Chapter 6.54
BREEDING, TRANSFERRING, LICENSING AND SPAYING AND NEUTERING OF DOGS AND CATS
Sections:
6.54.010 Purpose of regulations.
6.54.020 Animal ownership.
6.54.030 Litter permit.
6.54.040 Penalties.
6.54.050 Sale, adoption and other transfers of dogs and cats.
6.54.060 Licensing.
6.54.010 Purpose of regulations.
The council finds and declares that there exists a pet overpopulation problem in the city of Hughson that has resulted in a threat to public safety and health, inhumane treatment of animals, mass euthanasia of dogs and cats at the local animal shelters and escalating costs for animal care and control. The council further finds that part of the solution is for all dogs four months or older to be licensed and spayed or neutered, unless the owners purchase the appropriate licenses/permits for the privilege of maintaining the animal intact and allowing it to breed. The council finds that an increase in the license fee for unaltered dogs will encourage dog owners to spay/neuter their dog(s) in order to qualify for the lower altered dog license fee. Further, the council finds that regulating the breeding and transfer of dogs and cats will help alleviate the city’s pet overpopulation problem. (Ord. 05-23 § 2, 2005)
6.54.020 Animal ownership.
A. “Animal owner,” for the purposes of this chapter, shall mean any person harboring, keeping or providing care or sustenance to a domestic animal for 14 days on property within the jurisdiction of the city. Such a person shall be subject to the requirements of this chapter. This definition does not apply to government agencies, animal rescue organizations which have demonstrated to the department of animal services that they have implemented an ongoing spay/neuter program as well as an adoption program, or humane societies or societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals if such societies are incorporated under the provisions of California Corporations Code Section 10400 and the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law in Part 2 of the California Corporations Code, beginning at Section 5110 and successor sections, or persons who provide licensed boarding, kennel, training, or veterinarian services for the owners of dogs and cats.
B. Subsection A of this section shall not be interpreted to apply to a person caring for barn cats or a colony of feral cats if such person:
1. Registers with the department of animal services as a caretaker for barn cats or feral cats;
2. Regularly feeds or arranges for the feeding of the cats, including on weekends and holidays;
3. Traps or makes a reasonable effort to trap all barn or feral cats over the age of seven weeks in his/her care, and has them spayed or neutered;
4. Makes a reasonable effort to test all trapped cats for feline leukemia and FIV and has those who test positive humanely euthanized or isolated indoors;
5. Identifies barn or feral cats that have been spayed or neutered by means of ear notching, ear tipping, or ear tagging; and
6. Has all trapped cats vaccinated according to state and local laws. (Ord. 05-23 § 2, 2005)
6.54.030 Litter permit.
A. No person shall cause or allow any dog or cat owned, harbored or kept within the city to breed without first obtaining a litter permit. The term “litter permit” means a written authorization, issued annually by the director of animal services or his or her designee, giving its lawful holder permission to breed a dog or a cat.
B. Each litter permit shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance, and may be renewed annually before its expiration date. Each applicant for a litter permit shall pay an annual fee as prescribed by the board of supervisors as set forth in Chapter 7.48 of the Stanislaus County Code.
C. The animal services department shall administer an animal litter permit program to allow the breeding of unaltered dogs and cats consistent with criteria and according to procedures established by the director of animal services. Under no circumstances shall such a litter permit be issued to a person who has been convicted of animal cruelty or neglect.
