(a) A dog, cat or ferret, three (3) months of age or older, must be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed and accredited veterinarian yearly.
(b) No owner shall fail to provide his/her animal(s) with sufficient wholesome and nutritious food, water in sufficient quantities, proper air, shelter space and protection from weather, veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering and humane care and treatment.
(c) No person shall beat, cruelly ill-treat, torment, overload, overwork or otherwise abuse an animal or cause, instigate or permit any dogfight, cockfight, bullfight, or other combat between animals or between animals and humans.
(d) No owner of an animal shall abandon such animal.
(e) No person shall crop a dog’s ears or dock a dog’s tail except a licensed veterinarian. In no event shall any person except a licensed veterinarian perform such an operation.
(f) Chickens, ducklings or rabbits younger than eight (8) weeks of age may not be sold in quantities of less than twenty-five (25) to a single purchaser.
(g) No person shall give away any live animal, reptile or bird as a prize for, or as an inducement to enter, any contest, game or other competition, as an inducement to enter a place of amusement or as an incentive to enter into any business agreement whereby the offer was for the purpose of attracting trade.
(h) No person shall expose any known poisonous substance, whether mixed with food or not, so that the same shall be liable to be eaten by an animal, provided that it shall be lawful for a person to expose on his or her own real property common rat poison mixed only with vegetable substance.
(i) No person or persons shall confine any animal in a motor vehicle in such a manner that places said animal in a life or health threatening situation by exposure to a prolonged period of extreme heat or cold, without proper ventilation or other protection from such heat or cold. In order to protect the health and safety of an animal, an Animal Control Officer, law enforcement officer or other investigator, who has probable cause to believe that this Section is being violated shall have authority to enter such motor vehicle by any reasonable means under the circumstances after making a reasonable effort to locate the owner or person. The animal’s owner shall be liable for any cost incurred for removal of the animal.
(j) No person shall possess animal fighting paraphernalia and a dog, cock, fowl or any animal bearing a scar or injury consistent with animal fighting.
(k) No person shall permit anyone to use any building, shed, room, yard, ground, premises, vehicle or property, whether enclosed or not, for the purpose of animal fighting.
(l) The board or its agent may make sanitary inspections and surveys in all parts of this state, and shall have the right to enter upon any public or private property, examining such animals, conducting rests in regard
to the presence of an infectious, contagious, or communicable disease of domestic animals and the possible sources of such disease, and performing other function authorized by this article (I.C. 15-2.1-3-1) in compliance with Indiana Animal Law.
(m) Public sale means any sale where the general public is invited to participate whether held in an established place of business dedicated principally to the sale of domestic animals or at a place where such sales are infrequently held. Standards for the sale and/or adoption of domesticated animals at a public place are as follows:
(1) Cage area must be clean and clutter free, with proper sanitary measures taken to ensure the area does not become offensive to the public.
(2) Food and water must be provided to any animal that is on display for sale or adoption.
(3) Daily cleaning schedule must be posted.
(4) Current vaccine records must be available at all times for any and every animal that is on display for sale or adoption (small mammals, parrot like birds and fish are not included).
(5) Disinfectant must be present for use in handling and maintaining area of animals that are on display.
(6) Location of cages and/or crates should not block product aisles or obstruct customer traffic flow (the store must provided consistent designated locations).
(7) Any animal for sale and adoption must be properly restrained under the provisions in this chapter.
(Ord. No. 95-32, § 8, 12-12-95; Am. Ord. No. 98-04, § 3-8, 2-10-98; Am. Ord. No. 2002-09, 4-16-02; Am. Ord. No. 2008-02, § 8, 4-16-08)
9 I.C., §15-2.1-21-8, addresses running at large, and I.C., §15-2.1-6-1, et seq., addresses rabies quarantine procedures and health care requirements.