(A) No person shall own, keep or harbor any pet within the city for longer than 60 days unless the pet has been inoculated against rabies, as provided herein. Any animals, wild or otherwise, for which there is no known rabies vaccination, that can carry and transmit the rabies virus, shall be prohibited from being kept or harbored within the city limits.
(B) The pet shall have received, as evidenced by a certificate which has not expired, an inoculation from a licensed graduate veterinarian using a vaccine which has been approved by the State Department of Health and Environmental Control.
(C) A certificate of the State Department of Health and Environmental Control of pet rabies vaccination will be issued by a licensed graduate veterinarian for each pet, stating the name and address of the owner, the name, breed, color and markings, age, sex of animal and the veterinary or pharmaceutical control number of the vaccination.
(D) Coincident with the issuance of the certificate, the licensed graduate veterinarian shall also furnish a serially numbered metal license tag bearing the same number and year as the certificate. The metal license tag shall bear the name of the veterinarian who administered the vaccination and shall at all times be attached to a collar or harness worn by the pet for which the certificate and tag has been issued, except when the pet is in an enclosed confinement.
(E) The owner shall have a valid certificate of rabies inoculation readily available for inspection by competent authority at all times.
(F) In the event that a rabies tag is lost, the owner will obtain a duplicate tag without delay.
(G) If there is a change in ownership of a pet during the valid period of immunization, the new owner must have the current certificate of inoculation transferred to the owner's name.
(H) A certificate of rabies immunization issued by a licensed veterinarian from another state will be accepted as valid evidence provided it is less than one year old.
(1985 Code, § 4-7) (Ord. 94-005, passed 9-13-1994) Penalty, see § 10.99
Statutory reference:
Similar state law, see S.C. Code § 47-5-60