Article 721
PET CODE
Sections:
721.03 Declaration of public nuisance.
721.06 Keeping of wild animals.
721.07 Performing animal exhibitions.
721.09 Animal control officer.
721.01 Short title.
This article shall be known and cited as the pet code of the City of Meadville. (Ord. 2915, 1977)
721.02 Definitions.
Whenever the following terms are used in this article they shall be deemed to have the meanings set forth in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(A) "Animal" means any live, vertebrate creature, domestic or wild;
(B) "Animal shelter" means any facility operated by a humane society or municipal agency, or its authorized agents, for the purpose of impounding or caring for animals held under the authority of this article or state law;
(C) "Auctions" means any place or facility where animals are regularly bought, sold, or traded, except for those facilities otherwise defined in this article. This section does not apply to individual sales of animals by owners;
(D) "Circus" means a commercial variety show featuring animal acts for public entertainment;
(E) "Commercial animal establishment" means any pet shop, grooming shop, auction, riding school or stable, zoological park, circus, performing animal exhibition, or kennel;
(F) "Humane officer" means any person designated by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a municipal government, or a humane society, including the Crawford County Humane Society, as a law enforcement officer who is qualified to perform such duties under the laws of this state;
(G) "Kennel" means any premises wherein any person engages in the business of boarding, breeding, buying, letting for hire, training for a fee, or selling dogs or cats;
(H) "Owner" means any person, partnership, or corporation owning, keeping, or harboring one or more animals. An animal shall be deemed to be harbored if it is fed or sheltered for three consecutive days or more;
(I) "Performing animal exhibition" means any spectacle, display, act or event other than circuses, in which performing animals are used;
(J) "Pet" means any animal kept for pleasure or utility;
(K) "Pet shop" means any person, partnership, or corporation, whether operated separately or in connection with another business enterprise except for a licensed kennel, that buys, sells, or boards any species of animal;
(L) "Public nuisance" means:
(1) Any animal or animals which:
(a) Molests passersby or passing vehicles;
(b) Attacks other animals;
(c) Trespasses on school grounds;
(d) Is repeatedly not under restraint;
(e) Damages private or public property;
(f) Barks, cries, whines, or howls in an excessive, continuous, or untimely fashion;
(2) The maintenance of any animal in a manner which subjects others to offensive odors;
(M) "Restraint" means any animal secured by a leash or lead, or within the real property limits of its owner;
(N) "Vicious animal" means any animal or animals that constitute a physical threat to human beings or other animals;
(O) "Wild animal" means any live monkey (nonhuman primate), raccoon, skunk, fox, poisonous snake, leopard, panther, tiger, lion, lynx, or any other warm blooded animal which can normally be found in the wild state. (Ord. 2915, 1977)
721.03 Declaration of public nuisance.
(A) The City of Meadville hereby declares and ordains that any animal or animals which:
(1) Molests passersby or passing vehicles;
(2) Attacks other animals;
(3) Trespasses on school grounds;
(4) Is repeatedly not under restraint;
(5) Damages private or public property;
(6) Barks, cries, whines, or howls in an excessive, continuous, or untimely fashion; is and shall be considered a public nuisance. The ownership of any animal which constitutes a public nuisance is hereby declared to be a summary offense and is punishable in accord with the provisions of MMC 721.99.
(B) The City of Meadville hereby declares that the maintenance of any animal in a manner which subjects others to offensive odors is and shall be considered a public nuisance. The maintenance of any animal in a manner which constitutes a public nuisance is hereby declared to be a summary offense and is punishable in accord with the provisions of MMC 721.99. (Ord. 2915, 1977)
721.04 Restraint.
It shall be the duty and obligation of the owner of any animal to control the conduct of such animal as follows:
(A) All animals shall be kept under restraint at all times.
(B) No owner shall fail to exercise proper care and control of his animals to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance.
(C) Every female dog or cat in heat shall be confined in a building or secure enclosure in such a manner that such female dog or cat cannot come into contact with another animal except for planned breeding.
