ARTICLE 2.06 ANIMAL PROTECTION AND CARE

It shall be unlawful for any person to leave any animal in any standing or parked vehicle in such a way as to intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence endanger the animal's health, safety or welfare. An animal control officer or police officer is authorized to use reasonable force to remove the animal from the vehicle whenever it appears that the animal's health, safety or welfare is or will be endangered if the owner of the vehicle cannot be located after reasonable attempts. The animal shall be (taken to) a veterinarian if the animal is in distress. A written notice bearing the name of the officer removing the animal, a telephone number where he can be contacted and the location where the animal may be claimed by the owner shall be attached to the vehicle. Any person violating this section shall bear the full cost and expense incurred by the city in the care, medical treatment, impoundment cost and disposal of the animal, including the removal from a vehicle, in addition to any criminal penalty that may be imposed under this section.

In instances where occupants of motor vehicles are involved in a traffic accident or other vehicle-related incidents which result in animals being left uncontrolled or unattended, animal control or police officers are authorized to take welfare custody of such unattended animals. In the interest of the health, safety or welfare of such animals, officers are authorized to transport such animals to the city's kennel facility, a veterinarian, a humane shelter, or an animal emergency clinic. Information shall be provided to the animal's owner as to the animal's disposition. Animal owners shall bear the full cost and expense incurred by the city in the care, medical treatment, impoundment costs or other associated costs.

Any person who, as the operator of a motor vehicle within the city, strikes any animal shall report the accident to the police department within a reasonable time if the animal stricken is on or near the roadway so that it constitutes a potential traffic hazard. It shall be an affirmative defense to any violation under this section that the incident occurred while the operator was responding to an emergency and that the incident was reported as soon as possible.

Any person who, as the operator of a motor vehicle, strikes a domestic animal shall immediately report such injury or death to the animal's owner; in the event the owner cannot be ascertained and located, such operator shall at once report the accident to the appropriate law enforcement agency or the local humane society.

No person shall give away any live animal, reptile, fowl, livestock or wildlife as a prize for or as an inducement to enter any contest, game or other competition; or as an inducement to enter a place of amusement; or as an incentive to enter into any business agreement whereby the offer is for the purpose of attracting trade. This prohibition shall apply to carnivals, fairs and circuses.

The prohibition contained in this section shall not apply to fish or to animals given as prizes at a rodeo contest or livestock show or as part of an FFA, 4-H or similar project.

It shall be unlawful to set, trigger, activate or otherwise use, or cause to be set, triggered, activated or used, any steel-jawed leg-hold trap, or for any person, other than animal control officers, to set or otherwise use other trapping devices, including "live traps," used for the capture of any animal. Consistent with the provisions herein, the animal control division is authorized to utilize humane "live traps" and may conduct trapping operations or provide or authorize such devices' use to property owners as may be needed throughout the city. This subsection is not intended to prohibit the prudent use of traps on one's own property to control rodents.

It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, shoot, intentionally injure or kill any wild bird, animal, mammal or reptile within the corporate limits of the city. It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, shoot or kill, within the city, any domestic bird, animal, mammal, reptile or pet that is not owned by such person. Except this subsection shall not be construed or interpreted to prohibit the destruction of poisonous snakes or to prohibit the animal control division from utilizing certain firearms in emergency field conditions where such actions are provided for by law or policy.

It shall be unlawful for any person to shoot a domestic animal within the corporate limits of the city. It shall be a defense to prosecution that the domestic animal shot was a dangerous animal and presenting an immediate threat to personal or public safety. Except this subsection shall not be construed or interpreted to prohibit the animal control division from utilizing certain firearms in emergency field conditions where such actions are provided for by law or policy.

The owners of any animal shall maintain and keep all pens, coops, kennels, fenced areas and enclosures of any kind in a sanitary condition. This shall include the following:

Cages, pens or enclosures used to confine animals shall be of sufficient size to maintain all of the animals within such pen or enclosure comfortably and in good health.

It is unlawful for any person to fail, refuse or neglect to provide any animal in his charge or custody, as owner or otherwise, with proper food, water, shade, adequate shelter, veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering, grooming when lack thereof would adversely affect the health of the animal, and with humane care and treatment.

To provide "adequate shelter" for a dog or cat kept outdoors, a person must provide a shelter accessible to the dog or cat meeting the following standards:

A written warning of violation requiring that the condition be corrected within a specified time period shall be issued to a person before any notice to appear at the municipal court may be issued or before a complaint may be filed with the municipal court.

If any animal without a license tag or other identifying marker is found in a state of pain and suffering or becomes so during confinement, the animal control division may dispose of the animal in any humane manner without complying with the three-day (72-hour) waiting period as set out herein.

If the owner or keeper of an animal found in a state of pain or suffering refuses to assume responsibility to care for the animal, the animal control officer may dispose of the animal in a humane manner.

Not in lieu of or withstanding any permit requirements imposed herein, if an animal is offered for sale in a public place within the city, the person offering the animal for sale, the owner of the animal, the manager or the property which is the public place on which the offer is being made, and the owner of the property which is the public place on which the offer is being made shall be responsible for ensuring that the animal protections of this article are complied with in regard to the animal offered for sale in a public place during the time the animal is in the public place.

The term "public place" as used herein shall mean any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access. It shall include, but is not limited to, shops, stores and flea markets.

If an animal offered for sale in a public place is kept within a cage or pen of any type, such cage or pen shall comply with the following requirements:

It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence use, or allow or permit to be used, property that he owns or has control over for the purpose of conducting animal fights. For purposes of this section, "animal" shall mean a domesticated living creature and wild living creature previously captured, other than a dog.

It shall be unlawful for any person to possess animal fighting equipment within the city. As used herein, the term "animal fighting equipment" means any equipment used for training, handling, housing, feeding or transporting fighting animals. The term also includes animals being used, trained or bred for fighting or intended to be used, trained, or bred for fighting.

It shall be unlawful for any person to administer poison to an animal belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's effective consent. No person shall expose any known poisonous substance, whether mixed with food or not, so that the same shall be liable to be eaten by any domestic animal or person.

It shall be unlawful for any person to recklessly or with criminal negligence injure another's animal by leaving a poisonous substance of any kind in any place within the city.

The provisions of subsection (a) and (b) shall not apply to an exterminator using poisons as part of a pest control program, nor shall it apply to persons using commercial insecticides and rodent baits used to control insects and wild rodents. For purposes of this section, the term "exterminator" shall mean an individual licensed by the state structural pest control board, unless he or she is exempt from such licensing.