In California, killing a raccoon is legal only when the animal is actively damaging your property, and only with methods the Fish and Game Code allows. Raccoons are classified as furbearing mammals, so you cannot hunt them recreationally, you cannot keep one alive without a special permit, and you cannot decide to shoot or trap one simply because it wandered through your yard. The rules on trap types, ammunition, timing, and follow-up are specific, and violating them can bring a fine, jail time, or both.
The Legal Trigger Is Property Damage
Fish and Game Code Section 4180 allows furbearing mammals that are injuring property to be taken at any time and by any method the code permits.1California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 4180 This depredation provision is the only route that lets a homeowner kill a raccoon without a lengthy permit process.
“Injuring” carries weight. A raccoon that tore into your attic, destroyed vegetable beds, ripped up sod, or attacked a pet fits the statute. A raccoon crossing your patio at night does not. You need actual damage, and the animal you take needs to be the one responsible for it. Most people run into trouble here: they see a raccoon and reach for lethal action before there is any damage to justify it.
The provision extends to the property owner, any tenant, and their employees or agents acting with written permission.1California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 4180 One catch: you cannot sell the raw fur from a raccoon taken this way.
Raccoons are listed under Fish and Game Code Section 4000 as furbearing mammals, which is the classification that drives every rule around them.2California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 4000
Legal Methods for Taking a Raccoon
Fish and Game Code Section 4002 limits how furbearing mammals may be taken to trapping, firearms, bow and arrow, dogs, and poison with a permit.3California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 4002 For a homeowner, the realistic options are cage trapping and shooting.
Trapping
Cage and box traps are the primary legal option. California bans all body-gripping traps for furbearing mammals, a category that covers steel-jawed leghold traps (padded or not), conibear-style traps, and snares.4California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 3003.1 The ban on steel-jawed leghold traps is absolute for any mammal in the state.5Cornell Law School. California Code of Regulations Title 14, 465.5 – Use of Traps
If you set a cage trap under the depredation provision, you must check it at least once every 24 hours and remove any animal inside.1California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 4180 Once a raccoon is in the trap, you have two choices: kill it immediately or release it on the spot. The regulation requires trapped furbearing mammals to be dispatched or released right away, and dispatch should be done by shooting where local ordinances and safety allow. Only government employees may use chemical euthanasia.5Cornell Law School. California Code of Regulations Title 14, 465.5 – Use of Traps
Relocating a trapped raccoon to a park, open space, or another neighborhood is not legal. If you trap it, you deal with it on the spot.
Firearms and Ammunition
Shooting a depredating raccoon is legal, but the rules tighten after dark. At night, you may only use pistols and rifles no larger than .22 caliber rimfire, or shotguns loaded with shot no larger than No. BB.6California Fish and Game Commission. Mammal Hunting Regulations – Furbearing Mammals Daylight has no caliber cap.
All ammunition must be nonlead. The regulation governing raccoon take specifically requires compliance with California’s nonlead projectile rules.6California Fish and Game Commission. Mammal Hunting Regulations – Furbearing Mammals This has been statewide law for all wildlife take since 2019 and applies on private property during depredation. Standard lead ammunition will get you cited.
Poison
Poison is not outright banned for furbearing mammals, but it requires a CDFW permit.3California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 4002 These permits are generally reserved for larger-scale agricultural damage, so a poison permit for a single backyard raccoon is unlikely.
Do You Need a License or Permit?
Handling a raccoon problem on your own land generally does not require a trapping license. Fish and Game Code Section 4005 exempts anyone trapping under the depredation provisions from the license requirement, as long as no fee is charged for the service.7California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 4005 You also do not need a separate depredation permit from CDFW. Section 4180 authorizes property owners to act directly when furbearing mammals are injuring their property.1California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 4180
Hiring a professional changes things. A wildlife control operator who traps for profit must hold a valid trapping license.7California Legislative Information. California Fish and Game Code 4005 Many operators also need a state pest control business license. Verify licensing before you sign anything; an unlicensed operator creates legal exposure for both of you.
Local Rules Can Be Stricter
State law sets the floor, not the ceiling. The most common local restriction is a ban on discharging firearms within city limits, which takes shooting off the table in most urban and suburban areas. Some jurisdictions also regulate trapping or require a local permit for wildlife control on residential property. Check your city’s municipal code and your county’s ordinances before acting, and call local animal control if you are unsure what applies where you live.
Penalties If You Get It Wrong
Killing a raccoon outside the depredation rules, or using a prohibited trap, carries real consequences. Violations of the trapping regulations, including the body-gripping trap ban, are punishable by a fine of $300 to $2,000, up to one year in county jail, or both.6California Fish and Game Commission. Mammal Hunting Regulations – Furbearing Mammals
There is a less obvious risk with cage traps. If your trap catches a federally listed threatened or endangered species, the federal Endangered Species Act applies. Knowingly violating the Act carries civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation and criminal penalties reaching $50,000 and one year in prison.8U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Endangered Species Act – Section 11 Penalties and Enforcement A good-faith belief that you were protecting yourself or your family from bodily harm is a recognized defense, but it does not cover property damage. Check your trap daily and release any non-target animal immediately.
What You Cannot Do
A few boundaries are worth stating outright, because the depredation rule is narrower than most homeowners assume. You cannot trap a raccoon and drive it somewhere else to release it. You cannot keep a live raccoon as a pet; the entire raccoon family (Procyonidae) is on California’s list of species that are unlawful to import, transport, or possess alive without a special CDFW permit.9California Department of Food and Agriculture. 671 – Importation, Transportation and Possession of Wild Animals You cannot sell the fur from an animal you took under the depredation provision. And you cannot kill a raccoon just because it is there. Without property damage, the legal path closes.