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§§ 6-51-6-60 RESERVED.
(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to crop a dog's ears, dock a tail, remove dew claws or perform other surgical procedures on a dog or a cat except as provided by the "Veterinary Licensing Act," Tex. Occ. Code Ch. 801, as amended from time to time.
(b) It shall be unlawful for a person to sell or deliver live chickens, ducklings, goslings or rabbits less than eight weeks of age to any person in quantities of less than five.
(c) It shall be unlawful for a person to sell, offer for sale, barter or display any living chickens, rabbits, ducks or any other fowl or animal which has been dyed, colored or otherwise treated so as to impart to them an artificial color.
(d) It shall be unlawful for a person to give away any live animal as a prize or inducement for the purpose of attracting trade or business.
(e) It shall be unlawful for a person to use steel jaw or leg-hold traps except in the case of rat control.
(f) It shall be unlawful for any person to beat, starve, overwork or to otherwise abuse any animal.
(g) It shall be unlawful for an owner or other person having care and control of any animal to abandon said animal.
(h) It shall be unlawful for a person to confine an animal in a parked or standing vehicle in such a way as to endanger the animal's health, safety or welfare. It is presumed that an animal's health, safety or welfare is endangered when the animal is confined in a parked or standing vehicle for a period of five or more minutes when the ambient outside air temperature measures above 85°F or below 35°F.
(i) Except as provided for in § 6-13 (e), it shall be unlawful for a person to use a chain, rope, tether, leash, cable or other device to attach a dog to a stationary object or trolley system. Restraint under such conditions is presumed to be cruel confinement for purposes of this chapter.
(j) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (j), it shall be unlawful for a person to confine an animal for a substantial portion of the day in an outdoor enclosure that provides less than 48 square feet of space for each animal that it contains that is at least six months old. It is presumed that an animal is being confined for a substantial portion of the day if a police officer, animal care and control officer, code enforcement officer or the person charged with enforcing this ordinance witnesses the animal in said enclosure at least twice on the same day at two separate times that are at least five hours apart.
(2) The prohibition in this subsection (j) shall not apply to:
a. Registered non-profit agencies that keep animals for purposes of rescue, rehabilitation or adoption so long as such animals are otherwise maintained in accordance with the requirements of this chapter; or
b. Situations in which animals are being boarded for a period of less than 30 days so long as such animals are otherwise maintained in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
(k) (1) It shall be unlawful for a person to knowingly manufacture, buy, sell, barter, exchange, possess, advertise or otherwise offer equipment used for training or handling a fighting bird, including, but not limited to, a cage, decoy, pen, house for keeping a fighting bird, feeding apparatus, training pen or a gaff, slasher or other sharp implement designed for attachment to a fowl with the intent that the equipment be used in bird fighting. For purposes of this provision,
GAFF means an artificial steel spur designed to attach to the leg of a fowl to replace or supplement the fowl's natural spur, and SLASHER means a steel weapon resembling a curved knife blade designed to attach to the foot of a fowl.
(2) For purposes of this subsection (k), it is presumed that equipment is intended to be used for bird fighting if the decoy or gaff, slasher or other implement:
a. Bears blood or other biological matter or residue; or
b. If a police officer, animal care and control officer, code enforcement officer or other person charged with enforcing this article witnesses the decoy or implement:
1. Attached to a bird; or
2. In the pen, coop or yard in which the bird is located.
(l) The actions prohibited by this section are in addition to any prohibitions existing elsewhere in this code or any applicable state or federal law. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any duty imposed on an owner by any other provision of this code or any applicable state or federal law.
(m) (1) Public safety officers, including officers in the city code compliance department, public health, fire and police departments, shall have the authority to seize any animal that is the subject of any violation of this section if doing so is believed to be necessary to protect the animal's health, safety or welfare.
(2) If an officer personally witnesses a violation of any provision of this section occurring in plain view from or on public property, the officer may seize the animal without seeking issuance of a warrant even if doing so requires entering onto or into private property.
(3) If an animal is seized without a warrant under subsection (m)(2) above, a timely post-seizure hearing shall be held to satisfy the constitutional requirements of due process.
(n) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent public safety officers, including officers in the city code compliance department, public health, fire and police departments from euthanizing animals when authorized to do so by any statute, ordinance or law, or when such action is deemed necessary to spare the animal unreasonable pain and suffering or in the interest of the public health and safety.
