Cal. FAC § 19501
This is the official text of Cal. FAC § 19501, part of California’s Food and Agricultural Code — regulates farming, food safety, and agricultural commerce.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) Cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep, swine, goats, or fallow deer, or poultry shall be slaughtered by the methods prescribed in this section. No state agency shall contract for, purchase, procure, or sell all or any portion of any animal, unless that animal is slaughtered in conformity with this chapter. This chapter applies to any person engaged in the business of slaughtering animals enumerated in this section, or any person slaughtering any of those animals when all, or any part of, that animal is subsequently sold or used for commercial purposes.
(b) All cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep, swine, goats, or fallow deer subject to this part, or poultry subject to Part 1 (commencing with Section 24501) of, Part 2 (commencing with Section 25401) of, and Part 3 (commencing with Section 26401) of, Division 12 shall be slaughtered by either of the following prescribed methods:
(1) The animal shall be rendered insensible to pain by a captive bolt, gunshot, electrical or chemical means, or any other means that is rapid and effective before being cut, shackled, hoisted, thrown, or cast, with the exception of poultry which may be shackled.
(2) The animal shall be handled, prepared for slaughter, and slaughtered in accordance with ritual requirements of the Jewish or any other religious faith that prescribes a method of slaughter whereby the animal suffers loss of consciousness by anemia of the brain caused by the simultaneous and instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries with a sharp instrument.
This section does not apply to the slaughter of spent hens and small game birds, as defined by the department by regulation.
(b) All cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep, swine, goats, or fallow deer subject to this part, or poultry subject to Part 1 (commencing with Section 24501) of, Part 2 (commencing with Section 25401) of, and Part 3 (commencing with Section 26401) of, Division 12 shall be slaughtered by either of the following prescribed methods:
(1) The animal shall be rendered insensible to pain by a captive bolt, gunshot, electrical or chemical means, or any other means that is rapid and effective before being cut, shackled, hoisted, thrown, or cast, with the exception of poultry which may be shackled.
(2) The animal shall be handled, prepared for slaughter, and slaughtered in accordance with ritual requirements of the Jewish or any other religious faith that prescribes a method of slaughter whereby the animal suffers loss of consciousness by anemia of the brain caused by the simultaneous and instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries with a sharp instrument.
This section does not apply to the slaughter of spent hens and small game birds, as defined by the department by regulation.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in California?
Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.