No person shall:
(a) Overwork, overdrive, overload, or torture an animal, deprive one of necessary sustenance, unnecessarily or cruelly beat, needlessly mutilate or kill, or impound or confine an animal without supplying it during such confinement with a sufficient quantity of good wholesome food and water;
(Ord. 1126. Passed 8-8-99.)
(Ord. 1126. Passed 8-8-99.)
(b) Impound or confine an animal without affording it, during such confinement, access to clean, dry shelter free of human or animal urine and feces, access to shelter from wind, rain, snow, or excessive direct sunlight, excessive heat, and cold or if it can be reasonably expected that the animal will otherwise become sick or in some other way suffer. This subsection does not apply to animals impounded or confined prior to slaughter. For the purposes of this section, “shelter” means a man-made enclosure, windbreak, sunshade or natural windbreak or sunshade that is developed from the earth’s contour, tree development or vegetation;
(Ord. 1186. Passed 6-9-03.)
(c) Carry or convey an animal in a cruel or inhumane manner;
(d) Rabbits and baby poultry:
(1) No person shall dye or otherwise color any rabbit or baby poultry, including, but not limited to, chicks and ducklings.
(2) No person shall sell, offer for sale, expose for sale, raffle, or give away any rabbit or baby poultry which has been dyed or otherwise colored.
(3) No poultry younger than four weeks of age may be sold, given away or otherwise distributed to any person in lots of less than six.
(4) No person offering young poultry for sale or other distribution shall fail to provide heating devices that may be necessary to maintain the poultry in good health, and shall furnish the poultry with adequate food and water at all times.
(Ord. 1126. Passed 8-9-99.)
(Ord. 1126. Passed 8-9-99.)
(e) (1) Maliciously or willfully and without the consent of the owner, kill or injure any household pet or domestic farm animal that is the property of another. This section does not apply to a licensed veterinarian acting in an official capacity, or to trespassing animals as set forth in Ohio R.C. 959.04.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to this section for when the death or injury is caused by a law enforcement officer or police work dog acting within the scope of their official duties to protect their life, the life of another human being or the life of another non-offending animal. It shall be an affirmative defense when such injury or death is caused by a citizen acting in the defense of his own life, the life of another or of another non-offending animal.
(Ord. 1186. Passed 6-9-03.)
(Ord. 1186. Passed 6-9-03.)
(f) Maliciously or willfully and without the consent of the owner:
(1) Administer poison, except a licensed veterinarian acting in such capacity, to a household pet or domestic farm animal of another;
(2) Place any poisoned food where it may be easily found and eaten by any such animals, either upon his own lands or lands of another.
(Ord. 1126. Passed 8-9-99.)
(g) (1) No owner or keeper of a household animal shall abandon such animal.
(2) “Abandon” means any animal left alone without adequate food or water or care for a period in excess of 24 hours.
(3) Any police officer may immediately take possession of and remove any animal that has been abandoned by its owner or keeper.
(h) No person shall remove the audible organs from any animal unless it becomes a medically necessary procedure to save the life of the animal.
(i) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor for the first offense and a misdemeanor of the fourth degree for each subsequent offense.
(Ord. 1186. Passed 6-9-03.)