(o) It shall be unlawful for an owner or other person having care and control of a dog or cat to fail to promptly remove and dispose of, in a sanitary manner, feces left by the dog or cat. It shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution under this subsection (o) that the person in control of the dog or cat is the owner of the premises, or the agent of the owner of the premises, where the dog or cat deposits feces.
(p) It shall be unlawful to allow accumulation of animal feces and urine in violation of Appendix B of the code of the City of Fort Worth.
(q) It shall be unlawful to keep large animals in violation of Appendix A of the code of the City of Fort Worth.
(r) It shall be unlawful to keep swine in violation of Appendix B of the code of the City of Fort Worth.
(s) It shall be unlawful to keep pigeons and certain fowl in violation of Appendix B of the code of the City of Fort Worth.
(t) It shall be unlawful to ride, tether or pasture any animal in parks or recreation areas in violation of Ch. 24 of the code of the City of Fort Worth.
(v) It shall be unlawful to walk a dog or ride a horse within the confines of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden in violation of Ch. 24 of the code of the City of Fort Worth.
(Ord. 23295-06-2018, § 1, passed 6-26-2018, eff. 7-6-2018)
It shall be unlawful for a person to sell, offer for sale, barter, trade, keep, own, maintain, use or have in a person's possession or on premises under such person's control any of the following:
(a) Any dangerous animal, pursuant to a final determination by the director and in accordance with this chapter that the animal is dangerous;
(b) Any prohibited animal unless that person is exempted by Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.102, Subchapter E, Dangerous Wild Animals, as amended; or
(1) A prohibited animal is exempt from this section if:
a. The animal belongs to a bona fide zoological park, circus, educational institution, museum, licensed laboratory, publicly owned nature center or the animal is kept by bona fide members of an educational or scientific association or society approved by the director of health, or persons holding permits from an agency of the state or the United States for the care and keeping of animals for rehabilitative purposes. If a person holds a permit from the Texas State Department of Parks and Wildlife to operate a wildcare center in the city, the permit holder must also comply with the city comprehensive zoning ordinance, as amended, and must keep any and all animals or reptiles in cages of sufficient size, construction and strength to restrain the animal or reptile at all times; or
b. The animal is a service animal, as defined herein, that has been registered with the city and the following information has been provided to the director:
1. Records of vaccination appropriate for the species of animal;
2. Documentation from a veterinarian that the animal is healthy;
3. Proof of proper restraint for the animal; and
4. Proof that the animal has been or is being trained to perform tasks of an assistance or service animal.
(Ord. 23295-06-2018, § 1, passed 6-26-2018, eff. 7-6-2018)
(a) All guard dogs shall be registered with the director prior to being used as guard dogs and thereafter registered annually.
(b) A guard dog that commits an unprovoked bite upon a human being or animal shall be quarantined as required in § 6-42. If a person committing a crime is bitten by a guard dog that is protecting life or property, the animal may be observed at a kennel, or at the animal care and control center as directed by the director or his or her authorized representative.
(c) That portion of the "Private Security Act," Tex. Occ. Code Ch. 1702, which refers to guard dog companies and restrictions on the use of guard dogs, is hereby adopted by reference.
(Ord. 23295-06-2018, § 1, passed 6-26-2018, eff. 7-6-2018)
(a) If the city is asked to pick up a small dead animal from premises which are used for nonresidential purposes, the owner of the animal or the person in control of the premises on which the animal is located shall pay the sum established by city council for each animal which the city picks up.
(b) Owners are responsible for the proper disposition of large dead animals other than a dog or cat.
(Ord. 23295-06-2018, § 1, passed 6-26-2018, eff. 7-6-2018)
Every owner or other person having care and control of any animal shall provide the following for each animal under his or her care and control:
(a) Sufficient nutritious and wholesome food, served to the animal in clean containers, to maintain the animal in good health;
(b) Sufficient clean and wholesome water, served to the animal in a clean container, such water to be reasonably available to the animal at all times;
(c) Adequate shelter, which shall allow the animal to remain dry and protected from the elements at all times and which shall provide either natural or artificial shade for the animal to avoid direct sunlight. If the shelter is provided by enclosure, the enclosure shall allow for adequate ventilation; and
(d) Veterinary care as needed to prevent suffering. It is a defense to prosecution under subsection (c) that the animals are livestock animals kept in accordance with generally accepted and otherwise lawful animal husbandry or agriculture practices.
(e) Animals kept on or brought to day care center premises shall be in compliance with this chapter and with § 16-434 of this code.
(Ord. 23295-06-2018, § 1, passed 6-26-2018, eff. 7-6-2018)
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