[Adopted by the City Council of the City of Lake Mills 10-17-1995 by Ord. No. 725B (Title 5, Ch. 2, Secs. 5-2-1 through 5-2-7 and 5-2-9, of the 2009
Code of Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The City Council finds that it is necessary to regulate the ownership
of certain animals and to prohibit the possession of other animals
because of the City's interest in and duty to protect and promote
the health, safety, and general welfare of its residents.
B.
The City Council finds that the ownership and certain treatment of
many animals are already regulated by the state, and where the state
statutes already address an area of regulation adequately, the City
Council finds it unnecessary to further regulate such matters through
the Municipal Code.
C.
The City Council deems it necessary, however, to regulate in areas
of local concern where the state has not regulated the possession
and treatment of certain animals, and to promote and encourage responsible
pet ownership, while discouraging and deterring the possession or
treatment of animals which creates a nuisance or potential threat
to residents and their property.
D.
The City Council finds that most animals within the City of Lake
Mills are the property of the State of Wisconsin, because they are
wild animals, and except for the purpose of prohibiting the private
ownership of such animals within the City, the Council's primary
intent in this chapter is to establish regulations applicable to the
possession and treatment of domesticated, non-wild animals.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
To be off the premises of the owner and not under the control
of some person either by leash or otherwise restrained or confined
to a vehicle. "At large" refers to all streets, alleys, sidewalks,
or other public or private property which may be about the owner's
premises.
An animal that does not possess a wild nature, and such animal
that has been developed by humans from a naturally occurring species
through long-term selective breeding of a captive population to produce
a distinct, new form exhibiting specific physiological, morphological
and behavioral characteristics which are desirable or useful to humans,
and which set it apart from its wild ancestor. A "domesticated animal"
shall also mean an animal species that exists exclusively or primarily
in association with humans and is generally dependent on humans for
its survival, and that exhibits certain "domestic" behavioral characteristics,
among which is a lack of inherent fear of humans, a lack of aggression,
a docile nature, sociability, a tendency to be comfortable in the
human environment and a desire for human contact.
Include, but are not limited to, poisonous snakes, constricting
snakes, tarantulas, poisonous spiders and insects, nonhuman primates,
rats, raccoons, skunks, wolves, wolf/dog mixed breeds, bats, squirrels,
fox, leopards, panthers, tigers, lions, lynx, other warm-blooded animals
which normally and primarily are found in the wild state, and any
member of the crocodilian family, including, but not limited to, alligators,
crocodiles, caimans and gavials. For purposes of this section, a bird,
simply because it is commonly referred to as being an "exotic" type
of bird, does not automatically classify such bird as an exotic animal.
Include, but are not limited to, otter, beaver, mink, muskrat,
marten, fisher, skunk, raccoon, fox, weasel, opossum, badger, wolf,
coyote, wildcat and lynx.
Include, but are not limited to, deer, moose, elk, bear,
wild rabbits, squirrels, fox and raccoon.
Include, but are not limited to, wild geese, brant, wild
ducks, wild swan, rails, coots, gallinules, jacksnipe, woodcock, plovers,
sandpipers, ruffed grouse (partridge), pinnated grouse (prairie chicken),
sharp-tailed grouse, pheasants, Hungarian partridge, Chukar partridge,
bobwhite, quail, California quail and wild turkey.
Include all varieties of fish except rough fish and minnows
native to the waters of the state.
Includes, but is not limited to, chickens, domestic ducks,
domestic geese, turkeys, peacocks, pigeons, ostriches, emus, goats,
pigs, potbelly pigs, swine, mules, donkeys, burros, horses, ponies,
cattle, sheep, buffalo, mink and any other domesticated farm animal,
excluding dogs and cats.
Any species of wild animal not classified as a game fish,
game animal, game bird or fur-bearing animal.
A person who owns, harbors, keeps or controls an animal.
To own, restrain, keep in captivity or transport an animal.
Includes, cougar, badger, moose, elk, wolverine, flying squirrel,
white deer, woodchuck, prairie chicken, Canada spruce grouse (spruce
hen), mourning doves, swans, cranes, bittern, plovers, kingfishers,
cormorants, heron, sandpipers, grebes, eagles, hawks, falcons, owls,
hen pheasants, and any endangered or threatened species listed in
Ch. NR 27, Wis. Admin. Code.
Any animal, reptile, insect or fish that constitutes a physical
threat to human beings.
Wild geese, brant, wild ducks, rails, coots, gallinules,
jacksnipe, woodcock, plovers, sandpipers and wild swan.
