For the purpose of this chapter the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCEPTABLE IDENTIFICATION. Tags or microchip registered locally or nationally and containing sufficient information to contact the animal's current owner.
ADEQUATE SHELTER. For Animals, excluding domestic farm animals, a structure designed specifically to shelter an animal that allows an animal to maintain its body heat. The structure must have a roof, solid floor, three leak-free sides with no openings to the elements, and a fourth side that provides access in and out of the structure but otherwise protects the animal from the elements. The structure shall be located in an area allowing the Animal to remain dry with access outside the structure to dry, mud free ground. For domestic farm animals the structure shall consist of three sides and a roof that is specifically designed to protect domestic farm animals from the elements. The foregoing shall not apply to a person providing shelter for a community cat.
ALTERED ANIMAL. An animal that has been surgically sterilized to prevent procreation.
ANIMAL. A living vertebrate, domestic or wild, except a human being.
ANIMAL CONCESSION. An activity which makes an Animal available for hire or display for compensation.
ANIMAL EVENT. Exhibition, presentation, or other planned activity involving the gathering of wild, exotic, and/or domestic animals in a public or private venue.
ANIMAL FIGHTING PARAPHERNALIA AND ACTIVITIES. Equipment, and/or items used to train or condition animals for participation in animal fighting activity or materials which promote animal fighting; the breeding of animals for the express purpose of fighting; the training of animals for fighting; the tracking of animal fighting results; or the production of materials promoting or supporting betting or gambling on animal fighting.
ANIMAL HOARDER. A person who:
(1) Possesses any combination of eight or more cats and/or dogs. Possesses any combination of 15 or more cats, dogs or other animals including but not limited to: hamsters, chinchillas, hedgehogs, gerbils, guinea pigs, sugar gliders, rabbits, ferrets, mice, rats, lizards, snakes, turtles, birds, excluding fish; and
(3) Keeps the animals in an overcrowded environment; and/or
(4) Exhibits material disregard for the conditions under which the animals are living and the harmful impact they have on the health and well-being of the animals.
ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANIZATION. A non-profit entity duly organized and existing under applicable state law whose mission is to prevent cruelty to animals, rehome animals, or otherwise promote the cause of animal welfare through legitimate activities approved by the Department.
ATTACK. The exhibition by an animal of aggressive behavior, including, but not limited to: snarling, biting, baring teeth, chasing, growling, snapping, pouncing or lunging.
AUCTION. A facility or location where animals are regularly purchased, sold or traded, excluding those facilities otherwise defined in this chapter or by state law.
BREEDER. A person who:
(1) Intentionally or accidentally allows the breeding of a cat or dog; or
(2) Makes a cat or dog available for breeding purposes; or
(3) A person who advertises or offers for sale, sells, trades, receives compensation for, or gives away any litter of puppies or kittens; with the exception a litter of puppies or kittens relinquished to the Department.
CATTERY. A person who:
(1) Possesses more than one unaltered cat or more than seven cats, whether or not altered; or
(2) Engages in the business of boarding cats for compensation.
CIRCUS. A commercial performance of acts for public entertainment which includes performances by animals.
CITY. The City of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
COMMISSION. The Animal Care and Control Commission which is comprised of five appointed individuals who provide advice to the Chief of Police and the Department Director on policy and financial matters affecting the Department.
COMMUNITY CAT. An outdoor free roaming cat that has been evaluated and sterilized by a licensed veterinarian, ear tipped, vaccinated for rabies, microchipped, documented with the Department and/or partnering Animal Welfare Organization, and released back into the area from which it was captured.
COMMUNITY CAT PROVIDER. A person who provides food, water, shelter, or otherwise cares for community cats and satisfies the Department's community cat provider administrative rules and the requirements of § 91.041. A person so identified by the Department shall not be considered the owner or harborer of a community cat.
DANGEROUS WILD or DANGEROUS EXOTIC ANIMAL. A wild or exotic animal, not indigenous to the State of Indiana, not commonly found as a domestic animal that would create a potential risk to public safety including but not limited to: bears, wolves, lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, cougars, alligators, crocodiles, caimans, snakes and reptiles that are venomous, apes, baboons, macaques, or any hybrid of like animal.
DEPARTMENT. The Department of Animal Care and Control is a department of the city established to manage, control, care for, process, and make disposition of animals in the city, pursuant to this chapter. The Department is managed by the Department Director under the direct supervision of the Chief of Police.
