(a) Any animal forfeited, abandoned, ownerless or unclaimed, and any other animals to be permanently disposed of by the city enforcement agent, shall be disposed of by one of the following methods:
(1) Placed by adoption in a suitable home; or
(2) Humanely destroyed; or
(3) Transferred to a duly incorporated humane society or other nonprofit corporate animal-welfare organization devoted to the welfare, protection and humane treatment of animals. Transferred animals shall be placed by adoption in a suitable home after first being sterilized; humanely destroyed; or released as part of a community cat program.
(b) As a condition of any transfer of animals under subsection (a)(3), the city enforcement agent shall verify that any organization that receives animals is organized for the pursuit of animal welfare activities, is actively engaged in those activities, does not breed animals nor release unsterilized animals, releases animals only through community cat programs or through adoption into suitable homes after first being sterilized, and complies with the sterilization, placement, and all other applicable provisions of this chapter and other applicable laws. Such verification shall include announced and unannounced inspections of the organization's facilities and records. The city enforcement agent may repossess any animals and their offspring from any organization that is not in compliance with these conditions, and shall repossess these animals if the organization is not in compliance with the mandates set forth in subsection (a)(3), or if the organization or its personnel violate any animal cruelty law. Any organization wishing to receive animals must agree in writing to the terms of this section.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a "community cat program" means a program in which healthy, free-roaming cats are humanely trapped or otherwise humanely captured, sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, ear-tipped, and returned to the location where they were found.
(d) If a city enforcement agent disposes of animals by transfer of the animals pursuant to subsection (a)(3) of this section, and pursuant to written agreement with the city charges the costs associated with that disposition to the city, the city enforcement agent may dispose of animals in that manner and charge the costs to the city only to the extent that the city has previously approved the appropriation of funds for that specific purpose. In the absence of prior city approval to appropriate funds for this purpose, a city enforcement agent may dispose of animals by transfer pursuant to subsection (a)(3) of this section at its own cost.
(Ord. No. 6320, § 1, 10-25-85; Ord. No. 8996, § 6, 12-8-97; Ord. No. 11204, § 1, 10-9-14)