Any mammal, bird, fish, or other creature of a wild nature
endowed with sensation and the power of voluntary motion. "Wild animal"
also means any undomesticated mammal, bird, or other animal. If a
particular animal has never known the wild, if members of its species
possess a wild nature and typically are found in the wild, such particular
animal shall be deemed to be a wild animal.
A.
No person may possess, own, or sell any live game animal, game bird,
game fish, fur-bearing animal, waterfowl, protected wild animal, or
nongame species of wild animal within the City of Lake Mills, unless
such person has been licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources to rehabilitate specific, injured wild animals, or unless
such person possesses an animal specifically trained to assist a disabled
person residing on the premises with daily living activities.
B.
No person may possess, own, or sell any live, wild or domestic skunk
within the City. A wild skunk means any skunk except a domestic skunk.
A domestic skunk means any skunk raised on a fur animal farm licensed
by the state.
C.
No person may possess or own any livestock within the City in any area not zoned agricultural, except that no more than six chicken hens, but not roosters, may be kept on single-family residential properties, provided a current, annual license for the keeping of chickens has been granted under § 255-6D.
[Amended 3-6-2012 by Ord.
No. 1097A]
D.
No person may possess or own any dangerous, vicious or exotic animal
within the City.
E.
In addition to any penalty that may be imposed for violating this
section, the City may also seek any other lawful remedy to remove
or abate a public nuisance.
F.
The provisions of Subsections A, C and D of this section may be temporarily waived with respect to possession of prohibited animals if an application for a permit by a civic, religious, educational or charitable organization is presented to the City Manager prior to an event requiring such waiver and permit, and if the City Manager grants the permit. The City Manager may require information on location and transportation of prohibited animals, and the City Manager may require proof of insurance prior to granting the permit. A decision by the City Manager not to grant the permit may be appealed within 30 days to the City Council. The granting of the permit does not waive any other provisions of this chapter, nor does it waive any applicable requirements under state or federal law.
[Amended 8-6-1997 by Ord.
No. 755]
The keeping of unlimited numbers of nonprohibited animals as
pets in residential areas may give rise to conditions which present
a threat to human health, safety, and general welfare. If such conditions
are determined to exist, nothing in this chapter shall prevent the
City from seeking any lawful remedy to remove or abate a public nuisance.
A.
The provisions of § 95.21, Wisconsin Statutes, and any
amendments, shall be followed with respect to the rabies control program.
For the purposes of enforcing these provisions, the City Council hereby
authorizes employees of the Jefferson County Humane Society to act
as officers, in addition to the City's law enforcement officers,
for purposes of quarantining or sacrificing animals suspected of biting
persons or of being infected or exposed to rabies. Any violations
of § 95.21, Wis. Stats., may be referred to the Jefferson
County District Attorney for prosecution.
B.
The provisions of Ch. 174, Wisconsin Statutes, and any amendments,
shall be followed with respect to the impoundment of dogs for running
at large, and the employees of Jefferson County Humane Society, and
the City's law enforcement officers, are empowered and authorized
as officers to carry out the procedures of impoundment as set forth
in the statutes.
C.
Prohibitions.
(1)
Because of the potential threat to the safety of persons and their
property and to the general welfare, it shall be unlawful for any
person to harbor or keep an animal that:
(a)
Assaults, attacks, bites or injures any person or domesticated
animal without provocation or charges at the boundary of the owner's
premises or at the end of its leash or other restraint in an attempt
to attack without provocation. Acts of provocation include:
[1]
Any person who attacked such animal or who engaged in conduct
reasonably calculated to provoke such animal to attack or bite a person
or domesticated animal;
[2]
Any person engaged in attacking or molesting another person;
or
[3]
Any person, dog, cat or domesticated animal engaged in unlawful
or unauthorized entry into or upon the fenced or enclosed portion
of the premises upon which such animal is kept, or into any automobile
or other vehicle in which such animal is confined.
(b)
Habitually leaves its owner's property to pursue any vehicle
upon any public street, alley or highway in the City.
(c)
Trespasses on school grounds, or cemeteries, or are in parks where pets are prohibited by ordinance under § 496-12 of this Code.
(d)
Is at large within the City limits.
(e)
Damages private or public property.
(f)
Habitually howls, yelps, barks, crows or otherwise make noises
that unreasonably annoy or disturb other residents within the City.
(g)
Is known by such person to be infected with rabies or to have
been bitten by an animal known to be infected with rabies.
(2)
In addition to other penalties imposed for violating this provision,
an animal running at large may be impounded. In addition to penalties
that may be imposed for violating this provision, the City may also
seek any other lawful remedy to remove or abate a public nuisance.
