[R.O. 2016 § 205.010; CC 1994 § 27.110; Ord. No. 888-10 § 1, 2-23-2010]
The following words and phrases shall
be defined as follows:
Any living vertebrate member of the animal kingdom, excluding
man.
A person or persons employed by the City as the officer charged
with the enforcement of this Chapter and other City ordinances relative
to dogs and cats.
A building or pen used for the purpose of impounding and
caring for all animals found running at large in violation of this
Code.
An animal not under the reasonable control of a competent
person or off the property of his/her owner. Any animal is considered
to be under "reasonable control" when on the premises of the owner
or, when off the premises of the owner, the animal is with and obedient
to the owner, and does not deface or damage the property or disturb
the peace of any person. When an animal disturbs the peace or defaces
or damages property or places any person in fear of immediate danger
or harm, it shall be deemed to be beyond "reasonable control," except
when in defense of the property, or person of the owner.
Any member of the feline (genus felis) family.
Any member of the canine (genus canis) family.
Those animals who have reproduced while in captivity in the
United States for at least two (2) generations (with the burden of
such proof resting entirely on the owner). A particular animal shall
not be regarded as domesticated unless both parents are domesticated
animals.
The humane destruction of an animal by a method that involves
anesthesia, produced by an agent which causes painless loss of consciousness,
and death during such loss of consciousness.
When bitten by, or fought with, or has come in close contact
with a dog or other animal shown to be infected with the rabies virus
as determined by standard laboratory testing.
To take into custody any animal, by any humane means, for
the purpose of confinement.
Any commercial business engaged in breeding, buying, selling,
or boarding dogs or cats.
Cows, horses, mules, hogs, goats, poultry, or other animals
commonly associated with farming and agriculture.
All animals that have been altered to prevent conception.
Any person owning, keeping, harboring, or otherwise having
the care or control of an animal.
Controlled by a leash not more than eight (8) feet in length
or within a vehicle being driven or parked on the streets or within
the property limits of its owner or keeper.
[R.O. 2016 § 205.020; CC 1994 § 27.120]
A.
All structures, pens, coops, or yards wherein
animals are kept or permitted to be shall be maintained in a clean
and sanitary condition at all times, devoid of all rodents and vermin,
and free from offensive, disagreeable, or noxious smell or odor to
the injury, annoyance, or inconvenience of any inhabitant of the neighborhood.
The interior walls of any such structures shall be whitewashed or
painted annually or more often as the Animal Control Officer shall
direct. The enclosed area of all such structures shall be constructed
in such a way as to be dry at all times on the inside. The Animal
Control Officer may at any time inspect, or cause to be inspected,
any structure or premises and issue any order as may be necessary
to carry out the provisions of this Section.
B.
Any structure found to be in violation
of this Section is hereby declared a nuisance.
C.
Whenever a nuisance exists as specified
in this Section, it shall be the duty of the owner, tenant, or occupant
of any land on which any such structure is situated to forthwith remove,
abate, or cause to be removed or abated the nuisance. Any such owner,
tenant, or occupant who shall refuse or fail to abate or remove any
such nuisance shall be deemed guilty of an offense.
D.
Whenever the City Council shall determine
that a nuisance exists as specified in this Section, it shall direct
the City Clerk to give written notice by registered mail to the owner,
tenant, or occupant of the land on which the nuisance exists, directing
him/her to abate or remove the nuisance within three (3) days after
the date of posting the notice in the United States Mail. If any such
nuisance is not abated or removed within the time as specified therein,
the City Council shall direct the Chief of Police to forthwith abate
or remove, or cause to be abated or removed, the same. The Chief of
Police shall immediately proceed to abate or remove the nuisance and
he/she shall keep an accurate account of all expenses incurred therein,
and he/she shall file the account with the City Clerk. The City Clerk
shall then proceed to collect the amount of the account from the owner,
tenant, or occupant of the land on which the nuisance was removed
or abated. If the owner, tenant, or occupant of the land shall refuse
or fail to pay the account within thirty (30) days after he/she is
requested to do so by the City Clerk, the City Clerk shall issue a
special tax bill against the property on which the nuisance exists,
and shall proceed to collect the same as other tax bills are collectible
under State law.
[R.O. 2016 § 205.030; CC 1994 § 27.130]
A.
Every animal which bites, injures, or attacks
a person shall be promptly reported to the Animal Control Officer,
and shall be securely quarantined at the discretion of the Animal
Control Officer for a period of ten (10) days, and shall not be released
from quarantine except by written permission of the Animal Control
Officer. At the discretion of the Animal Control Officer, the quarantine
may be on the premises of the owner, at the shelter designated as
the City Animal Shelter at the Humane Society, or at the owner's option
and expense, in a veterinary hospital of his/her choice. In the case
of stray animals, or animals whose ownership is not known, quarantine
shall be at the shelter designated as the City Animal Shelter.
B.
The owner, upon demand by the Animal Control
Officer, shall forthwith surrender any animal which has bitten a human
or which is suspected as having been exposed to rabies, for supervised
quarantine, the expense of which shall be borne by the owner. Any
such animal may be released by the owner if it is adjudged free of
rabies, upon payment of fees set forth in this Code.
C.
When rabies has been diagnosed in an animal
under quarantine, or when rabies is suspected by a licensed veterinarian
and the animal dies while under observation, the Animal Control Officer
shall immediately send the head of the animal to the State Division
of Health laboratory for pathological examination and shall notify
the proper public Health Officer of report of human contacts and the
diagnosis.
D.
It shall be the duty of every licensed
veterinarian to report to the Animal Control Officer any animal considered
by him/her to be a rabies suspect.
[R.O. 2016 § 205.040; CC 1994 § 27.140]
A.
No person shall deposit or cause to be
placed, any dead animal or part thereof, upon any ground in the City,
nor shall any person permit the same to be placed or deposited upon
the premises occupied by him/her.
B.
No person shall at any time permit any
putrid carcass or part thereof to be or remain in or about any house,
shed, or building, or upon any lot, yard, or premises owned or occupied
by him/her in the City.
C.
All carcasses of dead animals which the
owners or keepers thereof shall permit to remain within the City limits,
exceeding twenty-four (24) hours after death, are hereby declared
a public nuisance, unless kept under proper sanitary conditions.
[R.O. 2016 § 205.050; CC 1994 § 27.150]
A.
No person, except one holding a permit
issued by the State Veterinarian to transport the bodies of dead animals
on public highways of this City, or who is acting for such permittee,
or who is otherwise excepted by the provisions of this Code, shall
transport on the highways or public roads of this State the bodies
of dead animals without first obtaining a permit for that purpose.
B.
All vehicles used for transporting dead
animals or the storing of dead animals shall meet the requirements
of the Missouri State Statutes.
The parent or guardian of a minor child is responsible for the
adequate care of any animal owned by, in the control of, or harbored
by that minor child.
