Animal Control Enforcement Ordinance

ANIMAL CONTROL ENFORCEMENT ORDINANCE

COUNTY OF IRON, MICHIGAN

An Ordinance relating to and providing for animal control within the boundaries of Iron County: purpose of Ordinance; definitions; County Animal Control Officer, his duties, authority responsibilities and removal from office; confinement of dogs and other animals under certain circumstances; County Animal Shelter and impoundment of dogs and other animals and redemption of dogs and other animals impounded; killing and seizing of dogs and other animals; enumeration of certain violations and procedure therefore; penalties; preservation of certain rights; fees and expenses; receipts and disbursements of funds; construction; repeal.

THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF IRON, MICHIGAN, DO ORDAIN:

ARTICLE I
PURPOSE

Deeming it advisable in the interest of protecting the public health, safety, convenience and welfare and to provide for the orderly and uniform administration of Act 339 of the Public Acts of 1919, as amended, being Sections 287.261-287.293 of the Compiled Laws of 1948 (MSA Sections 12.511-12.543), and to create the position of Animal Control Officer and define his duties, authority and responsibilities, and to regulate and control the conduct, keeping and care of dogs and certain other animals, livestock and poultry; The County of Iron, Michigan, does hereby adopt the following Ordinance:

ARTICLE II
DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of this Ordinance, the following terms shall have the following meanings respectively designated for each:
(a) ANIMALS: Unless otherwise stated, the word "animal" as used in this Ordinance shall include birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles:(b) LIVESTOCK: Means horses, stallions, colts, geldings, mares, sheep, rams, lambs, bulls, bullocks, steers, heifers, cows, calves, mules, jacks, jennets, burros, goats, kids, hogs, swine, and fur-bearing animals being raised in captivity.(c) POULTRY: Means all domestic fowl, ornamental birds, and game birds possessed or being reared under authority of a breeder's license pursuant to Act. 191 of the Public Acts of 1929, as amended, being Sections 317.71 to 317.85 of the Compiled Laws of 1948 (MSA Sections 13.1271-13.1285.(d) POLICE OFFICER: Means any person employed or elected by the people of the State of Michigan or by any city; village, county or township whose duty it is to preserve peace or to make arrest or to enforce the law, and includes game, fish and forest fire wardens and members of the State Police and Conservation Officers.(e) ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER: Means any person employed by the county for the purpose of enforcing this Ordinance or state statutes pertaining to dogs or other animals as well as persons or deputies employed by the county to act in the Animal Control Division.(f) OWNER: The term "Owner" and "persons owning premises" shall mean both the owner of title of record and those occupying or in possession of any property or premise. The term "Owner" when applied to the proprietorship of an animal means every person having a right of property in the animal, an authorized agent of the owner, and every person who keeps or harbors the animal or has it in his care, custody, or control, and every person who permits the animal to remain on or about the premise occupied by him.(g) PERSON: The word "person" shall include state and local officers or employees, individuals, corporations, co-partnerships, and associations.(h) KENNEL: The term "Kennel" shall mean any establishment wherein or whereon dogs or other mammals are kept for the purpose of breeding, boarding, sale, leasing, trading or training for remuneration or sporting purposes. Any premise, building and/or structure within the boundaries of Iron County, Michigan, wherein or whereon more than four (4) dogs are kept, except a duly licensed pet shop or a litter of dogs or other mammals less than six months old, shall also be deemed to be a kennel.(i) RABIES SUSPECT ANIMAL: The term "Rabies suspect animal" shall mean any animal which has bitten a human, or any animal which has been in contact with or been bitten by a rabid animal, or any animal which shows symptoms suggestive of rabies.(j) POUNDMASTER, CHIEF, ANIMAL CONTROL SERVICES: DOG WARDEN: DOG CATCHER: The terms "Poundmaster", "Chief, Animal Control Services", "Dog Warden", or "Dog Catcher" are synonymous with "Animal Control Officer" and shall include the deputies of such person.(k) Day shall mean working days which shall be scheduled by the Animal Control Officer.(l) Board of Commissioners shall mean the Iron County Board of Commissioners.

(m) Treasurer shall mean the Iron County Treasurer.

(a) The Animal Control Officer shall promptly seize, take up and place in the animal shelter all dogs or other animals, livestock or poultry found running at large or being kept or harbored any place within the county contrary to the provisions of this Ordinance.