D.
Because of the potential threat to the health and general welfare
of persons, it shall be unlawful for any person who owns or possesses
an animal to neglect to remove or to cause the removal of feces deposited
by the animals on public or private property, including said person's
own property. In addition to penalties that may be imposed for violating
this provision, the City may also seek any other lawful remedy to
remove or abate a public nuisance.
A.
The provisions of Ch. 174, Wisconsin Statutes, and any amendments,
shall be followed with respect to the licensing of dogs, owner's
liability for damage caused by dogs, court orders to kill a dog, impoundment
of dogs for running at large and for not being licensed, and penalties.
Any violations of Ch. 174, Wis. Stats., may be referred to the Jefferson
County District Attorney for prosecution.
B.
Every owner of a dog or cat in the City of Lake Mills shall license
every dog or cat that is owned, harbored, or kept within the City
within 30 days of commencement of ownership or possession, or within
30 days of the dog's or cat's attainment of five months
of age, and such license shall be obtained every year thereafter on
or before January 1. If such license is not obtained prior to March
31 in any given year after the dog or cat is five months old, then
a $5 late fee shall be imposed, in addition to any other penalty.
Proof of current rabies vaccination of every dog to be licensed shall
be required prior to the issuance of the license. The fees for licensing
of dogs and cats within the City shall be set by the Council by resolution
from time to time.
C.
Every person who owns or possesses a dog or cat within the City that
is over five months old and who has owned or possessed such animal
for more than 30 days shall have a current license tag attached to
the animal whenever the animal is outdoors unless the dog or cat is
securely confined to a fenced area.
D.
No person may keep chickens on property not zoned agricultural, unless
that person has been granted an annual backyard chicken license by
the City Clerk under this section, and unless the keeping of chickens
under the license continuously meets the following conditions and
requirements:
[Amended 3-6-2012 by Ord.
No. 1097A]
(1)
The fee for the backyard chicken license shall be $10 and is payable
by January 1 of any license year, subject to a late fee of $10 if
said license fee is not paid by March 31.
(2)
The applicant for the backyard chicken license shall apply on forms
obtained from the City Clerk and shall obtain a building permit for
the required enclosure from the Building Inspector, or shall have
a site plan approved by the Building Inspector if the enclosure already
exists and is not being modified, prior to receiving an initial or
modified backyard chicken license.
(3)
No more than six chickens may be kept under the backyard chicken
license, and all chickens under said license shall be kept on a parcel
or lot with a single-family dwelling.
(4)
No chickens subject to the backyard chicken license may be roosters
or guinea hens.
(5)
All chickens under the license shall be provided with a covered enclosure
for which a building permit for an accessory structure has been obtained
under the Building and Zoning Codes,[1] or for which a site plan approval has been received from
the Building Inspector if the covered enclosure was a preexisting
structure, and all chickens shall be kept at all times within the
covered enclosure or within a fenced enclosure area that is contiguous
with the covered enclosure.
(6)
As a condition of licensing, no covered enclosure or fenced enclosure
area may be located within 15 feet of any property line, nor may such
structure or fenced area be located nearer to an abutting public street
than the single-family dwelling that is located on the parcel or lot
that is subject to the backyard chicken license.
(7)
A licensee shall apply for a modification to the backyard chicken
license if substantial modifications to the covered enclosure or fenced
area are made during any license year.
(8)
No chickens may be slaughtered within the boundaries of the City
unless such slaughtering activity occurs on property zoned agricultural.
(9)
Failure to maintain the covered enclosure and fenced enclosure area in a nuisance-free manner by regularly removing droppings and disposing of them properly so as to not attract insects or rodents, or failure to maintain the covered enclosure and fenced enclosure so as not to become unsightly or cause objectionable odors, may be considered to be violations of the conditions of the license and may also be grounds for enforcement under the nuisance ordinances in Chapter 479, Nuisances, of this Code.
(11)
Owning or possessing live chickens on property that is not zoned agricultural without obtaining the backyard chicken license may be deemed to be a violation of this chapter and may be enforced under § 255-8 of this chapter, in addition to being enforced under § 479-6 or 479-8 of Chapter 479, Nuisances.
The provisions of Ch. 951, Crimes Against Animals, of the Wisconsin
Statutes shall be followed, and any violations of Ch. 951 may be referred
to the Jefferson County District Attorney for prosecution.
Except as otherwise provided herein, any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a penalty as provided in § 1-19 of this Code. Each violation and each day on which a violation occurs or continues shall constitute a separate offense. This section shall not preclude the City from maintaining any appropriate action to prevent or remove a violation of this chapter.
