Loading...
(a) No owner/guardian of any animal, including, but not limited to, dogs and cats, shall permit such an animal to run at large within the City at any time. Any animal shall be deemed running at large when such an animal is not inside a resident structure, secure fence or pen; on a leash and held by a person capable of controlling such animal; or tethered in such a manner as to prevent its getting on the public right-of-way or another's property. This provision shall not apply to dogs being obedience trained by a certified trainer.
(b) No person shall permit a County or City registration tag to be worn by any animal other than the animal for which such tag is issued.
(c) While a racing pigeon is flying at large, the owner/guardian must be outdoors to observe the flight of such bird to correct nuisances that may occur or be caused by such racing pigeon.
(d) Whoever violates any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
(Ord. 45-06. Passed 11-20-06; Ord. 157-11. Passed 7-5-11.)
(a) No person being the owner/guardian, keeper, harborer or person in charge of any animal shall allow such animal to enter upon any private property, including stores and other places of business, other than that of the owner/guardian, keeper, harborer or person in charge of such animal, without the approval of the owner/guardian of such property. In addition, the owner/guardian, keeper, harborer or person in charge of any dogs or other animals shall be prohibited from taking dogs or other animals into public buildings, public parks, school grounds, the golf course and other City-owned property. Dogs trained to assist the disabled are exempt from the provision.
(b) This section shall not apply to stores or other places of business dealing in or servicing live animals, such as pet shops or veterinary hospitals, or to animals permitted upon school grounds by authority of the Superintendent of Schools, or to animals permitted upon public grounds by the authority of the Director of Public Safety and/or the Director of Public Service.
(c) There shall be placed in a conspicuous location in each place of business a sign of a size and design to be approved by the Director of Public Safety, giving notice to the public of the prohibition set forth in division (a) of this section.
(d) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, provided, however, that:
(1) If it is a first offense, there shall be a minimum fine of twenty-five dollars ($25.00);
(2) If it is a second offense, there shall be a minimum fine of seventy-five dollars ($75.00); and
(3) For the third offense and thereafter, there shall be a minimum fine of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00).
(e) Except to the extent herein modified, the penalty shall be as provided in Section 698.02.
(Ord. 45-06. Passed 11-20-06; Ord. 157-11. Passed 7-5-11.)
(a) The owner/guardian of any animal shall take all reasonable measures to keep such from becoming a nuisance. For the purpose of this provision, “nuisance” means any animal which:
(1) Molests or interferes with persons in the public right-of-way;
(2) Attacks or injures persons or other domestic animals;
(3) Damages public or private property by its activities or with its excrement;
(4) Scatters refuse that is bagged or otherwise contained;
(5) Causes any condition which threatens or endangers the health of well-being of persons or other animals;
(6) Attacks, injures or kills wildlife while at large.
(b) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
(Ord. 45-06. Passed 11-20-06; Ord. 157-11. Passed 7-5-11.)
(a) No owner/guardian, keeper, harborer or person in charge of any animal shall permit such animal to make excessive noise that disturbs a neighbor. The following definitions and conditions shall apply to this provision:
(1) “Excessive noise” means any animal noise which is so loud and continuous or untimely so as to disturb the sleep or peace of a neighbor;
(2) “Neighbor” means any person residing in a resident structure which is within 100 yards of the property on which the animal is owned.
(b) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
(Ord. 45-06. Passed 11-20-06; Ord. 157-11. Passed 7-5-11.)
(a) The owning, keeping or harboring of any wild, dangerous, poisonous or exotic animal, including, but not limited to the animals listed below, is hereby prohibited within the City limits.
(1) All crotalid, elapid and venomous colubroid snakes;
(2) Apes: chimpanzees (Pan); gibbons (Hylobates); gorillas (Gorilla); orangutans (Pongo); and siamangs (Symphalangus);
(3) Baboons (Papoi, Mandrillus);
(4) Bears (Ursidae);
(5) Bison (Bison);
(6) Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus);
(7) Crocodilians (Crocodilia) when 72 inches in length or more;
(8) Constrictor snakes when 14 feet in length or more;
(9) Coyotes (Canis latrans);
(10) Deer (Cervidae), including all members of the deer family, for example, white-tailed deer, elk, antelope and moose;
(11) Elephants (Elephas and Loxodonta);
(12) Foxes (Canis vulpes);
(13) Game cocks and other fighting birds;
(14) Hippopotami (Hippopotamidae);
(15) Hyenas (Hyaenidae);
(16) Jaguars (Panthera onca);
(17) Leopards (Panthera pardus);
(18) Lions (Pantheraleo);
(19) Lynxes (Lynx);
(20) Monkeys, old world (Cercopithecidae);
(21) Ostriches (Struthio);
(22) Piranha fish (Characidae);
(23) Pumas (Felis concolar), also known as cougars, mountain lions and panthers;
(24) Rhinoceroses (Rhinocero tidae);
(25) Sharks (class Chondrichthyes);
(26) Snow leopards (Panthera uncia);
(27) Swine (Suidae);
(28) Tigers (Panthera tigris);
(29) Wolves (Canis lupus); and
(30) Wolf hybrids or any hybrid of a domestic dog with a wild canis.
