Editor's note(s)—Ord. No. 685A, adopted December 12, 2016, amended chapter 6 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Formerly, chapter 6 pertained to similar subject matter, and derived from Ord. No. 685, §§ 1.001—1.004, 1.006—1.024, adopted February 24, 2011.
State law reference(s)—Livestock, V.T.C.A., Agriculture Code § 141.001 et seq.; authority to prohibit dogs running at large, V.T.C.A., Agriculture Code § 251.005; treatment and disposition of animals, V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 821.001 et seq.; regulation of animals, V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 822.001 et seq.; rabies control, V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 826.001 et seq.
ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL
(a) The purpose of this chapter is to establish a city-wide program to identify and prohibit livestock, dangerous dogs, or wild animals in the city so as to preserve public health and safety, to control the running at large of dogs and cats and other animal nuisances, and to control and eradicate rabies in this city. This program shall be administered in accordance with the terms of this chapter.
(b) This is a chapter relating to the restraining, licensing, vaccination, confinement, disposition, and disposal of animals in the city and the prohibition of livestock, dangerous dogs, and wild animals. Authority for this chapter is derived from the Rabies Control Act of 1981, V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code ch. 826, and the statutory authority for state municipalities to regulate dangerous dogs and dangerous wild animals found in V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code ch. 822.
(Code 2014, § 6-1; Ord. No. 685A, § 1.001, 12-12-2016)
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Accidental breeding means any unsupervised or unplanned breeding of any number of an owner's domestic animals.
Act means and refers to the Rabies Control Act of 1981, V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code ch. 826.
Animal means every living creature, either male or female, domestic, nondomestic, livestock, or wild, except a member of the human race.
Domestic animal means all species of animals commonly accepted as domesticated by humans so as to live and breed in a tame condition, including, but not limited to, dogs and cats.
Livestock means animals commonly kept for use on a farm or ranch, or raised for human consumption or an equine animal, including, but not limited to, horses, mules, ponies, jennets, jacks, cattle, hogs, goats, sheep and chickens, ostriches, emus, or other fowl.
Wild animal means any animals of a species that in their natural life are wild, including hybrids and animals which, as a result of their natural or wild condition, cannot be vaccinated effectively for rabies or which have the ability to seriously injure a human or other animal. These animals, however domesticated, shall include, but are not limited, to:
a. Alligators and crocodiles;
b. Bears (Ursidae). All bears, including grizzly bears, brown bears, black bears, and the like;
c. Cat family (Felidae). All except the commonly accepted domesticated cats, and including cheetah, cougar, leopard, jaguar, lion, lynx, panther, ocelot, lion, tiger, serval, caracal, bobcat, and wildcat;
d. Dog family (Canidae). All except domesticated dogs, and including wolf, part wolf, fox, part fox, coyote, part coyote, and dingo;
e. Porcupine (Erethizontidae);
f. Primate (Hominade). All sub-human primates, including baboon, chimpanzee, orangutan,
g. Raccoon (Procyonidae). All raccoons, including eastern raccoon, desert raccoon, and ring-tailed cat;
h. Skunks;
i. Venomous fish and piranha;
j. Venomous snakes or lizards;
k. Hyena;
l. Weasel (Mustelidae). All weasels, including martens, wolverines, ferrets, badgers, otters, ermine, mink, and mongoose, except that persons raising members of this family as a business for their pelts shall not be prohibited by this chapter; and
m. Any hybrid of an animal listed above.
Animal control authority means and refers to the police department.
Animal control officer means the person who has been designated and authorized by the police department to capture and confine animals found in violation of this chapter, or his lawfully delegated deputy or representative.
Animal shelter means the facility operating as the Rita B. Huff Humane Society, Brazos Valley Animal Shelter, or related agency where animals are held under the authority of this chapter or state law.
At large means any animal that is off the premises of its owner's real property and not restrained by a competent person.
Bite means any abrasion, scratch, puncture, tear, or piercing of skin actually or suspected of being caused by an animal.
Breed or breeding means the impregnation of a female animal by a male animal by which offspring are produced.
Cat means all domestic species or varieties of the Felis catus, male or female.
