Sec. 5-203. Public nuisance and other violations.

(12) failing to take actions required for the driver of a motor vehicle that hits and injures an animal (Md. Code, Transportation Article, § 20-106); or

(13) leaving a cat or dog in a vehicle under certain circumstances (Md. Code, Transportation Article, § 21-1004.1).

(b) Regulations. The County Executive may issue regulations, consistent with State law, to interpret and implement State anti-cruelty laws in the County. (1999 L.M.C., ch. 10, § 1; 2005 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 1; 2017 L.M.C., ch. 36, §1; 2018 L.M.C., ch. 14, §1.)

Editor’s note—Section 5-201 is cited in Coroneos v. Montgomery County, 161 Md. App. 411, 869 A.2d 410 (2005).

Sec. 5-202. Dangerous and potentially dangerous animals.

(a) Violation.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (h), a person must not import, sell, trade, buy, barter, breed, raise, keep, or possess:

(A) a wild animal; or

(B) any animal that the County or any other jurisdiction finds is dangerous or a threat to public health or safety, including types of animals excluded from State law prohibitions on dangerous animals.

(2) An animal is dangerous if the animal is:

(A) a “dangerous dog” as defined in Md. Code, Criminal Law Article § 10-619;

(B) any other animal that, without provocation , has killed or severely injured a person;

(C) an animal that poses a physical threat to humans because of specific training or demonstrated behavior, or because the animal's bite is poisonous; or

(D) a potentially dangerous animal that:

(i) bites a person without provocation;

(ii) attacks a person or animal without provocation; or

(iii) kills or severely injures a domestic animal outside the property of the potentially dangerous animal's owner.

(3) An animal is potentially dangerous if:

(A) the animal:

(i) bites a person without provocation;

(ii) kills or severely injures a domestic animal outside the attacking- animal owner’s property;

(iii) attacks or has unwanted contact with a person or animal without provocation; or

(iv) was declared by the County or another jurisdiction as potentially dangerous (even if the other jurisdiction uses a different term); and

(B) the Office notifies the owner that the animal is potentially dangerous.

An animal's actions in a qualified activity do not make the animal potentially dangerous.

(b) Declared dangerous or potentially dangerous elsewhere. An owner of an animal declared dangerous or potentially dangerous in another jurisdiction must remove the animal from the County within 10 days after receiving a citation or other notice of a violation of this Chapter unless the Executive Director waives this requirement and imposes conditions or restrictions under subsection (d) for the animal to remain in the County.

(c) Limited waiver. The Executive Director may waive the prohibitions of subsections (a) or (b) for a specific animal only if the Executive Director finds that the animal is not a threat to public health or safety.

(d) Confinement and microchipping. The Executive Director or the Board may impose any restriction or condition, including confinement or microchipping the animal, on the owner of a dangerous or potentially dangerous animal that is reasonably expected to protect the public health or safety. A person must not release the animal from confinement unless the animal is:

(1) securely muzzled in a manner approved by the Office;

(2) leashed; and

(3) under the control of a person who is at least 18 years old and is physically able to restrain the animal.

(e) When a potentially dangerous animal is off the owner’s premises or property it must be:

(1) on a leash or harness; and

(2) under the control of a person who is at least 18 years old and is physically able to restrain the animal.

(f) Guard dogs. An owner of a guard dog must:

(1) confine the dog as described in subsection (c);

(2) transport the dog only in a humane, escape-proof manner;

(3) ensure that the dog always wears a tag identifying the owner's name, address, and emergency phone number;

(4) tell the Department of Police and the Fire Department the location of a working guard dog before placing the animal in service and provide emergency contact information about the owner; and

(5) on demand by an animal control officer, produce the dog for examination by a specific veterinarian at the owner's expense.

(g) Licensing records. The Executive Director must indicate in the licensing records whether a licensed animal is dangerous, potentially dangerous, or a guard dog.

(h) Exceptions.

(1) A dog serving a law enforcement agency is not a dangerous or potentially dangerous animal or a guard dog under this Section.

