else in state law carves narrow exceptions out of that baseline. If a situation does not clearly fit one of them, the default is that the conduct is illegal.
When You Can Legally Kill a Mountain Lion
State law recognizes three circumstances.
Self-Defense or Defense of Others
You are not guilty of violating Section 4800 if you take or injure a mountain lion while acting in self-defense or in defense of others.1California Legislative Information. California Code FGC 4800 – Mountain Lions This is an affirmative defense, which means you have to be able to show the threat was real and immediate. Report the killing to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) promptly and surrender the carcass.
A Lion Caught Attacking Livestock or Pets
Section 4807 lets you take a mountain lion that you encounter in the act of pursuing, injuring, or killing livestock or domestic animals on your property, without waiting for a permit. You must report the incident to CDFW within 72 hours and surrender the carcass if it is recovered.2California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code Chapter 10 – Mountain Lions This exception is tight: it covers catching the animal in the act. Finding a dead goat the next morning and suspecting a lion is a different situation and requires the depredation permit process below.
Public Safety Threats
CDFW itself, or a local agency it authorizes, can remove or take a mountain lion that poses an imminent threat to public health or safety, or that threatens the survival of a threatened, endangered, or fully protected sheep species.3California Legislative Information. California Code FGC 4801 – Mountain Lions Private individuals have no equivalent authority. A lion seen near a school or hiking trail is a call to CDFW, not a shot you can take yourself.
Depredation Permits When You Didn’t Catch the Lion in the Act
When a mountain lion has killed livestock or a pet but no one witnessed the attack, the legal route is a depredation permit. You report the damage to CDFW, and the department sends someone to confirm within 48 hours that a mountain lion was responsible.4Justia. California Fish and Game Code 4800-4809 – Mountain Lions If confirmed, CDFW issues a revocable permit to take the specific lion believed responsible. Under Title 14, Section 402, the department can also give oral authorization before issuing the paperwork when speed matters for pursuit.5Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 14 Section 402 – Issuance of Permits to Kill Mountain Lion Causing Damage
A common misunderstanding is that non-lethal deterrents must be tried first everywhere in the state. They don’t. CDFW has, however, adopted a three-tier stepwise process for depredation events in the Santa Ana and Santa Monica Mountains: the first and second confirmed incidents produce non-lethal (hazing) permits, and a lethal permit is available only after a third confirmed depredation event. Outside those areas, the standard process applies.
Certain methods are always off the table. Section 4809 bans poison, leg-hold or metal-jawed traps, and snares for taking mountain lions, regardless of permit.2California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code Chapter 10 – Mountain Lions
Possessing Hides, Skulls, and Other Parts
Section 4800 bars possessing or selling any mountain lion product, including hides, claws, skulls, and taxidermy mounts. Two exceptions exist.1California Legislative Information. California Code FGC 4800 – Mountain Lions
- Items you can demonstrate were in your possession on or before June 6, 1990, the date Proposition 117 took effect, can continue to be possessed or sold.
- A legally taken mountain lion carcass or product may be held at a nonprofit museum, government facility open to the public, or educational institution for display or storage, if CDFW has specifically authorized the possession.
Outside those two carve-outs, possession is a misdemeanor with the same up-to-one-year jail term and up-to-$10,000 fine as any other Section 4800 violation.
Owning a Mountain Lion
You cannot keep a mountain lion as a pet in California, and federal law now backs that up.
Under state law, mountain lions appear on the restricted species list in Title 14, Section 671. Importing, transporting, or possessing a listed animal without a department-issued permit is unlawful.6Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 14 Section 671 – Importation, Transportation and Possession of Live Restricted Animals The permits available under Section 671.1 are limited to specific categories: accredited zoos, qualifying exhibitors and sanctuaries, and scientific research institutions.7Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 14 Section 671.1 – Permits for Restricted Species Any applicant also has to show, under Section 2150, the ability to provide adequate food, shelter, and veterinary care.8California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 2150 – Permits There is no permit path for a private individual who simply wants to own one.
Since December 2022, the federal Big Cat Public Safety Act (Public Law 117-243) has independently banned breeding, possessing, importing, exporting, or selling cougars and six other big cat species in interstate or foreign commerce. People who already owned a cougar when the law took effect had 180 days to register the animal with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; registered animals can be kept but not bred or replaced. Violations can bring up to $20,000 in fines and five years in federal prison.9GovInfo. Big Cat Public Safety Act The federal law also prohibits direct public contact with big cats, so even permitted facilities cannot offer pay-to-pet encounters or cub photo sessions.
Penalties
A violation of Section 4800 is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in county jail, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.1California Legislative Information. California Code FGC 4800 – Mountain Lions Each animal is a separate offense, so charges can stack when more than one lion is involved.
Prosecutors can also charge animal cruelty under Penal Code Section 597 when the conduct was intentional or malicious. Section 597 is a wobbler, chargeable as a misdemeanor or a felony. The felony version carries 16 months, two years, or three years in county jail under the realignment sentencing framework of Penal Code Section 1170(h), plus fines up to $20,000.10California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 597 – Cruelty to Animals11California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1170 – Sentencing If interstate trafficking is involved, federal Lacey Act charges can be added.
Separate from criminal prosecution, CDFW can impose administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per animal for unlawfully taking, possessing, transporting, or selling wildlife, including mountain lions. The authority comes from Fish and Game Code Sections 2582 and 2583, and penalties are set through a hearing that weighs factors like the commercial value of the animal and whether the violation was for profit.12Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 14 Section 747 – Guidelines for Imposing Civil Penalties These fines stack on any criminal sentence.
Reporting a Violation
Poaching, illegal captivity, and other wildlife violations can be reported through CDFW’s CalTIP program (Californians Turn In Poachers and Polluters). The toll-free hotline is 1-888-334-2258, open day and night, and online reports can be submitted during business hours through the CDFW enforcement page.13California Department of Fish and Wildlife. About the CALTIP Program You can stay anonymous. Specific details — location, time, and a description — help wildlife officers prioritize the tip, and reports that lead to a conviction may be eligible for a reward.