Certificate means a certificate issued at the time of the vaccination of the dog or cat, and bearing thereon the signature of the vaccinator, the registration number, the name, color, breed and sex of the dog or cat, the name and address of the owner, the date of the vaccination, or type of vaccine administered.
Competent person means a human being that is capable of controlling and governing the animal in question and to whose commands the animal is obedient.
Confined or confinement of an animal means confined within a building or home, or within a fenced yard or premises, so that the animal cannot escape from the building, house, or fenced yard or premises without human assistance.
Currently vaccinated means vaccinated and satisfying the criteria in section 6-21.
Dangerous dog means a dog that:
(1) Makes an unprovoked attack on a human, which causes bodily injury and occurs in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own; or
(2) Commits unprovoked acts in a place other than an enclosure in which the animal was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own, and those acts cause a person to reasonably believe that the dog will attack and cause bodily injury to that person.
State law reference(s)—Similar provisions, V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 822.041(2).
Dog means all domesticated members of the canine family, male or female.
Exposed to rabies means any animal, whether it has been vaccinated for rabies or not, which has been bitten, been fighting with, or has consorted with an animal known or suspected to have rabies or showing objective symptoms of rabies.
Humane manner means the care of an animal to include adequate heat, space, ventilation, and sanitary shelter, wholesome food, and water, consistent with the normal requirements and feeding habits of the animal's size, species, and breed.
Impound means the apprehending, catching, trapping, netting, tranquilizing, confining, or, if necessary, the destruction of any animal by the animal control officer.
Impounding facility means any premises designated by the city council for the purpose of impounding and caring for all animals found in violation of this chapter.
Isolation means kept separated and protected from all other animals or humans.
Licensing authority means an individual, company, or organization, or its lawfully delegated designee, designated and authorized by the city police department to issue a certificate of vaccination in accordance with the provisions of section 6-21.
Microchip means an identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of an animal, which uses passive RFID (radio frequency identification) technology to identify the animal.
Nuisance means an animal if it damages private property other than the owner's; causes dangerous conditions; chases or molests; attacks or interferes with persons; or causes excessive barking creating a public nuisance.
Owner means any person who owns, harbors, shelters, keeps, controls, manages, possesses, or has part interest in any animal.
(1) The occupant of any premises on which an animal remains for a period of seven days, or to which it customarily returns daily for a period of ten days, is presumed to be harboring, sheltering, or keeping the aforementioned animal within this definition.
(2) If a minor owns an animal subject to the provisions of this chapter, the head of the household of which the minor owner is a member shall be deemed to be the owner of the animal for the purpose of this chapter and under this chapter shall be responsible as the owner, whether or not the household head is himself a minor. If not, a member of a household, the minor owner shall himself be directly subject to the provisions of this chapter.
Police department means the police department for the City of Madisonville, Texas.
Quarantine means strict confinement of an animal specified in an order of the animal control officer or a court:
(1) On the private premises of the animal's owner, the county animal shelter, or a facility approved by the city code enforcement department; and
(2) Under restraint by a closed cage or paddock, or in a manner approved by the court or the city code enforcement department.
Rabies means an acute viral disease of human and animal affecting the central nervous system and usually transmitted by an animal bite.
Restraint means the animal shall be secured by a leash or lead, or confined within the real property limits of its owner by an enclosed fence or kennel.
Secured enclosure means a fenced area that is:
(1) Locked;
(2) Capable of preventing the entry of the general public, including children;
(3) Capable of preventing the escape or release of an animal;
(4) Clearly marked as containing a dangerous dog; and
(5) In conformance with any requirements for enclosures established by the police department.
Vaccination means properly injected with a rabies vaccine licensed for use in that species by the United States Department of Agriculture, which injection has been administered only by or under the direct supervision of a veterinarian who is licensed to practice in this state.
Veterinarian means a doctor of veterinary medicine who holds a valid license to practice his profession in the state.
Veterinary establishment means any establishment maintained and operated by a licensed veterinarian for surgery, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases and injuries of animals.
Zoonotic diseases means infectious diseases that may be transmitted from animals to humans under normal condition.
(Code 2014, § 6-2; Ord. No. 685A, § 1.002, 12-12-2016; Ord. No. 852, § 1(a), 7-11-2022)
State law reference(s)—Similar provisions, V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 822.041, V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 826.001.
Loading...