Fort Walton Beach Ordinance — 543.3 — reading text

(d) Every vicious animal, as determined by the Licensing Authority, shall be confined by the owner within a building or secure enclosure and shall be securely muzzled or caged whenever off the premises of its owner. Page 4 (e) The keeping within the corporate limits of the city, or permitting the running at large within said city limits, of horses, donkeys, cattle, swine, sheep, chickens and goats is hereby prohibited, and declared to be a public nuisance. SECTION 6. Impoundment and Violation Notice (a) Unrestrained dogs and nuisance animals shall be taken by the police, animal control officers, or humane officers and impounded in an animal shelter and there confined in a humane manner. (b) Impounded dogs and cats shall be kept for not less than five working days. (c) If by a license tag or other means the owner of an impounded animal can be identified, the animal control officer shall immediately, upon impoundment, notify the owner by telephone or mail. (d) An owner reclaiming an impounded cat shall pay a fee of $5.00, plus $2.50, for each day the animal has been impounded. (e) An owner reclaiming an impounded dog shall pay a fee of $15.00, plus $3.00 per small dog and $3.50 per large dog, for each day the animal has been impounded. (f) Any animal not reclaimed by its owner within five working days shall become the property of the local government authority, or humane society, and shall be placed for adoption in a suitable home or humanely euthanized. (g) In addition to or in lieu of impounding an animal found at large, the animal control officer, humane officer, or police officer may issue to the known owner of such animal a notice of ordinance violation. Such notice shall impose upon the owner a penalty of $10.00 which may, at the discretion of the animal owner, be paid to any agency designated by the Licensing Authority within seventy-two hours in full satisfaction of the assessed penalty. In the event that such penalty is not paid within the time period prescribed, a criminal warrant shall be initiated before a magistrate and upon conviction of a violation of this ordinance, the owner shall be punished as provided in Section 19 of this ordinance. (nh) The owner of an impounded animal may also be proceeded against for violation of this ordinance. (i) The Licensing Authority shall review automatically all licenses issued to animal owners against whom three or more ordinance violations have been assessed in a twelve-month period. (j) The owner of an unlicensed dog or cat impounded for failure to have a proper license may redeem such dog upon payment of a fifteen-dollar ($15.00) (k) The owner of a dog impounded for any other cause authorized by this article except for suspects held for quarantine for rabies may redeem such dog within three (3) days upon payment of a fifteen-dollar ($15.00) pound fee plus required board fees. SECTION 7. Animal Care (a) No owner shall fail to provide his animals with sufficient good and who- lesome food and water, proper sanitary shelter and protection from the weather, veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering and with humane care and treatment. (b) No person shall beat, cruelly ill-treat, torment, overload, overwork, or otherwise abuse an animal, or cause, instigate, or permit any dogfight, Page 5 cockfight, bullfight, or other combat between animals or between animals and humans. (c) No owner of an animal shall abandon such animal. (d) Chickens or ducklings younger than eight (8) weeks of age may not be sold in quantities or less than twenty-five (25) to a single purchaser. (e) No person shall give away any live animal, fish, reptile, or bird as a prize for, or as an inducement to enter, any contest, game, or other competition, or as an inducement to enter a place of amusement; or offer such vertebrate as an incentive to enter into any business agreement whereby the offer was for the purpose of attracting trade. (f) Any person who, as the operator of a motor vehicle, strikes a domestic animal shall stop at once and render such assistance as may be possible and shall immediately report such injury or death to the animal's owner; in the event the owner cannot be ascertained and located such operator shall at once report the accident to the appropriate law enforcement agency or to the local humane society. (g) No person shall expose any known poisonous substance, whether mixed with food or not, so that the same shall be liable to be eaten by any animal, pro- vided that it shall not be unlawful for a person to expose on his own pro- perty common rat poison mixed only with vegetable substances. SECTION 8. Rabies Control (a) Every animal which bites a person or animal shall be promptly reported to the animal control officer, and shall thereupon be securely quarantined at the direction of the animal control officer for a period of ten (10) days, and release shall not be made except by permission of a licensed veterinarian. Such quarantine may be at the shelter designated as the city animal shelter or in a veterinary hospital at the owner's option and expense. In the case of stray animals, or in the cases of animals whose ownership is not known, such quarantine shall be at the shelter designated as the city animal shelter. (b) The owner, upon demand by the animal control officer shall forthwith Surrender any animal which has bitten a human, or which is suspected as having been exposed to rabies, for supervised quarantine, the expense of which shall be borne by the owner. Said animal may be reclaimed by the owner if it is adjudged free of rabies, upon payment of fees set forth in Section 6-K of this article and upon compliance with licensing provisions set forth in Section 2 of this article. (c) When rabies has been diagnosed in an animal under quarantine or rabies suspected by a licensed veterinarian, and the animal dies while under such observation, the animal control officer shall