Hunting in L.A. Strictly Off-Limits

The charm, or curse, of L.A. is the way the urban area is interlaced with the countryside, bringing distinctive problems for an urban area--like wildfires.

But does this offer an advantage to a hunter who can clearly see an eight-point buck on his patio or a Canada goose winging conveniently over the barbecue pit, now that the fall hunting season is here?

In a word, no.

You can’t hunt in the city, authorities say. There are all sorts of laws against it, from federal protection of endangered species to city ordinances against using guns or other weapons.

But that doesn’t stop some people from trying. Every year, the city attorney’s office prosecutes urban nim-rods for bagging everything from bunnies to hawks.

“You can forget about hunting,” said Don Cocek, a deputy city attorney who often prosecutes illegal hunting cases. “You can’t even fire a slingshot within city limits.”

Recently, Cocek prosecuted two Granada Hills men caught hunting rabbits in the Sepulveda Dam Wildlife Refuge in the wee hours of the morning. A 20-year-old man caught with four dead rabbits and an air rifle was sentenced to 20 days of Caltrans labor and two years’ probation.

The second man, 24, was fined $150 and placed on a year’s probation.

“They were hunting illegally and they knew it,” said Hector Hernandez, director of city park rangers.

Cocek remembers prosecuting a man who killed a red-tail hawk perched on a power line outside the man’s house. Several years ago, neighbors reported seeing archers kill deer in neighborhoods south of Ventura Boulevard.

Hikers in the Santa Monicas and other mountains that rim the San Fernando Valley, and many homeowners in those areas, frequently see deer, fox, coyotes, skunks, squirrels, and even mountain lions--a prime example of a species protected by law throughout the state.

But protected or not, hunting of any type is illegal--if only because the municipal code makes it unlawful to discharge a firearm within the city limits outside of an authorized shooting range. The code also bans firing arrows, rockets, fireworks, torpedoes, air guns and slingshots.

Another law specifically prohibits hunting in city parks and wildlife preserves.

Most cases that come through the city attorney’s office involve hunters who stalk by night--when they think they can get away with poaching, according to Cocek.

The maximum penalty for the misdemeanor is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Van Nuys Municipal Court, however, has typically imposed less than the maximum penalty but included jail terms and freeway work details for offenders. The hawk killer, for instance, got 10 days in jail.

“If you kill an endangered species I don’t think you should pay your way out of that,” Cocek said.

The exception: If a critter is about to do you in, and you’re on private property, blast away; self-defense applies to fauna as well as humans.

There have been cases in which residents have reported coyotes and rattlesnakes coming dangerously close to small children, Cocek said. “If there’s an imminent threat to public safety, sometimes it’s necessary,” Cocek said. “If you have a mountain lion coming at you, you certainly should protect yourself.”

But be prepared to convince skeptical prosecutors that you could not just back away and leave.

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