Council Bluffs |
Code of Ordinances |
Title 4. HEALTH AND SANITATION |
Chapter 4.20. ANIMAL CONTROL |
Article I. Humane Animal Treatment and Control |
§ 4.20.020. Definitions.
For use in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1)
"Administrative authority" means the director of community development or his/her designee. The chief animal control officer or his/her designee, or anyone else duly authorized by the mayor.
(2)
"Animal" means every wild, tame or domestic member of the animal kingdom other than the genus and species Homo sapiens.
(3)
"Animal shelter" means the premises and/or building which the mayor or his or her designee may from time to time designate as the location for the impoundment of animals.
(4)
"At large," "running at large," or "being at large" means any licensed or unlicensed animal found off the premises of its owner and either:
(A)
Not on a leash;
(B)
Not restrained within a vehicle so as to prevent it leaving the vehicle; or
(C)
Not housed in a veterinary hospital or kennel.
(5)
"Bite" means any puncture, laceration, abrasion, scratch or any other break in the skin of a human, caused by an animal.
(6)
"Board of review" shall be an ad hoc board made up of the mayor or his/her designee, the police chief or his/her designee and the fire chief or his/her designee. This board will only meet as needed and will conduct its hearings pursuant to Robert's Rules of Order and in compliance with Iowa's open meeting law.
(7)
"Cat" means both male and female animals of the feline species, whether neutered or not.
(8)
"Dangerous animal" or "dangerous animal, per se" means:
(A)
Any animal which is not naturally tame or gentle, and which is of a wild nature or disposition, and which is capable of killing, inflicting serious injury upon, or causing disease among human beings or domestic animals and having known tendencies as a species to do so;
(B)
Any animals declared to be dangerous by the board of review or the mayor or his or her designee;
(C)
The following animals which shall be deemed to be dangerous animals, per se:
Artiodactyla of the family Antilocapridae, which includes pronghorns;
Artiodactyla of the family Cervidae, which includes moose and caribou;
Artiodactyla of the family Suidae and the genus and species Sus scrofa (domestic swine and wild boar), which includes all male and female wild boars;
Bovidae—males only (bulls);
Carnivora of the family Canidae, which includes wolves, foxes, and hybrids, but excludes domestic dogs;
Carnivora of the family Felidae, which includes lions, lynx, bobcats, and hybrids, but excludes domestic cats;
Carnivora of the family Mustelidae, which includes badgers, wolverines, weasels and skunks, except ferrets;
Carnivora of the family Procyonidae, which includes raccoons;
Carnivora of the family Ursidae, which includes bears;
Chelonia of the family Chelydridae (snapping turtles);
Crocodilia which includes crocodiles and alligators;
Chiroptera (bats);
Proboscidae (elephants);
Rodentia of the family Cricetidae (mice), except white mice kept as household pets;
Rodentia of the family Muridae (rats), except white rats kept as household pets;
Scorpiones of the family Buthidae (scorpions);
Squamata of the suborder Ophidia (snakes) which are venomous or constrictors, not to include any nonvenomous snake indigenous to the state of Iowa.
(9)
(A)
"Dangerous dog" means:
(i)
Any dog with a propensity, tendency, or disposition to attack, to cause injury to, or to otherwise endanger the safety of humans or other domestic animals;
(ii)
Any dog that has been cited for running at large three times in one year; or
(iii)
Any dog that has attacked another animal once while at large.
(B)
A dangerous dog is "unconfined" as the term is used in this section if such dog is not securely confined indoors or confined in a securely enclosed and locked pen or structure upon the premises which shall be set back at least ten (10) feet from the nearest property line of the person described in Section 4.20.110(b). Such pen or structure must have secure sides and a secure top. The sides must be embedded into the ground no less than one foot or secured into a concrete slap.
(10)
"Dart" means the process whereby a drug of a sedative nature is delivered to and injected into an animal by means of a projectile shot from a rifle, gun, or blowgun, or from a bow or crossbow, for the purpose of subduing or rendering unconscious an animal for capture.
(11)
"Dog" means both male and female animals of the canine species, whether neutered or not.
(12)
"Emergency" means any occurrence or set or circumstances involving actual or imminent physical trauma or property damage or which demands immediate action to protect the public health, safety and/or welfare, or the safety or welfare of an animal.
(13)
"Farm animal" means every wild, tame or domestic animal kept or raised for the purpose of meat, milk, breeding, furbearing, work, recreation, sport, hobby, experimentation, or income, excluding domestic dogs and cats; any and all animals of the following orders shall be deemed to be farm animals, per se:
Anseriforms, which includes ducks and geese;
Artiodactyla, which includes all members of the families Suida (swine) and Bovidae (cattle, sheep and goats);
Carnivoras, which includes mink and skunks, but excluding domestic dogs and cats;
Columbiformes, which includes doves and pigeons;
Falconiformes, which includes hawks and falcons;
Galliformes, which includes chickens, turkeys and fowl-like birds;
Lagomorpha, which includes hares and rabbits;
Perissodactyla, which includes all members of the family Equidae (horses, ponies, asses, and mules);
Rodentia, which includes squirrels, rats and mice.
(14)
"Hybrid" means any offspring produced by breeding a domestic cat or domestic dog to an animal listed as a "dangerous animal, per se."
(15)
"Kennel" means "boarding kennel," "commercial kennel," as defined in Chapter 162 of the Code of Iowa.
(16)
"Kennel dogs" means dogs which are kept or raised solely for the bona fide purpose of sale and which are kept under constant restraint in a kennel pursuant to Chapter 162 of the Code of Iowa.
(17)
"Killer trap" or "conibear trap" means a type of trap designed to apprehend and instantaneously kill an animal, but shall not include jaw, leghold or snare-type traps, regardless if set underwater.
(18)
"Live trap" means a process whereby an animal is apprehended alive and uninjured by means of a cage-type device, the door or entrance to which closes after the animal enters, preventing escape. Jaw, leghold, or snare-type traps, designed to pinch trap an animal's head or extremities, shall not be considered a live trap.
(19)
"Noise disturbance" means any sound which:
(A)
Endangers or injures the safety or health of humans or animals;
(B)
Annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities; or
(C)
Endangers or damages personal or real property.
(20)
"Owner" or "owner of animal" means any person or persons, firm, association, or corporation owning, keeping, sheltering or harboring an animal with a current city pet license.
(21)
"Owner" or "person or entity in lawful possession and control of any premises" means the fee title owner of any property or premises, or the person or entity in actual possession or control of such premises under a lease or real estate contract.
(22)
"Person" means any individual, association, partnership, or corporation, and includes any officer, employee, agent or agency thereof.
(23)
"Service animals" means any animal which is owned by a person who is disabled, and that has been properly trained at a special school to guide its owner in going from place to place.
(24)
"Vicious animal" means any animal, except for a dangerous animal, per se, as listed above, which has attacked or bitten any person without provocation or which has attacked or bitten any domestic animal or fowl on more than two occasions within a twelve-month period, any dog or other animal owned or harbored primarily or in part for the purpose of fighting or any dog trained for dog fighting, or which has been found to possess such a propensity by the Board of Review.
(25)
Meaning of Certain Words. Words used in the singular include the plural, and the plural the singular, the masculine gender includes the feminine and the feminine the masculine.
(Ord. No. 6304, § 1, 9-25-2017; Ord. No. 6357, § 1, 10-22-2018).