Broden

J.Penal Code section 597.1 is a self-contained regulatory scheme covering treatment of animals. It provides that the failure to provide animals with “proper care and attention” is a misdemeanor. (Subd. (a).) It covers the authority of animal control officers over sick, injured, straying, or abandoned animals in nonemergency situations. It further provides that animals may be seized or impounded when such an officer “has reasonable grounds to believe that very prompt action is required to protect the health or safety” of the animals. (Subds. (a) & (b).) It deals with the circumstances in which an animal may be “killed” or “humanely destroyed.” (Subds. (b), (c), (e) & (i).) Animals that were “properly seized” are to receive “care and treatment,” the costs of which “shall constitute a lien on the animal” that the owner must pay before the animal is returned. (Subds. (a) & (b).) The owner of a seized or impounded animal is entitled to “a postseizure hearing to determine the validity of the seizure or impoundment,” return of the animals, and liability for costs. (Subds. (f) & (j).)

This statute, which has never been judicially construed, is at the heart of these appeals by…