It is declared a public nuisance for any animal, except cats that are spayed or neutered or currently licensed by the City of Visalia, to run at large or to be on property other than that of the owner of the animal, without the property owner's consent.
A. Wherever any animal control officer or peace officer finds a public nuisance to exist within the meaning of this chapter, they shall notify the owner of the animal by registered mail that the owner shall either abate said nuisance within ten days or show cause why said nuisance should not be summarily abated.
B. If said nuisance is not abated and no show of cause is made, the animal control officer may then
issue a citation to the owner of the animal or may impound the animal which is creating the nuisance. Any animal so impounded shall be taken to the Visalia City Animal Shelter.
C. In lieu of acting under divisions A. or B. above, the Poundmaster may determine that any at large cat that has not been spayed or neutered may be seized by an animal control officer or captured in a humane manner by a private citizen and submitted to the Visalia Animal Care Center to be neutered or spayed and vaccinated. After being altered the cat may then be released in the area where it was found at the discretion of the animal control services division operating such a spay/neuter and release program as a means to help control the community cat population. acting under the authority of this section shall be at the discretion of the Poundmaster.
(Ord. 2019-09, § 2, 2019; prior code § 4624)