[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Westminster as Ch. 3 of the 1972 Code, as amended through 1990. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Intergovernmental relations — See Ch. 24.
Fishing — See Ch. 80.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or harbor within the City any poultry or fowl except upon property zoned for agricultural or poultry-dressing uses and upon which the keeping or harboring of poultry and fowl is not prohibited. No coop, pen or other enclosure shall be within 10 feet of any street or within 50 feet of any dwelling or other structure frequented by human beings.
It shall be the duty of each person who keeps or harbors any animal or fowl within the City to maintain the stable, pen or other enclosure wherein such animal or fowl is kept or harbored in a clean and sanitary condition at all times and in such manner as to prevent offensive odors, liquids or substances to emanate therefrom and so as not to constitute a nuisance.
A. 
Animals and fowl running at large within the City to the inconvenience or annoyance of the public or so as to constitute a danger to the health or safety of persons or property are hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance subject to abatement.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to permit any poultry, fowl or animal owned, kept or harbored by him to run at large within the City, provided that dogs which are subject to rule, regulation or resolution of the County Commissioners of Carroll County shall be excluded from this subsection.
Any animal or fowl which constitutes a public nuisance as defined in § 48-3A or which is found running at large in violation of § 48-3B shall be subject to immediate impoundment by any police officer of the City or by any other public officer or employee having proper authority to take up and impound dogs or other animals and fowl, provided that if any animal which is subject to impoundment pursuant to this section is vicious or rabid and cannot safely be taken into custody by the impounding officer, the impounding officer may, if he considers such action to be necessary, forthwith destroy such vicious or rabid animal.
The impounding officer, upon taking into custody any fowl or animal other than a dog pursuant to § 48-4, shall take such animal or fowl to a pound or animal shelter designated for such purpose by the legislative body (or by the Mayor or Chief of Police, if the legislative body has not acted on the premises), and he shall then notify the Chief of Police of all pertinent facts. The Chief of Police shall then notify the owner or keeper of the impounded animal or fowl, if such person's identity is known or can be ascertained without unreasonable effort and he shall then cause to be prepared a notice which described the impounded animal or fowl and states the reason for impoundment, the time and place of taking up the animal or fowl and the place of impoundment and further states that such animal or fowl will be sold at auction by a police officer at a designated place on a designated day and hour, which shall be not less than five nor more than eight days from the date of the notice, unless such animal or fowl is redeemed by its owner or keeper prior to the designated date and hour of sale. Copies of this notice shall be posted promptly on the City Hall bulletin board and at four other public places within the City.
Any animal or fowl impounded pursuant to this chapter may be redeemed by its owner or keeper at any time prior to its sale or other final disposition upon payment to the Chief of Police of the actual cost of its board, shelter and care during the period of its impoundment and the actual cost, if any, of taking it up and conveying it to the place of impoundment, plus an impoundment fee of $0.50 for a fowl or $1 for an animal other than a horse or other beast of burden or $2 for a horse or other beast of burden, provided that the payment of such costs and impoundment fee shall not be construed as a bar to prosecution for any violation of state law, this Code or other ordinance.
A. 
Any impounded animal or fowl not redeemed by its owner or keeper prior to the date and hour of sale as specified in the notice mentioned in § 48-5 shall be sold by a police officer to the highest bidder at auction sale, as provided in such notice and the officer conducting the sale shall give to the purchaser a quit claim bill of sale therefor, citing this section as authority so to do. The officer conducting the sale shall promptly deliver the proceeds of the sale to the City Treasurer, who shall apply such sum to the payment of all costs incurred by the City for taking up and impounding such animal or fowl and for its board, shelter and care, the costs of the sale and all other costs incurred by the City by reason of such impoundment, and the remainder shall be paid over to the owner or keeper of such animal or fowl, if such person's identity is known, and if not known, such remainder shall credited to the general fund of the City, provided that if such remainder is in excess of $20, the City Treasurer shall post a notice on the City Hall bulletin board and at four other public places within the City which shall give notice of the animal or fowl having been sold and that of the proceeds of such sale there remains in the City Treasury, after payment of all costs, the sum of ______________ dollars, which is subject to payment to any person making claim therefor within 30 days of such notice and upon proof of claimant's lawful title to such animal or fowl immediately prior to its having been sold by a City police officer at auction, and if any claimant proves such lawful title to the satisfaction of the City Treasurer within such thirty-day period, the City Treasurer shall pay over to him such remainder, and otherwise such remainder shall be credited to the general fund of the City upon the expiration of such thirty-day period.
B. 
If at any auction of an impounded animal or fowl held pursuant to this chapter there is no responsible bidder, the officer conducting the auction shall terminate the proceeding and return the animal or fowl to the place of impoundment In any such case, the Chief of Police may authorize the Poundmaster to hold such animal or fowl for a reasonable period and release it to any responsible person who may desire to have it; and animals and fowl not so disposed of shall be destroyed in a humane manner.
A. 
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring the sale at auction of any impounded animal or fowl estimated by the Chief of Police and the Poundmaster to have a current market value less than $10, and any such animal or fowl shall be held impounded for 10 days. During the first five days of impoundment, such animal or fowl shall be subject to redemption only by its owner or keeper as provided in § 48-6, and during the second five days, it shall be subject to redemption by its owner or keeper or may be turned over to any responsible person who shall pay the actual costs as provided in § 48-6, or the Chief of Police may waive the payment of such costs in any case deemed by him to be worthy; and any such animal or fowl not disposed of as aforesaid within 10 days shall be destroyed in a humane manner.
B. 
In case of the impoundment of an animal or fowl having a current market value of less than $10 as provided in Subsection A of this section, the notice mentioned in § 48-5 shall be made to conform to the provisions of Subsection A of this section.
It shall be unlawful for any person to leave a horse or other beast of burden upon any street or other unenclosed place unless such animal is attended by and under the control of some responsible person or unless such animal is securely tethered in such manner as to prevent such animal from endangering the safety of persons or property.
It shall be unlawful to ride or drive any animal upon the streets or public places in the City in such manner or at such speed as to endanger the safety of any person or property.
It shall be unlawful for any person to match cocks or other fowl in any fight against each other or to attend or wager upon the outcome of any such fight.
Animal and fowl carcasses found upon private property shall be disposed of by the occupant of such property or by the owner if such property has no occupant within eight hours and in a lawful and sanitary manner which does not endanger the health of any person, animal or fowl. Any carcass not so disposed of within eight hours shall be disposed of by the City at the expense of the occupant or owner of the premises upon which such carcass is found, pursuant to regulations or instructions promulgated or given by the Police Department, and carcasses found upon the streets or public places within the City shall be disposed of promptly by the City pursuant to such regulations or instructions.
A. 
Ordinance No. 26 of the County Commissioners of Carroll County, entitled "Animal Control Ordinance,"[1] and Ordinance No. 26A of the County Commissioners of Carroll County amending said ordinance be and the same are hereby fully adopted to be effective in the City of Westminster, except as hereinafter set forth:
(1) 
All references to the "County Commissioners of Carroll County" in Section 10, entitled "Public Nuisance Animals and Vicious Animals," of said Ordinance No. 26 are deleted and replaced with the "Mayor and Common Council of Westminster."
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 24, Intergovernmental Relations, § 24-1B(1).
B. 
The County Commissioners of Carroll County, through the appropriately designed agencies, be and the same is hereby granted authority and jurisdiction to license and control animals within the City of Westminster in the same manner and to the same extent as though such activity were being carried on in Carroll County outside of the corporate limits of the City of Westminster.