(A) Cruelty to animals. It is prohibited and it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally commit or cause to be committed any act of cruelty, harassment, or torture of any animal or cause such animal to be mutilated or inhumanely killed. Ownership, or the commission of such acts of cruelty on private property, shall not be justifiable defense for violation of this section. It shall be unlawful for any person to unreasonably withhold food, water, shelter, or veterinary care from any animal such that the animal’s health is endangered or it is caused to unduly suffer.
(B) Owner's duty to provide food, shelter, and care. The owner or person who has custody or control of any animal shall:
(1) Keep the animal in clean, sanitary, and healthy condition; and
(2) Provide the animal sufficient nutritious and wholesome food, served to the animal in clean containers, to maintain the animal's good health; and
(3) Provide the animal constant and adequate supply of fresh, clean, potable water served from a clean container that keeps the animal hydrated for environmental conditions; and
(4) Provide the animal care and veterinarian medical treatment for injuries, parasites, and disease that is sufficient to maintain the animal in good health and minimize and prevent suffering; and
(5) Maintain the animal's shelter (pens, kennels, coops, fenced areas and enclosures of any kind) in sanitary condition, including, but not limited to:
(a) Disposing all animal waste promptly; and
(b) All pens and enclosures shall be cleaned as needed to prevent odors and not attract insects or other vermin or create a nuisance; and
(6) Provide the animal with adequate shelter.
(C) Poisoning. It is prohibited and it shall be unlawful for any person to poison any domestic animal or to distribute poison or toxicant on public or private property in any manner whatsoever with the intent of poisoning any domestic animal.
(D) Abandoning animals, alive or dead. It is prohibited and shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally release, abandon or discard a dog, cat or any other animal in their custody, alive or dead, in the city limits. Any animal released, abandoned, or discarded at a city animal control facility without city consent shall become the property of the city and may be adopted out or disposed of in accordance with § 91.036 at the city's sole discretion.
(E) Cropping, docking, or castrating. It shall be unlawful for a person other than a licensed veterinarian to crop a dog's ears, dock an animal's tail; or castrate an animal; provided, however, that this division shall not apply to normal livestock operations occurring within the city.
(F) Striking animal with vehicle. The operator of any motor vehicle which strikes or injures a domesticated animal shall stop and immediately render aid if safe to do so and report such incident to the animal control authority or the police.
(G) Hunting and trapping. No person may hunt, trap, wound, kill, maim, torture or otherwise threaten the health and safety of any indigenous wild animal in the city limits of Cleburne, excluding the trapping of nuisance wildlife under the authorization and supervision of the animal control authority; also excluding any person who holds a seasonal hunting license for a species for which there exists a hunting season, and that person's hunting activities occur on property which is properly zoned, and property owner's permission has been granted for such activity; or a person holds proper permits issued by the animal control authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and/or USDA Wildlife Services.
(H) Seizure. The animal control authority shall liberally utilize the authority granted by Tex. Health and Safety Code § 821.022 to seize and impound any animal, if the animal control authority has reason to believe that an animal has been or is being cruelly treated, pending a hearing before the municipal court on the issues of cruelty and disposition of the animal. Seizure of the subject animal prior to receiving a warrant is hereby authorized if such delay endangers the life of or would unreasonably prolong the suffering of the subject animal.
(I) Ownership prohibited. It is prohibited and shall be unlawful for any person who has had animals seized for inhumane treatment, where a ruling was made in a court of law that upheld the determination by the animal control authority, to own, harbor, possess, have custody or control over, or provide a premise to which an animal returns for food, shelter, or care within the corporate city limits of Cleburne.
('68 Code, § 5-33(a)-(c)) (Ord. 3-1989-10, passed 3-21-89; Am. Ord. 09-2016-47, passed 9-27-16; Am. Ord. 07-2021-32, passed 7-13-21)
Penalty, see § 91.999