(2) Animals in the possession of an animal sanctuary are not dangerous or potentially dangerous animals if the animal sanctuary:

(A) is a nonprofit organization qualified under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;

(B) operates a place of refuge for abused, neglected, impounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced wildlife; and

(3) Wild animals do not include kangaroos, wallabies, or sugar gliders. (1999 L.M.C., ch. 10, § 1; 2005 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 1; 2017 L.M.C., ch. 36, §1; 2020 L.M.C., ch. 18, §1.)

Editor’s note—Section 5-202 is cited in Coroneos v. Montgomery County, 161 Md. App. 411, 869 A.2d 410 (2005).

Sec. 5-203. Public nuisance and other violations.

(a) Violation. An owner must not:

(1) Allow an animal other than an altered cat to be at large. An animal that is participating in a qualified activity is not at large unless the animal leaves the activity.

(2) Allow an animal to damage or defecate on property outside the owner’s property. An animal may defecate on public property or the common area of property in which the owner shares an interest if the owner immediately removes and disposes of the feces by a sanitary method approved by the Office. This paragraph does not affect any right of a common ownership community to regulate or ban animals from the community’s property.

(3) Allow an animal to enter private property without the property owner's permission. The property owner may capture the trespassing animal humanely and promptly notify animal control or other appropriate law enforcement authorities, or humanely transport the animal to an animal shelter.

(4) Allow a female dog or cat in heat to be outside a building or other secure enclosure that prevents attraction of other animals.

(5) Allow an animal to cause an unsanitary, dangerous, or offensive condition because of the size or number of animals in a single location or because a facility is not appropriate for the animal or properly maintained.

(6) Allow an animal to cause noise that is loud and persistent enough to disturb another person's quiet enjoyment.

(7) Allow a dog to be on public school grounds on a day when school is in session, or in a public recreation area during an organized activity, unless the dog is controlled by a leash or similar restraining device. This paragraph does not apply to a dog participating in a qualified activity if the agency controlling the school or area gave permission to the owner of the dog or the sponsor of the qualified activity.

(8) Allow a domestic or exotic bird, including a homing pigeon, to be in an aviary within 100 feet of any structure owned or leased by another person and used for human habitation or work. This paragraph does not apply to a bird:

(A) other than a homing pigeon, inside the owner's dwelling;

(B) in a pet shop;

(D) in a market for less than 24 hours for sale for human consumption.

(9) Refuse or fail to obtain a license for a dog, cat, or ferret as required by State law or this Chapter.

(10) Allow an animal to act in any other way that the Executive Director, the Board, or an animal control officer finds would cause any other public nuisance established by regulation. An action prohibited by the regulation is a violation even if the action does not qualify as a public nuisance because the owner has not received notice described in subsection (b)(1).

(11) sell, trade, or give a domesticated animal to another person at a place open to the public, except a business licensed to sell animals under Section 5-404.

(b) Public nuisance. An owner must not allow an animal to create a public nuisance by:

(1) behavior described in subsections (a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (6), (8), (9), or (10) occurring after the owner received notice from the County in any form (such as an oral warning from an Office employee) of a violation because of the same behavior; or

(2) any behavior described in subsections (a)(5) or (7).

(c) An owner must prevent the owner’s animal from having unwanted contact with a person or another domesticated animal at all times. (1999 L.M.C., ch. 10 § 1; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 1; 2005 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1; 2020 L.M.C., ch. 18, §1.)

Editor’s note—Section 5-203 is cited in Coroneos v. Montgomery County, 161 Md. App. 411, 869 A.2d 410 (2005).

Sec. 5-204. Traveling Animal Act - Prohibited.

(a) Definitions. In this section, the following words have the meanings indicated:

(1) Exhibition means an act, circus, ride, or similar undertaking in which a wild animal is required to perform tricks, give rides, or participate as accompaniments for the entertainment, amusement, or benefit of any live audience.

(2) Mobile or traveling housing facility means a transporting vehicle such as a heavy commercial vehicle as defined by Section 59.1.4.2, trailer, or railway car, used to move or house wild animals.

