The Public Health Veterinarian shall regulate the movement and transportation of livestock from stockyards, corrals, feed yards, and other places; examine and test, or supervise examination and testing of animals and premises for the presence of infections or communicable diseases; provide for the sanitation of plants and premises upon which livestock are kept, sold, or confined; and enforce such ordinances and regulations as may be adopted to promote and protect livestock and people from diseases and conditions adversely affecting their health. He or she shall investigate cases and outbreak of infections and communicable diseases, the presence of which may constitute a menace to the health of livestock and the human population of the County.
(a) Livestock with Infectious Disease Outside this County. When the Public Health Veterinarian shall have determined that an infectious disease exists among livestock in any other county or area of the State of California and the importation of livestock from such county or area might spread such disease among the livestock within the County of San Bernardino, the Public Health Veterinarian shall notify the Board of Supervisors thereof, designating and describing the county or area wherein such disease has been found and shall, with their approval, establish quarantine restrictions against such county or area as the circumstances shall warrant. The Public Health Veterinarian may refuse to permit shipments of livestock originating in such areas to enter the County of San Bernardino unless accompanied by a certificate signed by a State or Federal veterinarian which shall satisfactorily prove that there is no possibility that the livestock for which such certificate is issued are infected with or exposed to all infection from such disease.
(b) Investigation of Diseased Livestock Within this County. Upon information received by the Public Health Veterinarian of any infectious disease affecting livestock within the County of San Bernardino, he or she shall proceed to thoroughly investigate the same. The Public Health Veterinarian is hereby empowered to enter any premises where livestock is kept, or on which he or she has reason to believe that livestock is kept, in order to carry into effect the provisions of this Chapter, and it shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with the official action of the Public Health Veterinarian. The Public Health Veterinarian may quarantine, for a reasonable period of observation and until such tests as may be required to ascertain the presence or absence of any infectious disease are completed, any animals which are suspected of being infected with or exposed to an infectious disease. Upon discovery of any infectious disease affecting livestock in the County of San Bernardino, the Public Health Veterinarian shall have the power and it shall be his or her duty to establish such quarantine, sanitation, testing, immunizing and police regulations as may be necessary to control or eradicate such diseases and prevent the spread thereof to other livestock. The Public Health Veterinarian may quarantine any livestock which may have been located upon the land or premises where such diseased livestock has been kept, and thereafter it shall be unlawful for any person to break such quarantine or to move or allow to be moved any such livestock from within the premises thus quarantined, or across the quarantine line so established, without first obtaining from the Public Health Veterinarian a permit to do so. If the Public Health Veterinarian shall deem it proper to issue such a permit, after inspection he or she may cause such livestock, premises, and vehicles of transportation and any infected material, equipment or effects to be properly cleaned and disinfected.
(c) Damage or Removal of Quarantine Notices. It shall be unlawful for any person during the existence of such quarantine to remove, tear, deface, mutilate, obscure, or otherwise destroy or in any other manner whatsoever interfere with any placard, notice, or proclamation declaring such quarantine, placed on or about the premises on which any of said animals so quarantined are located.
(d) Containment of Cattle. It shall be unlawful for any person to permit any livestock so quarantined to have access to any irrigation ditch, stream, or other channel in which water is running, or to allow such livestock to come in contact with other livestock which may have access to any irrigation ditch, stream or other channel so mentioned, or to permit the depositing in such irrigation ditch, stream, or channel of any manure, offal, excrement or material which might carry infection, or to allow the drainage from any premises so quarantined to come in contact with such irrigation ditch, stream or other channel aforementioned.
(Ord. 527, passed - -1958; Am. Ord. 3105, passed - -1986)