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THE CODE OF THE TO N OF ROSEBORO, NORTH CAROLINA OF 1977

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AMENDM NT - DATED OCTOBER 13, 2009

TOCHAPTER 4

ANIMALS

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At the regularly sch duled meeting of the Board of Commissioners of theTown of Roseboro, held 0 October 13,2009, upon motion made, seconded annunanimously carried, T E CODE OF THE TOWN OF ROSEBORO, NORTHCAROLINA OF 1977, was amended as follows:

That CHAPTER4, e titled "ANIMALS AND FOWL" is hereby amended in itsentirety as shown on a c py of said ordinance which is hereto attached and byreference included herei .

This amended Ordi ance supersedes all other ordinances in contradictionherewith.

ADOPTED and AME OED this the 13th day of October, 2009.

oJL.Q~_.foIand G. Hall, Mayor

(SEAL)

ATTEST:

,.,,-'

Orenda Ammons, Town lerk

THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF ROSEBORO, NORTH CAROLINA OF 1977

CHAPTER 4

ANIMALS

*Cross references: Applicability of traffic regulations to persons riding aWm.€lls, § 15-5;molesting arilmals in parks and recreation areas, § 18-54. '" .State law references: Municipal regulation of domestic~~l§, O.S. § 160A-186;protection ofaril&~ls, G.S. § 19A-l et seq.; dogs, G.S. § 67-1 et seq.; fences and stocklaw, G.S. § 68-1 et seq.

Art. 1. In General, §§ 4-1--4-20Art. II. Dogs, §§ 4-21--4-40Art. III. Cats, §§ 4-41i-4-50Art. IV. Penalty, § 4-51

ARTICLE I. IN GENERALI

Sec. 4-1. Definitions.

The following words terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have themeanings ascribed to theml in this section, except where the context clearly indicates adifferent meaning:

~JJl!Ji11shelter means any premises, including but not limited to the SampsonCounty ~t1JtI'lal Shelter, designated by action of the city for the purpose of impoundingand caring for any ~riIrnaJfound running at large in violation of this article.

AlJimal control Offill r means the person employed by the city to enforce theprovisions of this chapter.

At large, as applie to an anjma/, means off the property of its owner and notunder the control of a com etent person.

Owner means any person who owns, keeps, or harbors an anfrrial.

Secure enclosure eans a fence or structure of~~equate height, forming orcausing a humane enclo ure suitable to prevent the ~11lr.1"1;I~1from escaping and toprevent the entry of young hildren.

Under restraint me ns:(1) Control ed by a leash;(2) On or ithin a vehicle being driven or parked on the street and

unable to bite persons outside the vehicle; or(3) Within the property limits of its owners, under competent supervision.

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(Code 1975, § 4-4; Amend.rO. 03.05.03, 5-6-2003)

Cross references: Definitions and rules of construction generally, § 1-2.

Sec. 4-2. Interference ith the iiffi!ll,~'control officer.""., ,

No person shallinteo/ere with, hinder, or molest the ~nlmal control officer or anyof his agents in performing any of his duties, or seek to release any ~nilllalfrom custody,except as provided in this c~apter.

Sec. 4-3. Records.

The ~ni.mal control officer shall keep or c~,u~~,}o be kept accurate and detailedrecords of the impoundment and disposition of all ~i:iim~lsthat come into his custody.

Sec. 4-4. Owner responsible for impoundment fees.

The owner of an i3.nj!fi~J impounded and not redeemed within the requiredholding period shall be responsible for the fees incurred, whether or not the an)rn~1isclaimed.

Sec. 4-5. Transfer of al1\o1j14,'~from shelter.

Animals impounded in the County Animal Shelter will be subject to Countypolicies governing Shelter ~perations.

Sec. 4-6. Keeping of certain ~nJm~I$.within city prohibited.I

It shall be unlawful for any person, other than a person described in the secondsentence of this section, to keep or maintain overnight any horse, mule, COW, cattle,sheep, hog, or goat within the corporate limits of the city; and it shall be unlawful for anyperson to keep or maintain any live fowl for any period of time within the corporate limitsof the city except while transporting the same through the corporate limits of the city andthe same are securely confined. The keeping of maintaining of any of the namedanimals by a public educational institution for educational purposes located within the

:~:~:_~.Ii~~:::e::y~!d:::I:~omthissection.It shall beunlawful 0 ride, drive or lead any horse, cow or other ~n:irpal on any of

the sidewalks, or to hitchl any horse, cow or other i:llittfial in such a manner that itobstructs a sidewalk.

Sec. 4-8. Driving throu h streets.

It shall be unlawful 0 drive any iiHi[i~'1through the streets of the city, unless suchanimal is bridled or haltere .

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Sec. 4-9. Dangerous ilQima'~,owning or keeping prohibited.

(A.) Definitions. The following words and phrases are defined and shall be construed asset out below unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended.

Animal. Any living vertebrate, domestic or wild, excluding humans.

Dangerous ani/flCJ.I. Any~niri@ whose owner or keeper knows, or reasonablyshould know, has a propensity to attack a person by biting or in any manner causinginjury or the reasonable likelihood of injury; or, onewhich has a propensity to habituallyor repeatedly attack livestock or other domestic fj'ii1m~"s. However, this provision shallnot apply to any ~n:im~1which bites, attacks or attempts to attack any person or ~r)im:i:'Uunlawfully present upon the premises, or which is provoked to attack.

