[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Batavia as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-26-1981 as Ch. 54 of
the 1981 Code; amended in its entirety 11-8-2004 by Ord. No.
2004-10]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Dog Control Ordinance of the City of Batavia."
A. As used in this article, unless otherwise expressly
stated or unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires,
the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AT LARGE
Any dog that is unleashed and on property open to the public
or is on private property not owned or leased by the owner of the
dog unless permission for such presence has been obtained. No dog
shall be deemed to be at large if it is:
(1)
A guide dog actually leading a blind person;
(2)
A police work dog in use for police work; or
(3)
Accompanied by its owner or other responsible
person and is actively engaged in hunting or training for hunting
on unposted land or on posted land with the permission of the owner
of the land.
DOG
Any member of the species canis familiaris.
DOG CONTROL OFFICER
Any individual appointed by the City to assist in the enforcement
of this article or any authorized officer, agent or employee of an
incorporated humane society or similar incorporated dog protective
association under contract with the City to assist in the enforcement
of this article.
DANGEROUS OR VICIOUS DOG
(1)
Any dog:
(a)
Which, without provocation, chases or approaches
a person upon the streets, sidewalks or any public or private property
in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack;
(b)
With a known propensity, tendency or disposition
to attack without provocation, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger
or threaten the safety of human beings or domestic animals;
(c)
Which bites, inflicts injury, assaults or otherwise
attacks a human being or domestic animal or household pet without
provocation, on public or private property; or
(d)
Which is owned or harbored primarily or in part
for the purpose of dog fighting, or any dog trained for dog fighting.
(2)
No dog may be declared vicious if the threat,
injury or damage was sustained by a person who, at the time such threat,
injury or damage was sustained, was committing a willful trespass
or other tort upon premises occupied by the owner or keeper of the
dog.
(3)
No dog may be declared vicious if it is used
by law enforcement officials for law enforcement work.
ENCLOSURE
A fence of at least six feet in height, or other structure,
such as a pen, forming or causing an enclosed area suitable to prevent
the entry of young children, or any part of their bodies, and suitable
to confine vicious dogs in conjunction with other measures which may
be taken by the owner or the keeper, such as the tethering of a vicious
dog. Such other structure shall be securely enclosed and locked and
designed with secure sides, top and bottom, and shall be designed
to keep the animal from escaping therefrom. If the pen or other structure
has no bottom secured to the sides, the sides must be embedded in
the ground no less than one foot.
IMPOUNDED
Taken into custody or the public pound used by the City of
Batavia.
IRRESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERSHIP
(1)
Any dog owner who has been convicted of any
violation of this article on two occasions in a twelve-month period
shall be designated an irresponsible dog owner. If a dog owner is
convicted of a third violation of this article in a twelve-month period,
all dogs may be confiscated and disposed of at the discretion of the
Chief of Police, and no dog licenses shall be issued to anyone at
the irresponsible dog owner's residence for a period of 36 months.
(2)
Any dog owner who has been convicted of a violation of §
40-6 or §
40-8 of this article on one occasion in a twelve-month period shall be designated an irresponsible dog owner. If a dog owner is convicted of a violation of §
40-6 or §
40-8 on a second occasion in a twelve-month period, all dogs may be confiscated and disposed of, at the discretion of the Chief of Police, and no animal licenses shall be issued to the irresponsible dog owner for a period of 36 months.
(3)
No person designated as an irresponsible dog
owner shall sell or otherwise transfer ownership of any animal to
another person residing at the same address.
LEASHED or RESTRAINED BY A LEASH
The dog is equipped with a collar or harness to which is
attached a leash not to exceed six feet in length, both collar or
harness and the leash to be of sufficient strength to restrain the
dog, and which leash shall be held by a person having the ability
to control and restrain the dog by means of the collar or harness
and the leash.
MENACING FASHION
Means that a dog would cause any person being chased or approached
to reasonably believe that the dog will cause physical injury to that
person.
OWNER
Any person who harbors or keeps any dog.
PERSON
A natural person or any legal entity, including but not limited
to a corporation, partnership or trust.
