(A) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to own, keep, or harbor any unusual animal within the corporate limits of the city, except that this section shall not be construed to prohibit a public zoo, circus, humane society, or carnival from displaying unusual animals as exhibits, or to prohibit any wildlife rescue organizations with appropriate permits from the state’s Game and Parks Commission from rehabilitating or sheltering unusual animals.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to sell, give away, transfer, or import into the city, any unusual animal as defined in this section, excluding a public zoo from doing business with another public zoo.
(C) (1) In the event the City Clerk/Treasurer or Animal Control Officer determines an unusual animal is being owned, kept, or harbored by any person in violation of this section, the City Clerk/Treasurer or Animal Control Officer may have the person prosecuted for the violation and may order the person to remove the unusual animal from the city, or destroy it.
(2) The order shall be contained in a written notice to remove or destroy the unusual animal within ten days and shall be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(3) If the owner or person keeping or harboring of the unusual animal shall have failed to remove or destroy the unusual animal after the expiration of ten days from the receipt of the notice and no appeal is taken to the city’s City Council, the City Council shall cause the unusual animal to be destroyed.
(D) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
DOMESTICATED. A tame animal that is subject to the dominion and control of an owner or person keeping or harboring the animal, and accustomed to living in or near human habitation without requiring extraordinary restraint for the protection of humans or unreasonably disturbing the human habitation.
UNUSUAL ANIMAL. Any poisonous or potentially dangerous animal not normally considered domesticated, and shall include animals prohibited by the city, state, or federal requirements, and also:
(a) Class mammalia; order carnivora, family felidae (such as lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, bobcats, and cougars), except commonly accepted domesticated cats and hybrids involving the same; family canidae (such as wolves, coyotes, and fox), except domesticated dogs and hybrids involving the same; family mustedilae (such as weasels, martins, fishers, skunks, wolverines, mink, and badgers), except ferrets; family procyonidae (such as raccoon); family ursidae (such as bears); order primata (such as monkeys and chimpanzees); and order chiroptera (such as bats);
(b) Poisonous reptiles, cobras, and their allies (elapidae, hydrophiidae); vipers and their allies (crotiladae, viperidae); boonslang and kirkland’s tree snake; and gila monster (heleodermatidae); and
(c) Nonpoisonous reptiles or snakes that will grow to more than six feet in length at maturity.
(Prior Code, § 93.17) (Ord. 2000-10.1, passed 10-10-2000) Penalty, see § 10.99