D. In addition to the criteria and procedures established by the director of animal services, litter permits shall contain the following terms and conditions:
1. The owner of an unaltered female dog or cat shall not allow the whelping of more than one litter per animal in any household within the permit year. Notwithstanding this provision, the director of animal services or his or her designee is hereby authorized, upon application of a permittee, to allow on a one-time basis the whelping of up to two dog or cat litters per breeding animal within any domestic household within a permit year, if the permittee establishes, according to regulations promulgated by the director of animal services, including a veterinarian verification of health status, that such breeding is required due to the health of the animal. In the event that a permittee is forced to euthanize a litter of dogs or cats, the director of animal services or his or her designee may authorize the whelping of one additional litter of dogs or cats within the same permit year by the permittee;
2. No offspring may be sold, adopted, bartered, or otherwise transferred, whether for compensation or otherwise, until it has reached the age of at least seven weeks and the offspring has received its first immunization against common diseases;
3. Any holder of a litter permit who advertises to the public the availability of any dog or cat for sale, adoption, or transfer, whether for compensation or otherwise, must prominently display the litter permit number in any such advertisement. Further, the litter permit holder must provide the permit number to any person who purchases, adopts or receives any animal from the permit holder and include the permit number on any receipt of sale or transfer document;
4. Commercial establishments selling locally bred dogs or cats shall prominently display the litter permit number(s) of the breeder(s) whose dogs and cats are sold in said establishments and any other pertinent information required by the director of animal services or his or her designee; commercial establishments selling dogs and cats which were not bred within the county of Stanislaus shall prominently display the name and address of the breeder(s) of such dogs and cats and any other pertinent information required by the director of animal services;
5. Any litter permit holder selling or otherwise transferring a dog or cat, whether for compensation or otherwise, shall maintain records for a period of three years containing the name, address, and telephone number of the animal’s new owner on a department of animal services’ approved form;
6. Any litter permit holder or commercial establishment which sells or otherwise transfers a dog or cat, whether for compensation or otherwise, shall provide to the new animal owner written information regarding the license and permit requirements applicable to such animal; and
7. Any litter permit holder shall have his/her dog or cat microchipped or have some other form of identification acceptable to the department of animal services and shall register the dog or cat with the department of animal services.
E. The following animals are exempt from the litter permit requirements:
1. Dogs documented as having been appropriately trained and actively used by law enforcement agencies for law enforcement and rescue activities;
2. Dogs documented as guide, signal, or service dogs pursuant to California Penal Code Section 365.5(d), (e) and (f) and successor sections;
3. Dogs and cats under the care of governmental animal control agencies; animal rescue organizations which have demonstrated to the department of animal services that they have implemented an ongoing spay/neuter plan, as well as an adoption plan; or humane societies or societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, if such societies are incorporated under the provisions of California Corporations Code Section 10400 and the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation law in Part 2 of the California Corporations Code, beginning at Section 5110, and successor sections; and
4. Dogs documented as enrolled in a guide, signal or service dog breeding program administered by a person licensed under Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 7200) Division 3 of the California Business and Professions Code. (Ord. 05-23 § 2, 2005)
6.54.040 Penalties.
A. Any cat or dog owner found by the department of animal services to be in violation of the litter permit provisions of this chapter may correct the violations by obtaining the necessary permit(s) mentioned in this chapter, no later than 30 days from the date when the department of animal services had first notified the owner of the violation. Should the owner fail to correct the violations in the manner described above, the department shall impose a $500.00 penalty on the dog or cat owner. Notice of this penalty shall be served by the department on the dog or cat owner by mail. The penalty shall not be waived by the department upon the transfer or abandonment of the dog or cat by the noncompliant owner. This penalty shall be imposed in addition to any other applicable civil or criminal penalties.
If the penalty mentioned above in this subsection A is not paid and the owner does not microchip or has some other form of identification acceptable to the department of animal services, spay or neuter his/her dog(s) or cat(s) or obtain the litter permit(s) within 15 days from the date when the department of animal services first notified the owner of the imposition of a penalty, the continuing violation of the litter permit requirement of this section becomes an additional infraction and may be prosecuted as such.
B. Any litter permit issued pursuant to HMC 6.54.030 may be revoked if the director of animal services or his or her designee has reasonable cause to believe any of the following to be true:
1. The permittee has violated any city ordinances relating to the keeping, care or use of any animal;
2. The permittee is in violation of any state health or safety law or regulation regarding animal care or control;
3. The permittee has failed to comply with any condition or requirement of the permit or has failed to pay any fee imposed under this code;
4. The permittee refused to allow inspection, upon 48 hours’ written notice, of any animal covered by the permit or the premises on which the animal is kept; or
5. The permittee has transferred, sold or otherwise disposed of the animal for which the permit was originally issued.
C. If, after inspection, the director of animal services or his or her designee concludes that it is probable that one or more of the above grounds for revocation has occurred, he or she shall cause written notice thereof to be transmitted by mail to the address of the litter permittee. Said notice shall specify the grounds of possible revocation of the litter permit and shall specify a date and time for an informal hearing to be held before the director of animal services or his or her designee. Said date shall be not less than five days subsequent to the date the notice is mailed. After the informal hearing, the director of animal services may modify the terms of the litter permit or revoke the litter permit.
D. The litter permittee may appeal the decision of the director of animal services or his or her designee to the animal court if the permittee gives written notice of such appeal within five working days of the decision.