(D) Every vicious animal 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. (Ord. 2915, 1977)
721.05 Animal care.
(A) No owner or operator of any commercial animal establishment shall fail to provide his animals with sufficient good and wholesome food and water, proper 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, cockfight, bullfight, or other combat between animals or between animals and humans.
(C) No owner of an animal shall abandon such animal.
(D) No person shall crop or cause the cropping of any animal’s ears or tail, except when a licensed veterinarian issues a signed certificate that the operation is necessary for the dog’s appearance, health and comfort, and in no event shall any person except a licensed veterinarian perform such an operation.
(E) Chickens or ducklings younger than eight weeks of age may not be sold in quantities of less than 25 to a single purchaser.
(F) No person shall give away any live animals, fish, reptile, or bird as a prize for, or as an inducement to enter, any contest, game, or other competition, or 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.
(G) 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 city police department or to the Crawford County Humane Society.
(H) No person shall intentionally or negligently expose any known poisonous substance, whether mixed with food or not, so that the same shall be liable to be eaten by any animal; provided, that it shall not be unlawful for a person to expose on his own property common rat poison mixed only with vegetable substances.
(I) No person shall permit any animal to be confined to any parked motor vehicle without adequate ventilation and temperature control sufficient to insure its comfort. (Ord. 2915, 1977)
721.06 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 without a permit issued by the health officer of the City of Meadville. 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 health officer may issue a temporary permit for the keeping, care and protection of an infant animal native to this area which has been deemed to be homeless.
(D) The health officer 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. (Ord. 2915, 1977)
721.07 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. (Ord. 2915, 1977)
721.08 Animal wastes.
The owner of any animal shall use reasonable care to avoid the deposit of excreta by his animal upon any property other than his own. The owner of any animal which deposits excreta upon any property not owned by the animal’s owner (e.g., public walks, recreation areas and private property) shall immediately collect and remove all such excreta. Failure of any owner to collect and remove all excreta deposited by his animal upon the property of another within one hour after receipt of notice of such deposit shall constitute a violation of this code. (Ord. 2915, 1977)
721.09 Animal control officer.
The city manager is hereby authorized to appoint a special police officer who shall be the animal control officer of the City of Meadville. The animal control officer shall be supervised by the city manager or his designate and shall be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this code. It is the intent of the city council of the City of Meadville that prosecutions for the violation of any provisions of this code shall be instituted and prosecuted by citizens aggrieved by such violations. The city manager may, in his discretion, authorize the institution of proceedings by the city for the enforcement of the provisions of this code when, in the city manager’s opinion, any violation constitutes an imminent threat to the public health or safety or to the health or safety of any animal. (Ord. 2915, 1977)
721.10 Impoundment.
(A) Unrestrained animals and animals which constitute a public nuisance shall be taken by the police, the animal control officer or humane officers and impounded at the Crawford County Humane Society’s shelter and there confined in a humane manner.
(B) Impounded stray dogs and cats shall be kept for not less than three working days unless earlier released to the owner.
(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 animal shall pay to the Crawford County Humane Society such fee as the Crawford County Humane Society shall, from time to time, impose for the care and maintenance provided to the animal.
(E) The Crawford County Humane Society shall, in its discretion, dispose of any animal delivered to it which is diseased, maimed or unclaimed and undesirable. (Ord. 2915, 1977)
721.99 Penalties.
(A) The owner of any animal which constitutes a public nuisance or who maintains any animal in a manner constituting a public nuisance as declared and defined in this code shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine not less than $25.00 nor more than $300.00. Each day upon which any animal or owner acts in a manner which constitutes a public nuisance shall constitute a separate offense.
(B) Upon any person’s third conviction within any calendar year of the ownership of any animal which constitutes a public nuisance, such person shall be sentenced to pay a fine not less than $200.00 nor more than $300.00.
(C) Any person who violates any other provision of this code shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine not less than $25.00 nor more than $300.00. (Ord. 2915, 1977)