DIRECTOR. The Director of the Department.
DOMESTIC FARM ANIMAL. Including but not limited to: calves, cattle, emus, goats, horses, ponies, llamas, alpacas, ostriches, poultry (chicken, duck, goose, turkey, peafowl, guinea fowl or any variety of game fowl galliformes and/or waterfowl (anseriformes)), sheep, pigs or porcine of any variety including Vietnamese potbellied pigs, and similar animals. Pigeons shall not be considered a domestic farm animal.
EAR TIPPED. The straight-line cutting of the tip of the left ear of a cat while it is anesthetized.
EXOTIC ANIMAL. An animal whose normal native habitat is not indigenous to the continental United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii; except fish, and fur-bearing Animals commercially bred for the furrier trade and birds protected under federal laws and regulations.
FREE ROAMING CAT. A cat not restrained and without acceptable identification or without an identifiable owner or harborer.
GROOMING ESTABLISHMENT. A commercial operation engaged in the business of bathing, clipping, plucking, or grooming animals.
HABITUAL ANIMAL OFFENDER. A person who within any three year period has:
(1) Admitted to three or more violations of this chapter before the ordinance violations clerk in accordance with Chapter 39; or
(2) Has been convicted and/or admitted to a violation of this chapter in a court of competent jurisdiction.
The controlling date is the date of each violation and not the date of the subsequent plea or conviction.
HARBORER. A person who knowingly confines or provides food, water, care, or shelter for any domestic animal.
KENNEL. A person who:
(1) Possesses more than one unaltered dog or more than five dogs, whether or not altered; or
(2) Engages in the business of boarding or training dogs for compensation.
MICROCHIP IMPLANT. A passive electronic device that is injected into an animal by means of a pre-packaged sterilized implanting device to identify and/or assist in the recovery of such animal by its owner.
MICROCHIP READER. An electronic device that detects an implanted microchip.
OWNER. A person, who owns, has ownership or custody rights for an animal or who has harbored such animal for more than 30 days (after filing a found report with the Department) on or about any premises owned or occupied by such person.
PERSON. An individual, group of individuals, firm, business, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company or other entity.
PET. An animal owned or harbored by a person, except service animals, police dogs, or canine governmental dogs.
PET SHOP.
(1) A commercial operation, excluding a licensed cattery, kennel, or breeder, whether operates separately or in connection with another business enterprise that advertises the wholesale or retail sale of any species of animal.
(2) A permanent physical structure designed and ventilated for the overnight or long-term housing and wholesale or retail sale of animals.
PUBLIC NUISANCE. An animal which engages in any of the following activities or conduct:
(1) Impedes or interferes with a pedestrian or a passing vehicle; or
(2) Charges or attacks another animal(s) or person(s); or
(3) Trespasses on school property; or
(4) Is at large or not restrained; or
(5) Damages private or public property; or
(6) Barks, whines, howls, or makes other sounds common to its species continuously for 15 minutes or for an aggregate 20 minutes in a one hour period; or
(7) Is present at a public event at which animals have been prohibited by the Department; or
(8) Repeatedly destroys, desecrates, or soils property.
RABIES VACCINATION. The injection, by a licensed veterinarian, of a dog, cat, or ferret with a rabies vaccine licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and approved by the Indiana State Board of Animal Health.
RESTRAINT. An animal is properly restrained when:
(1) Secured by a leash or lead and under the physical control of the animal's owner or attending party; or
(2) Confined within the exterior boundaries of the owner's or harborer's real property in accordance with § 91.021.
RODEO. A performance featuring bronco riding, steer wrestling, calf roping, greased pig contest or bull riding.
SERVICE ANIMAL. Only dogs are recognized as service animals under titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). SERVICE ANIMALS are dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for individuals with disabilities. The dog must be trained to take a specific action when needed to assist the person with a disability in accordance with the ADA. Animals whose sole function is to provide comfort are not considered a SERVICE ANIMAL.
VETERINARY HOSPITAL. An establishment maintained and operated by a licensed veterinarian or legal entity for the purpose of hospitalizing animals or diagnosing and treating diseases and injuries in animals.
WILD ANIMAL. A living vertebrate non-domestic animal normally found in a wild state.
ZOOLOGICAL PARK. An American Zoological Association accredited permanent facility or operation, excluding pet shops, engaged in the displaying or exhibiting to the public one or more species of non-domesticated animals.
(Ord. G-23-18, passed 9-25-18)