[CC 2000 §5-3-1; Ord. No. 1023 §1, 12-17-2001]
This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The Animal
Control Code of the City of Vinita Park, Missouri".
[CC 2000 §5-3-2; Ord. No. 1023 §2, 12-17-2001]
Requirements are adopted in accordance with regulations adopted
under Sections 322.090 through 322.130, RSMo., or as hereinafter may
be amended.
[CC 2000 §5-3-3; Ord. No. 1023 §3, 12-17-2001]
A.
The
purposes of this Chapter include:
1.
Prevention of the introduction or transmission of rabies.
2.
Prevention of the introduction or transmission of other zoonotic
diseases.
3.
Protection and enhancement of the health and safety of humans by
regulating animals whose conduct is generally harmful to humans.
4.
Prevention of mistreatment of animals and protection and enhancement
of the health and safety of animals.
[Ord. No. 1189 §1, 2-22-2011]
No portion of this Code shall require a cat or kitten on a leash except as it applies to Section 205.160, Section 205.110 and Section 205.220 through Section 205.300. No cat or kitten shall be required to have a leash or containment as long as they are on their owner's premises and they do not fall under the exceptions set out above.
[CC 2000 §5-3-4; Ord. No. 1023 §4, 12-17-2001]
The Police Officers and personnel designated as Animal Control
Officers of the City of Vinita Park shall have the authority to enforce
the Sections of this Chapter, except that Animal Control Officers
shall not affect a physical arrest.
[CC 2000 §5-3-5; Ord. No. 1023 §5, 12-17-2001]
For the purpose of this Chapter, certain terms and words are
hereby defined. Words used in the present tense include the future,
the singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular,
reference to the male gender includes the female and reference to
any person or animal without specifying gender include both male and
female. The word "shall" is mandatory and directory
wherever it is used in this Chapter. Other words defined are:
All members of the classification Felis domesticus, male
or female, four (4) months of age or older.
A certificate issued at the time of the vaccination of a
dog or cat and bearing thereon information required by the City of
Vinita Park but not limited to the signature of the veterinarian performing
the vaccination, the registration number, the name, color, breed and
sex of the dog or cat, the name and address of a person responsible
for the dog or cat, the date of the vaccination and the type of vaccine
administered.
The Compendium of Animal Rabies Vaccines prepared by the
National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Inc., issued
January, 1989, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference
as though fully set out in this Chapter.
All members of the classification Canis familiaris, male
or female, four (4) months of age or older.
To put to death in a humane manner, taking into account the
circumstances necessitating the euthanasia and the need to protect
the public health.
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 apprehend, seize, catch, trap, net, quarantine, tranquilize
or confine an animal in a humane manner.
Any facility designated for the purpose of confining animals
impounded pursuant to this Chapter.
All members of the classification Felis domesticus, male
or female, under the age of four (4) months.
License tag issued by the City of Vinita Park for a specified
dog or cat.
Includes any person, firm, association, partnership or corporation
which owns, harbors, shelters, keeps, controls, manages, possesses
or has a part interest in any animal. An occupant of any premises
on which a dog or cat remains or customarily returns is a person responsible
for it under this Chapter. If a person under the age of seventeen
(17) years owns an animal subject to the provisions of this Chapter,
the head of the household of which such person under the age of seventeen
(17) years is a member shall be the person responsible for the animal
under this Chapter. Such household head may himself/herself be under
the age of seventeen (17) years and therefore subject to prosecution
under this Chapter. If not a member of the household, a person under
the age of seventeen (17) years shall himself/herself be the responsible
person. There may be more than one (1) person responsible for an animal.
All members of the classification Canis familiaris, male
or female, under four (4) months of age.
Any object, regardless of shape and material, which bears
a registration number and the words (or their abbreviation) "Rabies
Vaccination Registration". A tag expires when the duration of the
immunity as noted on the registration certificate is exceeded.
The injection by a veterinarian of a specified dose of anti-rabies
vaccine into the body of an animal. In order to be a valid vaccination
under this definition, the anti-rabies vaccine shall be of a type
specified by the compendium, stored in accordance with the manufacture's
recommendation and administered in a manner and at the ages and frequency
that is prescribed by the compendium.
The procedure of vaccination against rabies including the
issuance of the tag and certificate. The words "vaccination" and "registration"
shall be interchangeable.
Unless otherwise specifically indicated, veterinarian means
any veterinarian holding a current Missouri license or any person
acting under the direct supervision of a veterinarian who has a valid
Missouri license.
A.
A person
commits the offense of knowingly releasing an animal if that person,
acting without the consent of the owner or custodian of an animal,
intentionally releases any animal that is lawfully confined for the
purpose of companionship or protection of persons or property or for
recreation, exhibition or educational purposes.
B.
As
used in this Section, "animal" means every living
creature, domesticated or wild, but not including Homo sapiens.
C.
The
provisions of this Section shall not apply to a public servant acting
in the course of such servant's official duties.
[Ord. No. 1359, 8-20-2018[1]]
A.
Any
person in physical possession and control of any animal shall remove
excreta or other solid waste deposited by the animal in any public
or private area not designated to receive such wastes, including,
but not limited to, streets, sidewalks, parking lots, public parks
or recreation areas and private property. The provisions of this Section
shall not apply to a guide dog accompanying any blind person.
B.
Any
one person violating this provision, upon conviction, shall be subject
to a fine not to exceed fifty ($50.00) dollars.
[1]
Editor's Note: Ord. No. 1359 also changed the title of this
Section from "Animal Waste Prohibited on Public and Private Property
— Exception" to "Animal Waste Prohibited On Public And Private
Property — Exception And Penalty For Violations."
