Bowie’s Law: animals: adoption, shelter overcrowding, and breeding.

Assembly Member Castillo's animal welfare legislation revises California's shelter and breeding regulations through new transparency requirements and expanded oversight of dog breeders. The bill requires animal shelters to maintain public online listings of adoptable animals, with exceptions for those that are severely ill or injured, newborns without mothers, or dogs with documented dangerous behavior.

The Department of Food and Agriculture must conduct a comprehensive study of shelter overcrowding and potential solutions, including examining the feasibility of a statewide database for tracking adoptable dogs and cats. This study's findings are due to the Legislature by January 2028. The bill also modifies the definition of commercial dog breeders to include those who transfer two or more litters or 10 or more dogs annually, down from previous thresholds of three litters or 20 dogs.

Under the new provisions, breeders must microchip dogs before eight weeks of age, register new owners with microchip registries upon transfer, and maintain detailed health records for one year after sale. Dogs cannot be transferred until they receive age-appropriate immunizations and health certification from a California-licensed veterinarian. Local jurisdictions retain authority to implement stricter breed-specific ordinances, while the state will reimburse agencies for costs associated with implementing these new requirements.