(a) A person commits an offense if he:
(1) owns a prohibited animal for any purpose in the city; or
(2) sells, exchanges, gives away, or transfers a prohibited animal to any person in the city for use, retention, resale, or transfer as a pet or as a human’s companion.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(1) that the person is:
(1) a federal, state, county, or municipal agency or an agent of such an agency acting in an official capacity that:
(A) has all required state and federal licenses and permits; and
(B) is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal;
(2) a research facility licensed by the United States Secretary of Agriculture under the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2131, et seq.), as amended, that:
(A) has all required state and federal licenses and permits;
(B) is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal; and
(C) has on file with the director, on a form provided for that purpose, a current list describing all prohibited animals kept in the city by the facility and specifying the location where each animal is kept;
(3) an organization that is an accredited member of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association that:
(A) has all required state and federal licenses and permits;
(B) is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal; and
(C) has on file with the director, on a form provided for that purpose, a current list describing all prohibited animals kept in the city by the organization and specifying the location where each animal is kept;
(4) transporting an injured, infirm, orphaned, or abandoned prohibited animal for care or treatment, if the person:
(A) has all required state and federal licenses and permits; and
(B) is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal;
(5) a licensed veterinarian, an incorporated humane society or animal shelter, or a person who holds a rehabilitation permit issued under Subchapter C, Chapter 43 of the Parks and Wildlife Code, as amended, who is temporarily treating or caring for a sick or injured prohibited animal, if the veterinarian, humane society, animal shelter, or rehabilitator:
(A) has all required state and federal licenses and permits; and
(B) is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal;
(6) a transient circus company not based in the State of Texas, if:
(A) the prohibited animal is used as an integral part of the circus performances;
(B) the animal is kept within the city only during the time the circus is performing in the city; and
(C) the circus:
(i) has all required state and federal licenses and permits;
(ii) is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal; and
(iii) has on file with the director, on a form provided for that purpose, a current list describing all prohibited animals kept in the city by the circus and specifying the location where each animal is kept;
(7) a television or motion picture production company that has temporary custody or control of the prohibited animal during the filming of a television or motion picture production in the city, if the production company:
(A) has all required state and federal licenses and permits;
(B) is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal; and
(C) has on file with the director, on a form provided for that purpose, a current list describing all prohibited animals kept in the city by the production company and specifying the location where each animal is kept;
(8) a college or university that owns and has possession, custody, or control of the prohibited animal solely as a mascot for the college or university, if the college or university:
(A) has all required state and federal licenses and permits;
(B) is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal; and
(C) has on file with the director, on a form provided for that purpose, a current list describing all prohibited animals kept in the city by the college or university and specifying the location where each animal is kept;
(9) transporting the prohibited animal in interstate commerce in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2131, et seq.), as amended, and any regulations adopted under that act, if the person:
(A) has all required state and federal licenses and permits; and
(B) is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the prohibited animal;
(10) a person whose only business is to supply nonhuman primates directly and exclusively to biomedical research facilities and who holds a Class “A” or Class “B” dealer’s license issued by the United States Secretary of Agriculture under the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2131, et seq.), as amended, if:
(A) the prohibited animal is a nonhuman primate owned by and in the custody and control of the person;
(B) the person has all required state and federal licenses and permits;
(C) the person is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal; and
(D) the person has on file with the director, on a form provided for that purpose, a current list describing all prohibited animals kept in the city by the person and specifying the location where each animal is kept;
(11) a participant in a species survival plan of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association for the species of prohibited animal owned by or in the possession, control, or custody of the person, if:
(A) the prohibited animal is an integral part of the species survival plan;
(B) the person has all required state and federal licenses and permits;
(C) the person is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal; and
(D) the person has on file with the director, on a form provided for that purpose, a current list describing all prohibited animals kept in the city by the person and specifying the location where each animal is kept; or
(12) exhibiting a prohibited animal (other than a dangerous wild animal as defined in Section 822.101 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended) at the State Fair of Texas or at a special event conducted with written permission of the city, if the person:
(A) has all required state and federal licenses and permits;
(B) is in compliance with all federal, state, and city laws or regulations applicable to the animal; and
(C) has on file with the director, on a form provided for that purpose, a current list describing all prohibited animals kept in the city by the person and specifying the location where each animal is kept. (Ord. 26024)