(A) A person commits an offense if he:
(1) Tortures or seriously overworks an animal;
(2) Fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, care or shelter for an animal in custody;
(3) Abandons an animal in his custody;
(4) Transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner;
(5) Kills, injures or administers poison to an animal belonging to another without legal authority or the owner’s effective consent;
(6) Causes one animal to fight with another;
(7) Uses a live animal as a lure in a dog race training or in dog coursing on a racetrack;
(8) Unnecessarily trips, in the case of a horse.
(B) Investigation; warrants; hearing. The Animal Control Officer or Police Department shall investigate all reported cases of possible cruelty to animals. If the Animal Control Officer or Police Department finds evidence which leads him to believe that the animal has been or is being treated cruelly, they shall request the municipal court judge to issue a warrant to seize the animal. A date and time for a hearing to determine if the animal was cruelly treated shall be set within ten days of the seizure, and the owner of the animal shall be notified, in writing, of such hearing. If at the hearing, it is determined that the animal was treated cruelly, the court shall order the animal to be:
(1) Transferred to the City of Sherman Animal Shelter;
(2) Given to a nonprofit animal shelter or organization; or
(3) Humanely destroyed.
(C) If cruelty is determined, the owner shall be denied further custody of the animal. If cruelty is not proven, the court shall order the animal returned to the owner. If returned to the owner, no fees can be charged.
(D) A person who knowingly or intentionally commits an act of cruelty to animals may be prosecuted in a county court. An offense under this section is a class A misdemeanor.
(Ord. 914, passed 10-14-04) Penalty, see § 10.99