(b) The Animal Control Officer shall be a person qualified in accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan and shall be authorized to have the power and it shall be his duty to issue appearance tickets, citations or summonses to those persons owning, keeping, or harboring dogs contrary to the provisions of this Ordinance.

(c) It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer to destroy in a humane manner all impounded dogs or other animals which are not claimed or released within four (4) days after being impounded; provided, however, if in their judgment said dog or other animal is valuable or otherwise desirable for keeping, the Animal Control Officer may release said dog or other animal to any person who will undertake to remove said animal from the county or keep said animal within the county in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance and the statutes of the State, including compliance with the licensing and vaccination requirements, upon payment of the proper charge for the care and treatment of said animal while kept in the animal shelter, or the Animal Control Officer may, at the expiration of said four-day period, dispose of said dog or other animal in such a manner as approved by the Board of Commissioners. If the owner of the animal is known and can be located, the Animal Control Officer shall obtain an order from the District Court of Iron County in accordance with Article VI, Section 4 of this Ordinance before disposing of the animal. Such regulations regarding the release of animals from the animal shelter and boarding and other charges shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the animal shelter.
The bodies of all animals destroyed at the animal shelter or elsewhere in the county shall be disposed of by the Animal Control Officer in a manner approved by the Iron County Health Department and the Board of Commissioners. Any animals voluntarily turned into the animal shelter by the owners thereof for disposition need not be kept for the minimum period of four days before release or disposal of such animal is made by the Animal Control Officer as provided herein. The fee for such disposal of a dog voluntarily turned into the animal shelter or Animal Control Officer for disposal shall be $5.00 or such fee as set by the Board of Commissioners.

(d) The Animal Control Officer shall promptly investigate all animal bite cases involving human exposure and shall search out and attempt to discover the animal involved and shall either impound or quarantine it for examination for disease in accordance with the applicable provisions of this Ordinance and/or the statutes of the State. He shall also be obliged to seize and impound any rabies suspect animal.

(e) The Animal Control Officer shall have the right to inspect any kennel for which a license has been issued by him pursuant to this Ordinance and the statutes of the State, and shall have the duty to suspend said license if, in his opinion, conditions exist which are unhealthy or inhumane to the animals kept therein pending correction of such conditions, and further shall have the duty to revoke said license if such conditions are not corrected within a reasonable period of time.

(f) The Animal Control Officer shall have the right to investigate complaints of dogs or other animals alleged to be dangerous to persons or property.

(g) The Animal Control Officer shall have the right to investigate complaints of cruelty to dogs or other animals, livestock or poultry and shall have the right to seize, take up and impound any dog or other animal, livestock or poultry which has been subject to such cruelty.

(h) The Animal Control Officer shall have such other duties relating to the enforcement of this Ordinance as the Board of Commissioners may from time to time provide.

ARTICLE IV
CONFINEMENT

Any dog or animal kept as a pet that shall bite a person, animal or livestock shall be securely confined by the owner thereof inside an appropriate building or enclosure for a minimum period of ten (10) days following the biting of such person, animal or livestock. In the event that the owner of such animal shall fail to securely confine the animal for such period of time, the Animal Control Officer, his deputies or assistants may take possession and custody of said animal, confine it at the animal shelter until the expiration of said ten (10) day period and upon satisfactory evidence said animal is not suffering from rabies. Said animal shall be kept at the animal shelter at the expense of the owner thereof in the event that the person charged with the duty to securely confine said animal as aforesaid shall fail to do so. Any dog or other animal running loose after biting a person, animal or livestock and whose owner cannot be determined, shall be confined for a period of ten (10) days at the animal shelter or other suitable location.

ARTICLE V

SECTION1: All dogs found running at large shall be seized by the Animal Control Officer, his deputies or assistants, or other peace officers, and, if the owner cannot be found, impounded for a period of not less than four (4) days and may thereafter be sold or disposed of if not claimed by the owner.SECTION 2: When dogs are found running at large and their ownership is known to the Animal Control Officer, his deputies or assistants, or other peace officers, such dog need not be impounded but the Animal Control Officer, his deputies or assistants, or other peace officers may, in their discretion, cite the owner of such dog to appear in court to answer charges of violation of this ordinance.SECTION 3: Immediately upon impounding a dog or other animal the Animal Control Officer shall make every reasonable effort to notify the owner of such dog or other animal so impounded and inform such owner of the conditions whereby custody of such dog or other animal may be regained pursuant to the regulations for the operation of the animal shelter.SECTION 4: An owner may redeem a dog from the animal shelter by executing a sworn statement of ownership, furnishing a license and tag as required by this Ordinance and state law, and paying the required fees posted at the animal shelter.

