[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of West Haverstraw as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Noise — See Ch. 147.
Parks and recreation areas — See Ch. 155.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 208.
[Adopted 5-17-1995 by L.L. No. 1-1995; amended in its entirety 2-15-2017 by L.L. No. 1-2017]
It shall be unlawful for any person owning, boarding, harboring or otherwise keeping or having in his or her custody a dog within the limits of the Village of West Haverstraw to permit such dog, whether licensed or not, to be at large elsewhere than on the premises of the owner or on the premises of another person with the knowledge and consent of such other person, unless said dog, when accompanied by the owner or other person on a public street, road or highway in the Village of West Haverstraw, is on a leash or under the full and immediate control of the person in charge.
Any person who shall cause or permit or suffer a dog to habitually bark or howl in a manner so as unreasonably to annoy or disturb the peace or rest of any person, whether such dog be indoors or out-of-doors, shall be guilty of a violation of this article. If such barking or howling dog shall also be at large in violation of this article, then such violation shall be separate and distinct, and such violations shall not merge with each other but shall subject a violator to more than one charge and more than one penalty.
It shall be a violation of this article for any person to allow or permit a dog to defecate on public property or the property of another and not to have removed fecal matter immediately thereafter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or harbor, within 200 feet of any residential zoning district in the Village of West Haverstraw, any live swine, rooster, chicken, goose, duck, livestock or other such animal. The keeping of such animals is hereby declared to be a nuisance.
Any person or persons who shall hinder, molest or interfere with any officer or agent of the Village in the performance of any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a violation of this article.
It shall be unlawful to keep more than four dogs, six months of age or older, in or at any residential dwelling unit, regardless of whether the dwelling unit shall be located in a residential or other zoning district.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Chapter 1, Article III, of the Village Code.
[Adopted 3-21-2018 by L.L. No. 4-2018]
The following terms shall have meaning set forth in this section.
AT LARGE
Not confined, outside an area of escape such as a pen, corral, yard, cage, house, vehicle, or other secure enclosure, unless otherwise under appropriate human control.
COLONY
A group of one or more community cats.
COMMUNITY CAT
Any cat that is:
A. 
Homeless, stray, or at large, where the cat:
(1) 
Has been socialized to people, or is less than five weeks old;
(2) 
Could become feral as connection with humans is further removed; and
(3) 
In the case of cats older than five weeks, has a good potential to quickly become domesticated once again; or
B. 
Feral, where the cat:
(1) 
Is not socialized towards humans;
(2) 
Is born in the wild or is the offspring of an owned cat; or
(3) 
Is a formerly owned cat that has been abandoned; or
C. 
A cat that lives in the community but is not owned by a human, sometimes referred to as a "free-roaming" or "street" cat.
DOMESTICATED CAT
A cat:
A. 
That is social towards humans;
B. 
That currently lives within the residence or on the property of a person or persons accepted as the cat's owner; and
C. 
That is considered appropriate as a companion for humans.
EAR TIPPING
A straight-line cutting of the tip of the left ear of a cat while the cat is anesthetized.
NEUTER
To permanently sterilize male cats to render them incapable of impregnating female cats by means of either surgery performed to remove the reproductive organs or chemical sterilization by which the cats are injected with a drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for that purpose.
SPAY
To permanently sterilize female cats to prevent estrus (heat) cycles and eliminate their ability to become pregnant by means of either surgery performed to remove the ovaries and uterus or chemical sterilization by which the cats are injected with a drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for that purpose.
STERILIZE
To spay or neuter a cat.
TRAP, NEUTER, VACCINATE, AND RETURN PROGRAM or TNVR
A program in which community cats are humanely trapped, evaluated, vaccinated, sterilized, and ear tipped by a veterinarian and returned to the trap location with the intent of controlling or reducing feline population and reproduction.
VETERINARIAN
A person licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the State of New York.
A. 
TNVR of community cats shall be legal in the Village of West Haverstraw, and interested citizens are encouraged to participate in and support TNVR activities on a voluntary basis.
B. 
All persons who attempt to trap community cats for TNVR in the Village of West Haverstraw should be familiar with the guidelines, supported by regional and national feral and community cat organizations, regarding appropriate methods of TNVR.
C. 
Socialized cats and all kittens subject to TNVR shall be eligible to be, but not mandated to be, re-socialized and put up for adoption.
D. 
An ear-tipped cat received by local shelters shall be returned to the location where trapped unless veterinary care is required. A trapped ear-tipped cat shall be released on site unless veterinary care is required.
E. 
Animal control officers shall use appropriate opportunities to inform stakeholders about TNVR.
F. 
It shall not be a violation of this section to determine that the best course of action for a particular cat, or cat colony, is to be left alone.
Animal control officers operating within the Village of West Haverstraw shall implement and administer this article in consultation with community cat welfare experts.