A. Every animal that bites a person or a domestic animal and breaks the skin shall be promptly reported to the Sitka police department and the local health officer and shall be securely quarantined under the direction of the local health officer for the period of 10 days and shall not be released from such quarantine except by permission by the health officer or a licensed veterinarian and the keeper of such animal can produce evidence of proper licensing and rabies immunizations.

B. The keeper, upon demand by the animal control officer or health officer, shall forthwith surrender any animal which has bitten a human and which is suspected of having been exposed to rabies for supervised quarantine; the expense of such quarantine shall be borne by the keeper. Such animal may be reclaimed by the keeper if judged free of rabies upon payment of expenses of such supervised quarantine.

C. When an animal under quarantine has been diagnosed as being rabid, or suspected by a licensed veterinarian as being rabid, the veterinarian shall immediately send the iced, intact head of such animal to the local health officer for pathological examination.

D. When the report of the health officer gives a positive diagnosis of rabies, the health department may recommend and invoke an area-wide quarantine. During such quarantine, no animal may be taken or shipped from the city and borough without written permission of the local health officer.

E. The keeper of any animal under quarantine, or tested for rabies, shall bear all cost of such quarantine or testing.

F. The carcass of any dead animal exposed to rabies shall, upon demand, be surrendered to the health department.

G. The health department shall direct the disposal of any animal found to be infected with rabies.

H. No person may refuse to surrender any animal for quarantine or destruction as required when demand is made by the animal control officer or health department. (Ord. 02-1656 § 4(A), 2002; Ord. 89-875 § 4(C), 1989; Ord. 79-405 § 4(9), 1979; B.C.S. § 9.04.090; S.G.C. § 8.04.090.)