SECTION 5: The Board of Commissioners shall maintain an animal shelter for the purposes set forth herein. It shall be sufficient for purpose of this section if the Board contracts with a veterinarian for provision of this service.

ARTICLE VI

ENUMERATION OF CERTAIN VIOLATIONS AND PROCEDURE THEREFORE

SECTION 1: It shall be unlawful for any person to own any dog or other animal which:

(a) being of any age, licensed or unlicensed, wearing a collar or not wearing a collar, runs at large, provided, however, that a dog engaged in hunting need not be leashed when under the reasonable control of its owner.(b) being of any age, licensed or unlicensed, wearing a collar or not wearing a collar, except a leader dog accompanied by its owner, is within the confines of any public park when such park, by appropriate designation at its entrance, prohibits dogs;

(c) at any time being licensed or unlicensed destroys property, real or personal, or trespasses in a damaging way on property of persons other than the owner;

SECTION 2: It shall further be unlawful for any reason to:

(a) own any dog or other animal licensed or unlicensed, which attacks or bites a person;(b) own any livestock which runs at large unaccompanied by its owner on the premises of another or upon any public street, lane, alley or other public ground in the county unless otherwise specifically allowed;

(c) remove a collar or tag from any dog or other animal without the permission of its owner, or to decoy or entice any dog or other animal out of an enclosure or off the property of its owner, or to seize, molest or tease any dog or other animal while held or led by any person or while on the property of its owner.

SECTION 3: In the event of any such violations or of a violation of any other provision of this Ordinance or of the laws of the state, the Animal Control Officer, his deputies or assistants or other peace officer may issue an appearance ticket, citation or summons to the owner of said dog, animal, livestock or poultry or other person, summoning them to appear before a district court or other appropriate court within the county to answer the charges made in violation of this Ordinance. The said Animal Control Officer, his deputies or assistants or other peace officers may sign a complaint before said court for violation of the provisions of this Ordinance, proceed to obtain the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of the person to whom said violation is charged. The court may in such case, in its discretion, upon a finding of guilty, assess the penalties in accordance with the penalty provision of the ordinance.

SECTION 4: In the event of any such violations or of a violation of any other provisions of this Ordinance or of the laws of the State, the Animal Control Officers, his deputies or assistants or other peace officers or any other person may proceed to obtain authorization of the Prosecuting Attorney and make complaint before the district court of the county and obtain the issuance of a summons similar to that provided in Act 339 of the Public Acts of 1919, being Section 287.280 of the Compiled Laws of 1948 (MSA Section 12.530), as amended, to show cause why such dog, animal, livestock or poultry should not be killed. Upon such hearing, the judge may either order the dog, animal, livestock or poultry confined to the premises of the owner, or may make such other order regarding the dog, animal, livestock or poultry as it deems proper and necessary under the circumstances, in addition to any of the penalties enumerated herein. This section shall in no way affect the provisions of Article III, Section 3 (c) of this Ordinance.

ARTICLE VII
PENALTY

Any person, form or corporation violating any of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof may be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than ninety (90) days or by a fine of not more than One Hundred Dollars ($100), or by both such fine and imprisonment.

ARTICLE VIII
CONSTRUCTION

SECTION 1: When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future. Words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural include the singular. Masculine shall include the feminine and neuter. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directive. Words or terms not defined herein shall be interpreted in the manner of their common meaning. Headings shall be deemed for convenience and shall not limit the scope of any article or section of this Ordinance.SECTION 2: The regulations of this code are minimum standards supplemental to the rules and regulations duly enacted by the Michigan Department of Health and to the laws of the State of Michigan relating to public health. Where any of the provisions of these regulations and the provisions of any other local or state ordinances or regulations apply, the more restrictive of any or all ordinances or regulations shall prevail.

SECTION 3: If any part of this Ordinance shall be held void, such part shall be deemed severable and the invalidity thereof shall not affect the remaining parts of this Ordinance.

ARTICLE IX
REPEAL

All Ordinances or part of ordinances inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDINANCE

This Ordinance shall take effect sixty (60) days after the date of its publication.