E. Failure to comply with any of the requirements mentioned in HMC 6.54.020, 6.54.030, this section and HMC 6.54.060 is an infraction punishable by a $100.00 fine for the first occurrence, $200.00 for the second occurrence and $300.00 for each subsequent occurrence. (Ord. 05-23 § 2, 2005)
6.54.050 Sale, adoption and other transfers of dogs and cats.
A. Any person who offers or provides, whether for compensation or otherwise, any dog or cat for sale or other type of transfer, shall disclose the transferee information regarding the dog license and permit requirements of the city of Hughson or county of Stanislaus applicable to the transferred animal.
B. No person shall present any unaltered dog or cat under six months of age for sale, barter, exchange, or adoption, whether for compensation or otherwise, in any public place, without first obtaining a litter permit pursuant to HMC 6.54.030. The term “public place” shall include, but not be limited to, streets, highways, sidewalks, parks, carnivals, shopping malls, flea markets, boardwalks, and areas in front of commercial establishments. This prohibition shall not apply to:
1. Government agencies; nonprofit animal rescue organizations exempt from taxation under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3); or humane societies or societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals if such societies are incorporated under the provisions of California Corporations Code Section 10400 and the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law in Part 2 of the California Corporations Code, beginning at Section 5110;
2. Show dogs or show cats; or
3. Permitted pet stores which sell or otherwise transfer dogs or cats, whether for compensation or otherwise, within the store.
C. No person shall give away any dog or cat as a prize or as an inducement to enter into any contest, lottery, drawing, game or competition.
D. No person shall give away any dog or cat as an inducement to enter a place of business, or to enter into a business arrangement.
E. No person shall sell, barter, exchange or offer for adoption, whether for compensation or otherwise, any dog or cat to any minor under the age of 18 years without the written permission of one of the minor’s parents or legal guardians.
F. Commercial establishments selling dogs and cats which were not bred within the city of Hughson or county of Stanislaus shall prominently display the name and address of the breeder(s) of such dogs and cats and any other pertinent information required by the director of animal services or his or her designee.
G. Failure to display the litter permit number or include it in any advertisement for sale, adoption or other transfer of dogs and cats is an infraction punishable by a $100.00 fine for the first occurrence, $200.00 for the second occurrence and $300.00 for each subsequent occurrence. Each day a violation occurs is a separate violation.
H. Possession of a valid permit under this section of the code does not entitle the litter permit holder to engage in an activity which is otherwise prohibited by law. (Ord. 05-23 § 2, 2005)
6.54.060 Licensing.
A. Any person owning or having custody of any dog four months or older shall pay an annual license fee. The license fee for dogs shall be established by the board of supervisors. The increased fees collected by the department of animal services for unaltered dogs, less administrative costs, shall be used to pay for vouchers to support spay/neuter programs.
B. Any person owning or having custody of any unaltered dog which meets any of the following criteria shall pay a reduced unaltered annual license fee set forth in Chapter 7.48 of the Stanislaus County Code:
1. An owner who owns or operates an actual livestock working ranch or livestock farming operation of more than two acres.
2. An owner who either:
a. Registers and participates in an American Kennel Club (AKC), United Kennel Club (UKC), or other state or nationally recognized organization and is a member of a parent club or organization for the purposes of showing, training, agility trials, or hunting and provides documentation to the department of animal services of such membership and participation in the above animal activities.
C. If the owner fails to obtain the dog license required in this section, upon the expiration of the 30 days, the department of animal services shall impose a $25.00 late penalty on the owner of the dog. This late fee shall not be waived by the department of animal services upon the transfer or abandonment of the dog by the noncompliant owner. This late penalty shall be imposed in addition to any other applicable civil or criminal penalties and all penalties shall be placed in the Stanislaus County Alternative to Euthanasia (SCATE) Program to be used for spaying or neutering of cats and dogs.
D. If the penalty mentioned in subsection C of this section is not paid, and the owner fails to obtain the license required under subsection A of this section within 15 days from the date when the department of animal services first notified the dog owner of the imposition of the penalty mentioned in subsection C of this section, the continuing violation of the license requirement of this section becomes an additional infraction and may be prosecuted as such.
E. The animal services department shall be responsible for the enforcement and administration of this chapter.
F. A cat owner may voluntarily obtain a license for his or her cat. If the cat owner voluntarily purchases a cat license, then the cat owner shall be eligible to receive a voucher for the spay/neuter identification program operated by the department of animal services. (Ord. 05-23 § 2, 2005)