immediately notify the county health department and turn the animal over to the county health officials for final disposition. SECTION 9. Keeping of Wild Animals (a) No person shall keep or permit to be kept on his premises any wild or vicious animal for display or for exhibition purposes, whether gratuitously or for a fee. This section shall not be construed to apply to zoological parks, performing animal exhibitions, or circuses. (b) No person shall keep or permit to be kept any wild animal as a pet. (c) The Licensing Authority shall have the power to release or order the release of any infant wild animal kept under temporary permit which is deemed capable of survival. Page 6 SECTION 10. Performing Animal Exhibitions (a) No performing animal exhibition or circus shall be permitted in which animals are induced or encouraged to perform through the use of chemical, mechanical, electrical, or manual devices in a manner which will cause, or is likely to cause, physical injury or suffering. (b) All equipment used on a performing animal shall fit properly and be in good working condition. SECTION 11. Animal Waste The owner of every animal shall be responsible for the removal of any excreta deposited by his animal(s) on public walks, recreation areas, or private property. SECTION 12. Sterilization No unclaimed dog or cat shall be released for adoption without being sterilized, or without a written agreement from the adopter guaranteeing that such animal will be sterilized, and a deposit of at least $5.00 must be paid at the time of adoption. SECTION 13. Limitation On Number of Animals Permitted in Any One House or Building It shall be unlawful for any house or building to have therein more than four (4) adult dogs and/or four (4) other animals unless a kennel or cattery license is purchased and provided the property is located in the proper zoning category and meets the requirements contained therein. SECTION 14. Boarding of Animals By Animal Control Officer or Agency. The animal control officer or agency may board animals at their premises for a charge not less than that charged by local veterinarians within the city limits. SECTION 15. Pickup, Disposal of Dead Animals The animal control officer or agency shall pick up and dispose of all dead animals within the city. SECTION 16. Investigation Prior To Issuance of Warrant. No warrant shall be issued for violation of this article until after an investigation by the City Police Department and then only after such investi- gation reveals issuance of the warrant is proper. SECTION 17. Records (a) It shall be the duty of the animal control officer to keep, or cause to be kept, accurate and detailed records of the licensing, impoundment and disposition of all animals coming into his custody. (b) It shall be the duty of the animal control officer to keep, or cause to be kept, accurate and detailed records of all bite cases and reports of investigation. (c) It shall be the duty of the animal control officer to keep or cause to be kept accurate and detailed records of all monies collected for the city which records shall be open to inspection at reasonable times by such persons responsible for similar records for the City of Fort Walton Beach. Page 7 SECTION 18. Enforcement The civil and criminal provisions of this ordinance shall be enforced by those persons or agencies designated by municipal authority. It shall be a violation of this ordinance to interfere with a humane officer in the perfor- mance of his duties (a) Authority of police: Any police officer employed by the city may enter upon private property within the city limits and seize such animals for the purpose of impounding the same and inay use only such force as may be necessary to effect such seizure. SECTION 19. Penalties Any person violating any provision of this Article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $25.00 nor more than $500.00. If any violation be continuing, each day's violation shall be deemed a separate violation. If any person be found guilty by a court of violating Section 3, his permit, or license, to own, keep, harbor, or have custody of animals shall be deemed automatically revoked and no new permit, or license may be issued. SECTION 20. Conflicting Ordinances All other ordinances of the City of Fort Walton Beach that are in conflict with this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. SECTION 21. Severability Clause If any part of this ordinance shall be held invalid, such part shall be deemed severable and the invalidity thereof shall not affect the remaining parts of this ordinance. SECTION 22. This ordinance shall become effective upon its approval by the Council upon second reading, after advertisement, and upon signature by the Mayor. ADOPTED: Ye trbe 27 (7K MAYOR Pro Tem: ATTEST: The form and legal sufficiency of the foregoing has been reviewed & approved by the City Attorney. Bel Ln ek City Clerk a ~ Michael Chesser Page 8 STATE OF FLORIDA ) AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES COUNTY OF OKALOOSA ) The City of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, (City), and the Humane Society of Fort Walton Beach, Ince, (Society), make this agreement for Society to provide services, for a fee, to residents of the City. The par- ties are each aware of the Animal Control Ordinance presently applicable and in force in the City of Fort Walton Beach, and this agreement is intended primarily to establish Society as the administrative and enforcement arm for the ordinance. This agreement is also intended to set forth the framework for the working relationship between Society and City. Considering the above, the parties agree that their respective obli- gations and rights will be as follows: l. Society's duties: A. Provide for licensing and permitting of each person or entity required to be licensed or permitted, B. Provide information to the residents of City, in the form of literature, programs, telephone communication, or