(3) Traveling animal act means the exhibition of a wild animal where the animal is transported to, from, or between locations for exhibition, in a mobile or traveling housing facility.

(4) Wild animal means all animals classified in the following orders or families except the species noted:

(A) non-human primates and prosimians;

(B) felidae, except domestic cats;

(D) ursidae;

(E) marsupialia;

(F) proboscidea;

(G) crocodilia;

(H) artiodactyla, except domestic cattle, bison, American buffalo, water buffalo, yak, zebu, gayal, bali cattle, suidae, sheep, goats, llamas, or alpacas;

(I) perissodactyla, except domestic horses, ponies, donkeys, or mules;

(J) elasmobranchii; and

(K) pinnipedia.

(b) Prohibition. A person or business must not charge guests or visitors a fee to attend the exhibition of a wild animal in a traveling animal act.

(c) Any activity, including agriculture and farming uses defined by Chapter 59, that uses animals other than those identified as wild under Subsection 5-204(a)(4) is exempt from the prohibition in Subsection 5-204(b).

(d) Regulations. The County Executive may issue regulations under Method (2), to interpret and enforce this subsection. (2017 L.M.C., ch. 36, §1.)

ARTICLE III. ENFORCEMENT, PENALTIES, AND APPEALS.

Sec. 5-301. General provisions.

(a) Who may enforce. The Executive Director, an animal control officer, the Board, and any other person authorized by regulation issued under method (2) may enforce an animal control law. In this Article, an “animal control law” includes a State animal control law, this Chapter, and, for noise from an animal source, Chapter 31B.

(b) Forms of enforcement. The Executive Director or an animal control officer may enforce an animal control law by issuing a citation or other lawful order. To exercise its authority, the Board must issue a written order that explains the factual and legal basis for the order.

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Executive Director or an animal control officer may, to enforce an animal control law or protect the health or safety of an animal, a person, or the public:

(A) seize, impound, and dispose of an animal; or

(B) take any other action necessary or order an owner to take any other action necessary to enforce the law, including ordering that a microchip be inserted into an animal.

(2) The Executive Director or an animal control officer must not destroy an animal under paragraph (1) unless:

(A) the Board has ordered the animal to be destroyed; or

(B) the Executive Director, an animal control officer, or the Board finds that destruction of the animal is necessary to prevent an immediate threat to public health or safety. If an owner requests a hearing within 5 days after the County notifies the owner of any action under this paragraph, the Board must hold a hearing after the fact on the action and may order the County to reimburse the owner for the resale value of the animal if the action was not justified; or

(3) A citation or order may require an owner to act or refrain from acting to prevent or stop a violation of an animal control law.

(d) Warrants. An animal control officer may enforce an animal control law by searching private property and seizing evidence or animals, under State law or a warrant issued by a court.

(e) Interference with enforcement. A person must not interfere or attempt to interfere with any County officer, employee, or agent enforcing an animal control law.

(f) Failure to follow or appeal an order. An owner who, without justification, does not follow or appeal a legal order issued under this Chapter has abandoned and forfeited to the County any animal that is the subject of the order.

(g) Concealing ownership. A person must not conceal or falsely deny ownership of an animal to any person authorized to enforce an animal control law.

(h) Board order to take action. As a result of an adjudication of a complaint or appeal, the Board may order the Executive Director or an animal control officer to take an action described in paragraph (c)(1). (1999 L.M.C., ch. 10, § 1; 2005 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 1; 2020 L.M.C., ch. 18, §1.)

Disclaimer: This Code of Ordinances and/or any other documents that appear on this site may not reflect the most current legislation adopted by the Municipality. American Legal Publishing provides these documents for informational purposes only. These documents should not be relied upon as the definitive authority for local legislation. Additionally, the formatting and pagination of the posted documents varies from the formatting and pagination of the official copy. The official printed copy of a Code of Ordinances should be consulted prior to any action being taken. For further information regarding the official version of any of this Code of Ordinances or other documents posted on this site, please contact the Municipality directly or contact American Legal Publishing toll-free at 800-445-5588.

Hosted by: American Legal Publishing

Back to Code Library

Previous Doc

Next Doc