(A) Department of Health guidelines. The city shall follow the New Mexico Department of Health's guidelines to help protect against rabies located on the Web at http://nmhealth.org/ERD/HealthData/rabies. shtml
(B) State law reference. The state law reference regarding rabies and animal bites is NMSA § 77-1-6.
(C) Reporting wild animals that are sick or dead. If a person sees a sick or dead wild animal or a wild animal that is acting abnormally in this area, report it to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish at 1 (888)- 248-6866. Rabid animals may show no fear of people and may even seem friendly or become aggressive.
(D) Rabid animal. An animal that has rabies or shows signs of having rabies, and every animal bitten by another animal afflicted with rabies or exposed to rabies, shall be confined at once in a secure place by the owner. The person observing these animals shall immediately contact and report the observations to the Animal Control Authority.
(1) If the animal shows signs of sickness or abnormal behavior, or if the animal escapes confinement, the person shall immediately notify the Animal Control Authority.
(2) If the animal dies during confinement, the person having custody shall notify the Animal Control Officer.
(E) Animal biting a person. The owner or person who has custody of an animal that bites a person and a person bitten by an animal have a duty to report that occurrence to the Animal Control Officer within 24 hours. If deemed necessary by the Animal Control Officer, the owner of an animal that bites a person shall surrender the animal to the Animal Control Officer, who will impound the animal for a period of observation. The Animal Control Officer may order the owner of the animal to place the animal in quarantine on the owner's premises.
(Ord. 131, passed 1-4-2012; Am. Ord. 134, passed 7-25-2012; Am. Ord. 179, passed 6-5-2019)