WITHOUT PROVOCATION
Means that a dog was not teased, tormented or abused by a
person, or that the dog was not coming to the aid or the defense of
a person who was not engaged in illegal or criminal activity and who
was not using the dog as a means of carrying out such activity.
B. All other words and phrases used in this article shall,
for the purpose of this article, have the meanings respectively ascribed
to them by § 108 of the Agriculture and Markets Law.
The purpose of this article shall be to preserve
the public peace and good order in the City, and to contribute to
the public welfare, safety and good order of its people by establishing
certain regulations and restrictions on the activities of dogs and
owners of dogs that are consistent with the rights and privileges
of other residents of the City. This article is enacted pursuant to
Agriculture and Markets Law § 124.
A Dog Control Officer shall be appointed for
the City of Batavia for the purposes and shall have all the powers
and duties contained in § 114 of the Agriculture and Markets
Law.
A. No dog shall be permitted to run at large within the
City of Batavia, New York.
B. No unspayed female dog in season shall be permitted
to be outside a building or a fenced enclosure.
C. No dog shall be permitted upon the public streets
or upon any public property within the City of Batavia unless it shall
be accompanied by an adult or by a minor who is able to restrain and
control said dog and unless such person accompanying said dog shall
actually control and restrain said dog by a leash.
No person, being the owner or agent of the owner
of any dog, shall permit such dog to commit any nuisance within the
City of Batavia or cause damage to the person or property of others.
The following are declared public nuisances and are set forth herein
for explanatory purposes only, and are not to be considered as excluding
other types of nuisances:
A. Engaging in loud howling or habitual barking or so
conducting itself in such a manner so as to disturb the public peace.
B. The owner of a dog shall not permit such dog, even
though leashed, to do any of the following acts:
(1) Enter public buildings, restaurants, stores or cemeteries,
except Seeing Eye dogs properly trained to assist blind persons, when
such dogs are actually being used by blind persons for the purpose
of aiding them in going from place to place.
(2) Damage or deface property not belonging to the owner
of the dog.
(3) Deposit waste or commit a nuisance on the private
property of a person or party other than that of the owner of the
dog.
C. To own or keep a dog which acts in a manner as to
justify the belief that it is vicious. Any dog which shall have bitten
any person or has killed any other domesticated animals within the
City and while off the owner's property shall be presumed to be a
vicious dog.
A. The Dog Control Officer or any peace officer is hereby
authorized to seize or direct the confinement of any dog which is
reported to have attacked or injured a human being. Any such dog shall
be confined by the owner of such dog for such length of time as may
be necessary for the purpose of determining whether such dog is affected
by rabies and, if so affected, it may be destroyed.
B. The owner of such dog shall, upon demand, deliver
the possession of such dog to the Dog Control Officer, or any officer
authorized to seize same, and shall, upon demand, pay to the City
the cost of confinement and treatment of the dog.
A. A Dog Control Officer who has probable cause to believe
that a dog is vicious, as defined in this article, shall immediately
demand that possession of the dog be forthwith relinquished to said
Dog Control Officer, who shall impound said dog and notify the owner
of said impoundment. The owner of such dog may request the City Court
to conduct a hearing within 15 days from the notification of the dog's
impoundment, to determine if the dog is vicious. Upon such hearing,
all interested persons shall have the opportunity to present evidence
on the issue of the dog's viciousness. If no such hearing is requested
within 15 days from the notification of the dog's impoundment, the
dog shall become the property of the City.
B. After a finding that the dog is vicious as defined
in this article, it is in the Court's discretion to order the dog
destroyed or to return the dog to the owner upon satisfaction of the
following conditions:
(1) The owner obtained general liability insurance in
the amount of $100,000 for any injury which the dog may cause, naming
the City of Batavia as an additional insured for the purpose of receiving
notification of termination. It shall be the duty of said dog owner
to maintain such insurance policy in force so long as the dog shall
be present in the City of Batavia.
(2) The owner shall obtain from the City Clerk a conspicuously
colored collar identifying the dog as dangerous. Said collar shall
remain on the dog at all times.