(b) The owning or keeping of any fowl, including, but not limited to domestic geese, ducks, turkeys, and chickens within the City limits is hereby prohibited. However:
(1) Schools are not prohibited from raising chicks and/or ducks for educational purposes; and
(2) When finished or no later than two weeks after the chicks and/or ducks have hatched, the schools must give the fowl to a farm authorized to handle such animals.
(c) The owning, harboring, or keeping of a pit bull within City limits is prohibited.
(d) No livestock, including, but not limited to horses, mules, cattle, sheep, goats and swine shall be owned or maintained within the City limits.
(e) Licensed pet shops, menageries, zoological gardens and circuses shall be exempt from the provisions of division (a) of this section if all of the following conditions are applicable:
(1) The location conforms to the provisions of the City Zoning Code.
(2) All animals and animal quarters are kept in a clean and sanitary condition and maintained so as to eliminate objectionable odors.
(3) Animals are maintained in quarters so constructed as to prevent their escape.
(4) No person resides within 50 feet of the quarters in which the animals are kept.
(5) Pit Bulls are not brought into City limits.
(f) The Stearns Homestead, located at Permanent Parcel 450-18-1, and currently operated by the Parma Historical Society, is hereby exempted from the restrictions of this section to the extent that it keeps and maintains horses, mules, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, geese and other similar types of animals or fowl generally considered to be farm animals for purposes of public display.
(g) No exemption granted pursuant to any division of this section shall be construed, nor is it intended by the City as a guaranty or warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, to any person, including, without limitation, the general public, persons residing or passing near the applicant's premises or the applicant, either in general or individually, as to the danger of persons residing or passing near the applicant's premises or the applicant, either in general or individually, as to the danger or lack thereof, or degree of risk to health or safety, of any animal, specifically or generally, or of any premises where any animal is maintained or kept pursuant to such exemption.
(h) The lack of knowledge of intent is not a defense to a violation of this section.
(i) Whoever violates division (c) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(j) Whoever violates or fails to comply with any of the other provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation or noncompliance occurs or continues.
(Ord. 45-06. Passed 11-20-06; Ord. 35-10. Passed 3-15-10)
(a) Animal Fights. No person shall knowingly engage in or be employed at cockfighting, bearbaiting, or pitting an animal against another; no person shall receive money for the admission of another to a place kept for such purpose; no person shall use, train or possess any animal for seizing, detaining, or maltreating a domestic animal. Any person who knowingly purchases a ticket of admission to such place, or is present thereafter, or witnesses such spectacle, is an aider and abettor. Whoever violates this division (a) is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(b) Dog Fighting Offense, Investigations, Confiscation of Dogs and Equipment. No person shall do any of the following:
(1) Promote, engage in, or be employed at dog fighting;
(2) Receive money for the admission of another person to a place kept for dog fighting;
(3) Sell, purchase, possess, or train a dog for dog fighting;
(4) Use, train, or possess a dog for seizing, detaining, or maltreating a domestic animal;
(5) Purchase a ticket of admission to or be present at a dog fight;
(6) Witness a dog fight if it is present at a dog fight.
(c) The Department of Agriculture may investigate complaints and follow up rumors of dog fighting activities and may report any information so gathered to an appropriate prosecutor or law enforcement agency.
(d) Any peace officer, as defined in Ohio R.C. 2935.01, shall confiscate any dogs that have been, are, or are intended to be used in dog fighting and any equipment or devices used in training such dogs or as part of dog fights.
(e) Whoever violates division (b), (c) or (d) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Statutory reference:
Animal fights, see Ohio R.C. 959.15
Dog fighting offenses; investigations; confiscation of dogs and equipment, see Ohio R.C. 959.16
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Section 618.11 was repealed by Ordinance 125-23, passed October 2, 2023. For provisions regarding hunting or trapping, see Section 618.21.)
Loading...