(A) Duty of owner.
(1) It shall be the duty of every owner of any animal or anyone having any animal in possession or custody, to exercise reasonable care and to take all necessary steps and precautions to protect other people, property, and animals from injuries or damage which might result from the owner's animal's behavior, regardless of whether such behavior is motivated by mischievousness, playfulness, or ferocity.
(2) In the event that the owner or keeper of any animal is a minor, the custodian, parent or guardian is legally responsible to ensure compliance with all provisions of this subchapter.
(B) Types of animals permitted in town limits.
(1) This division (B) shall not apply to any parcels of real estate within town limits that are currently zoned agricultural and does not apply to any animals kept for 4-H projects.
(2) (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to keep any domestic farm animal other than cats, dogs, or chickens within the municipal limits of the town.
(b) FARM ANIMALS are defined as any domestic species of cattle, swine, goats, llamas, or horses, which are normally and have historically, been kept and raised on farms.
(3) It shall be unlawful for anyone to own, harbor or permit at large any animal which is now or historically has been found wild. This includes, but is not limited to rabbits, snakes, rodents, deer, skunk, opossum, raccoon, mink, armadillo, coyote, squirrel, fox or wolf.
(C) Leash law and controlling of animals. It is the duty of every owner, possessor or custodian of any animal in his custody to ensure that the animal is kept under control and that reasonable care and precautions are taken to prevent that animal from leaving while unattended the real property limits of its owner, possessor or custodian and that it is on a lead or leash and within voice or sight control of a competent person any time it is not restrained while on the owner's property.
(D) Animals creating a nuisance. It shall be unlawful for the owner or person in charge or control of any animal or for any person who has the authority or power to prevent the same, to suffer or permit any such animal to become a nuisance. Health and safety issues, excessive, continuous or untimely barking, yelping, howling, crying or other distressing loud or unusual noise, molesting passerby, chasing vehicles, habitually attacking other domestic animals, trespassing upon school grounds or upon private property in such a manner as to damage property, shall be deemed a nuisance.
(Ord. 2017-5, passed 12-19-2017; Ord. 2020-2, passed 7-21-2020) Penalty, see § 90.99