As used in this article, the following terms are defined below:
(a) “Animal” means every non-human species of animal, both domestic and wild.
(b) “Animal-at-large” means any animal not under the restraint of a person capable of controlling the animal and/or off the premises of the owner.
(c) “Animal shelter” means any facility operated by a humane society, or municipal agency of its authorized agents, for the purpose of impounding animals under the authority of this article or state law for care, confinement, return to owner, adoption or euthanasia.
(d) “Auction” means any place or facility where animals are regularly bought, sold, or traded, except those facilities otherwise defined in this section. This section does not apply to individual sales of animals by owners.
(e) “Circus” means a commercial variety show featuring animal acts for public entertainment.
(f) “Commercial animal establishment” means any pet shop, grooming shop, guard dog auction, riding school or stable, zoological park, circus, performing animal exhibition, or boarding or breeding kennel.
(g) “Grooming shop” means a commercial establishment where animals are bathed, clipped, plucked or otherwise groomed.
(h) “Guard dog” means any dog that will detect and warn its handler that an intruder is present in/or near an area that is being secured.
(i) “Humane Officer” or “Animal Control Officer” means any person designated by the State of West Virginia, a municipal government, or humane society as a law enforcement officer who is qualified to perform such duties under the laws of this State.
(j) “Kennel” or “cattery” means any premises wherein any person engages in the business of boarding, breeding, buying, letting for hire, training for a fee, or selling dogs or cats.
(k) “Owner” means any person, partnership, or corporation owning, keeping, or harboring one or more animals. An animal shall be deemed to be harbored if it is fed or sheltered for three consecutive days or more.
(l) “Performing animal exhibition” means any spectacle, display, act or event, other than circuses, in which performing animals are used.
(m) “Pet” or “companion animal” means any animal kept for pleasure rather than utility; an animal of a species that has been bred and raised to live in or about the habitation of humans and is dependent on people for food and shelter.
(n) “Pet shop” means any person, partnership, or corporation, whether operated separately or in connection with another business enterprise (except for a licensed kennel), that buys, sells, or boards any species of animal.
(o) “Public nuisance” means any animal or animals that unreasonably annoy humans, endanger the life or health of other animals or persons, or substantially interfere with the rights of citizens, other than their owners, to enjoyment of life or property. The term “public nuisance animal” means and includes, but is not limited to, any animal that:
(1) Is repeatedly found at large;
(2) Damages the property of anyone other than its owner;
(3) Molests or intimidates pedestrians or passersby;
(4) Chases vehicles;
(5) Excessively makes disturbing noises, including, but not limited to, continued and repeated howling, barking, whining, or other utterances causing unreasonable annoyance, disturbance, or discomfort to neighbors or others in close proximity to the premises where the animal is kept or harbored;
(6) Causes fouling of the air by odor and thereby creates unreasonable annoyance or discomfort to neighbors or other in close proximity to the premises where the animal is kept or harbored;
(7) Causes unsanitary conditions in enclosures or surroundings where the animal is kept or harbored;
(8) Is offensive or dangerous to the public health, safety or welfare by virtue of the number and/or types of animals maintained;
(9) Attacks other domestic animals; or
(10) Has been found by the Commission for Animal Control, after notice to its owner and a hearing, to be a public nuisance animal by virtue of being a menace to the public health, welfare or safety.
(p) “Restraint” means any animal secured by a leash or lead under the control of a responsible person and obedient to that person’s commands, or within the real property limits of its owner.
(q) “Riding school” or “stable” means any place that has available for hire, boarding and/or riding instruction, any horse, pony, donkey, mule or burro; or any place that regularly buys, sells, or trains the above animals, including a racetrack, trotting track or rodeo.
(r) “Veterinary hospital” means any establishment maintained and operated by a licensed veterinarian for surgery, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases and injuries of animals.
(s) “Vicious animal” means any animal that attacks, bites, or injures human beings, or domesticated animals without adequate provocation, or which, because of temperament, conditioning or training, has a known propensity to attack, bite or injure human beings or domesticated animals.
(t) “Wild animal” means any living member of the animal kingdom, including those born or raised in captivity, except the following: human beings, domestic dogs (excluding hybrids with wolves, coyotes or jackals), domestic cats (excluding hybrids with ocelots or margays), farms animals, rodents, any hybrid animal that is part wild, and captive-bred species of common cage birds.
(u) “Zoological park” means any facility operated by a person, partnership, corporation, or government agency, other than a pet shop or kennel, displaying or exhibiting one or more species of nondomesticated animals.
(Ord. 93-005. Passed 4-5-93.)