ORDINANCE 2017-17 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION ...

6 downloads 193 Views 108KB Size Report
The tethered animal shall not be tethered or chained or allowed to remain tethered or chained from the time that a manda
ORDINANCE 2017-17 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES SECTION 18-4 BY PROHIBITING OUTDOOR TETHERING OR RESTRAINT OF DOGS AND CATS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. It is hereby proposed that Section 18-4 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Fernandina Beach, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 18-4. - Owner to exercise care and control; standards of care; prohibition of tethering (a)

Care and control required. No owner shall fail to exercise proper care and control of his or her animals to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance. (1)

(b)

It shall be unlawful for the owner or custodian of an animal to allow an animal, to bark, meow, whine, howl, or to make other sounds common to its species, persistently or continuously for a period of 30 minutes or longer when such animal is not contained within an enclosure sufficient to baffle loud noises and render them reasonably unobjectionable.

Standard of care. No owner shall fail to provide his animals with sufficient wholesome and nutritious food, water in sufficient quantities, proper air, shelter, space, and protection from the weather, veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering, and humane care and treatment. (1)

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 between animals or between animals and humans.

(2)

No owner of an animal shall abandon such animal.

(3)

In no event shall any person except a state licensed veterinarian or other state licensed professional crop a dog's ears or dock a dog's tail or perform any other invasive surgical procedure on any animal. Any person who, as the operator of a motor vehicle, strikes a dog or cat within the city limits shall stop at once and render such assistance

(4)

as may be possible. Such operator shall at once report the accident to the city police department or to the local humane society.

(c)

(5)

No person shall expose any known poisonous substance, whether mixed with food or not, so that it shall be available to be eaten by any animal; however, it shall be lawful for a person to expose on his or her own property common pest control poisons mixed only with nonanimal substance, which have been approved for such use by the appropriate state and federal governmental agencies.

(6)

Placing or confining an animal or allowing it to be placed or confined or to remain in an unattended vehicle without sufficient ventilation or under conditions or for such a period of time as may reasonably be expected to endanger the health or well-being of such animal due to heat, lack of water or such other circumstances as may be expected to cause suffering, debility or death.

A law enforcement officer or animal control officer who finds an animal in a vehicle in violation of this section may enter the vehicle by using the amount of force reasonably necessary to remove the animal. A law enforcement officer or animal control officer who acts in substantial compliance with the provisions of this section shall be immune from civil and criminal liability; and the city shall also be held immune from civil liability.

(c) Restraint by chaining or tethering animals. Restraint by chaining or tethering animals may be used provided the following conditions are strictly adhered to: (1) The area where the tethering takes place must be free of entanglements; and (2) The chain or tether shall not weigh more than one-eighth of the animal's weight; and (3) The chain or tether shall be at least 12 feet in length with swivels on both ends; and (4) The chain or tether shall be attached to a properly fitted collar or harness by the animal; no choke type or prong collars may be used while animal is tethered; and (5) The animal, while restricted to a chain or tether is able to access shelter with floor, three walls and a roof to protect itself from inclement weather, extreme temperature and sunlight, and has access to sufficient wholesome food and water; and (6) The tether animal is not under the age of six months. No puppies shall be tethered or chained; and (7)

The tethered animal shall not be tethered or chained or allowed to remain tethered or chained from the time that a mandatory evacuation of the owner's residence is ordered until the order of mandatory evacuation is lifted; and (8) Maximum time for a tethered or chained animal in a 24-hour period is ten hours. (d)

No person shall give away any live animal 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 an animal as an incentive to enter into any business agreement whereby the offer is for the purpose of attracting trade, or to sell chances, coupons, or tickets to be redeemed for any live animal. Any person found to be in violation of this section shall be subject to fines and penalties as established in section 18-30 and section 1-12 of this Code.

(e)

Unlawful restraint of dogs and cats. No person shall tether, fasten, chain, tie, or restrain a dog or cat, or cause a dog or cat to be tethered, fastened, chained, tied, or restrained, to a dog house, tree, fence, or any other stationary object.

(f)

Notwithstanding subsection (e) above, a person may do the following:

(g)

(1)

A dog or cat may be tethered when it is in visual range of the owner, and the owner is located outside with the tethered animal.

(2)

Tether, fasten, chain, tie, or otherwise restrain a dog or cat pursuant to the requirements of a camping or recreational area.

In all cases where tethering is permissible, the following conditions must all be met: (1)

The dog or cat must be attached to the tether by a buckle-type collar or a body harness. A dog or cat shall not be tethered by means of a choke-type, pinch-type, prong-type, or improperly fitting collar;

(2)

The tether has the following properties: it is at least five times the length of the tethered animal's body, as measured from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail; it terminates at both ends with a swivel; it does not weigh more than 10% of the tethered animal's weight, and it is free of tangles;

(3)

The dog or cat is tethered in such a manner as to prevent injury, strangulation, or entanglement;

(h)

(4)

If there are multiple dogs or cats, each dog or cat must be tethered separately. The tethering of each dog or cat must be in accordance with the requirements of this Code;

(5)

The dog or cat is not outside during a period of extreme weather, including without limitation extreme heat (over 85 degrees Fahrenheit) or cold temperatures (under 45 degrees Fahrenheit), thunderstorms, lightning storms, tornado watches or warnings, tropical storms, or hurricane watches or warnings;

(6)

The dog or cat has access to water, adequate shelter, and dry ground;

(7)

The dog or cat is at least six months of age. Puppies or kittens shall not be tethered;

(8)

The dog or cat is not sick or injured; and

(9)

No tether may extend any closer than six (6) feet from the perimeter fence or a lot line. If it is connected to a pulley, the running line must be at least fifteen (15) feet in length and less than seven (7) feet above the ground. If multiple dogs or cats, they must be tethered separately, with no sharing of running lines, or near enough to each other that they may become tangled. No animal shall be tethered so that it has access to public property, including easements and rights-of-way or property owned by another private individual or entity.

Penalties for violation of this section. The penalties for violation of this section are as follows: $100 citation for the first offense; $200 citation for the second offense; and $300 for the third offense. These fines apply to violations occurring within a five (5) year period. Appeals of citations shall be made in accordance with Section 2-396 et seq. of this Code.

SECTION 2. Severability. In the event that any word, phrase, clause, sentence or paragraph hereof shall be held invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect any other word, clause, phrase, sentence or paragraph hereof. SECTION 3. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its final passage and adoption. ADOPTED this ______day of __________, 2017.

CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH _______________________________________ Robin C. Lentz Commissioner – Mayor ATTEST:

APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:

_______________________ Caroline Best City Clerk

________________________________________ Tammi E. Bach City Attorney