(3) The owner shall obtain a leash and muzzle for said
dog. Such leash shall have a maximum length of three feet and shall
have a minimum tensile strength of 300 pounds. It shall be unlawful,
at all times thereafter, to allow said dog to leave the owner's home
or enclosure, as defined herein, upon the owner's property unless
said dog is muzzled, collared and tethered and under the control of
a person at least 18 years of age,
(4) Registration. The City Clerk or his/her designee shall
require the owner of a vicious dog to register such dog with the City
Clerk. The application for such registration shall contain the name
and address of the owner, the breed, age, sex, color and any other
identifying marks of the dog, the location where the dog is kept,
if not at the address of the owner, and any other information which
the City Clerk or his/her designee shall require. The application
for registration pursuant to this subsection shall be accompanied
by a registration fee of $30. Each dog registered pursuant hereto
shall be assigned an official registration number by the City Clerk.
Such registration number shall be tattooed at the owner's expense
in the manner prescribed by the City Clerk. The certification of registration
shall be of such form and design and shall contain such information
as the City Clerk shall prescribe and shall be issued to the owner
upon payment of the registration fee and presentment of sufficient
evidence that the owner has complied with all the orders of the City
Clerk as prescribed at the determination hearing.
(5) The owner or keeper shall display a sign on his or
her premises warning that there is a dangerous dog on the property.
This sign shall be visible and capable of being read from the public
highway or street.
(6) The owner of the dog shall have the dog sterilized.
(7) The dog shall not be returned to any person under
the age of 18.
C. A Dog Control Officer who has probable cause to believe
that a dangerous dog is being possessed in violation of this article
shall immediately demand that possession of the dog be forthwith relinquished
to said Dog Control Officer, who shall impound said dog until the
article has been complied with and all fines paid.
If any dangerous or vicious dog causes injury
to a person or domestic animal or damage to property while out of
or within the enclosure of the owner of the dog, or while off the
property of the owner, whether or not the vicious dog was on a leash
and securely muzzled or whether the vicious dog escaped without the
fault of the owner, the owner shall be liable to the person aggrieved
by the injury for all damages sustained, to be recovered in a civil
action.
The owner shall notify the Dog Control Officer
immediately, but in no event more than 24 hours, if a vicious dog
is loose, unconfined, has attacked any other animal, has attacked
a human being or has died.
No person shall own or harbor any dog for the
purpose of dog fighting or shall train, torment, badger, bait or use
any dog for the purpose of causing or encouraging the dog to unprovoked
attacks upon human beings or domestic animals.
No person shall possess with intent to sell,
offer for sale, give away, breed, buy, attempt to buy or receive as
a gift within the City any dangerous or vicious dog.
A. Any person who is found to have a dangerous or vicious
dog pursuant to the provisions of this article:
(1) Shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000,
or 30 days in jail, or both. Each separate offense shall constitute
an additional violation; and
(2) Shall pay all expenses, including shelter, food and
veterinary expenses, necessitated by the seizure of any dog for the
protection of the public and such other expenses as may be required
for the destruction of such dog.
B. Any person who is found to have violated any other provision of this article shall be guilty of an offense and may be punished as provided in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
II, General Penalty.
The provisions of this article shall not supersede
but rather shall be supplementary to the provisions of law contained
in Article 7 (§ 106 et seq.) of the Agriculture and Markets
Law and any other applicable ordinance, rule or regulation and successor
laws, ordinances, rules and regulations.
The Dog Control Officer, in accordance with
Subdivision 4 of Agriculture and Markets Law § 114, may
issue an appearance ticket pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Law
for any violation of this article.
[Amended 4-8-1991; 12-13-2010 by L.L.
No. 1-2011]
Owners of dogs in the City of Batavia shall
pay:
A. Ten dollars
and fifty cents for each spayed or neutered dog, plus the local surcharge
mandated by New York State to be deposited into the New York State
Animal Population Control Fund.
B. Fifteen
dollars for each unspayed or unneutered dog, plus the local surcharge
mandated by New York State to be deposited into the New York State
Animal Population Control Fund.
C. Thirty-five
dollars for each purebred license, plus the local surcharge mandated
by New York State to be deposited into the New York State Animal Population
Control Fund.
D. Guide dogs
and other service dogs are exempt from license fees.
All sections and provisions of Article 7 of
the Agriculture and Markets Law including terms and definitions are
hereby incorporated by reference.