Own. The status of holding a license for or legal titleto an ~ni.iir~i,or feeding,having charge of, harboring, sheltering or taking care of any ~bii;n~1for three (3) or moreconsecutive days.

Wild ~bi1'tJ~I.Any @idri:jl~1which SC3~normallybe found in a wild state; those feral,exotic, dangerous or non domestic a,:r1)r,n~~which generally do not live in or about thehabitation of humans, including but not limited to lions, tigers, leopards, wildcats, bears,deer and the like.

(b) Owning, keeping, etc., brohibited; right of appeal.

. (1) It shall be unla~UI.!p! ••~ny person to own, keep, possess or in any waymalntal.n a. Wild or dan~er?usq@J!:l:r~l Within the corporate .lImlts of th.e cltY:,,~ft,,~r .adetermination by the desiqnated agent or employees of the city that partlcularanlm€11 IS

wild or dangerous, the ownJr or keeper of such ~QJrJl1t1shall have it humanely destroyed,or shall otherwise remove itlfrom within the corpo~~~~,.limitsof the city.

(2) Any person wh~ owns or keeps an fJEti!\P~lwhich has been declared wild ordangerous shall have the right to appeal this decision to the city manager. The citymanager, or his representative, shall conduct an informal hearing to determine whetherthe alJ,irnal is wild or dang~rous. If the ~mlrn'alis judged not to be wild or dangerous, itshall be returned to the owner.

(c) Enforcement. I(1) Members of the police department and the anImal control officer are

empowered to issue citations to any person if there is reasonable cause to believe thatthe person has violated any provision of this section. A civil penalty of twenty-five dollars($25.00) may be levied against any such person. Each wild or dangerous ~r;llmal andeach day's continuing violation shall constitute a separate and distinct violation, subjectto further penalties. A second violation of this section occurring within one (1) year shallcause a civil penalty of fiftYIdollars ($50.00) to be levied against any such person, and athird or subsequent to the third violation within one (1) year from the first violation shallbe subject to a civil penaltylof one hundred dollars ($100.00).

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(2) Violation of this section shall also constitute a misdemeanor,punishable upon conviction Iby a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) or imprisonmentfor not more than thirty (30) ~ays, as provided by section 14-4 of the General Statutes.

(3) Alternatively, the city may apply to the appropriate court for aninjunction and order of abalement requiring a violator to correct any unlawful conditionrelating to this section existing on his or her property, pursuant to section 160A-175 ofthe General Statutes.

,...L,Sec. 4-10. Dogs orariin"lals used for sentry or guard duty.

Any person owning, maintaining orharboring a dog or other an.i111al for sentry orguard purposes must regist r said dog or ani!11~1with the~ni:rnal control program.

A sign warning that here is a guard or sentry dog ora~,irrf.~1on the premises shallbe displayed. The owner hall post a plainly visible sign upon the secure enclosurewarning that a dangerous og or ~Qir6~1is on the premises. Said sign shall not exceedone (1) foot by two (2) feet, or two (2) square feet, in area.

Sec. 4-11. Teasing and molesting.

It shall be unlawful r any person to tease, bait or in any way molest any ~hima1.

Sec. 4-12. Law enforce ent dogs excluded.

Any dog used by a law enforcement agency in the investigation of crimes or asotherwise necessary in the enforcement of the law is excluded from requirements of thischapter.

Secs. 4-13--4-20. Reserv d.

ARTICLE II. DOGS*

I*State law references: DrgS, G.S. §67-1 et seq.

Sec. 4-21. Restraint I"

The owner of a do shall keep it under restraint (as defined in section 4-1) at alltimes and shall not permit t to be at large.

Sec. 4-22. Collar, vac ination tag, etc.

The owner of any dog kept within the city shall provide each such dog with acollar to which shall be ffixed a tag or tags denoting the name and address of theowner, and the fact that s ch dog has been vaccinated for rabies in accordance with thelaws of the state.

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Sec. 4-23. Impoundmen .

(a) Dogs found running large shall be taken by the §QJm~lcontrol officer andimpounded in the ~nilll~1 sh Iter.

(b) When a dog is found unning at large and its ownership is known to the~111m!:l1control officer, it need not e impounded, but the agent may, at his discretion, cite itsowners in accordance with t e penalty provisions set forth in article IV, section 4-51.

(c) Animals impounded in the County Animal Shelter will be subject to County policiesgoverning Shelter operations.

Sec. 4-24 Keeping and penning; sanitary quarters required.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to own, to keep custody of or to take care of four(4) or more dogs, five (5) months or older, who are frequently outside on the premises,unless the person has a special permit issued by the Town Board after written request isreceived.

I(b) If a person has four (4) or more dogs frequently outside on the premises, then theTown Board must make the following five (5) findings in order to issue a special permit:

(1) Noise from the dogs will not interfere with an abutting occupant's use andpeaceful enjoyment of the property.

(2) Any odor or un~anitary conditions caused by the dogs will not interfere withan abutting occupant's use bnd peaceful enjoyment of the property.

(3) Four (4) or more dog runs or other dog-related structures or any combinationthereof shall not be permitted if the structures can be seen from an abutting occupant'sproperty in a residentially zbned district.

(4) There is no evidence that the dogs pose any health problem or diseaseexposure for abutting occupants.

(5) The dogs do ~ot interfere in some other similar manner with the peacefuluse and enjoyment of abUJing property.

If the Town Board denies a person a special permit, then the Town Board must state thereasons for the denial in w~iting.

(c) A permit shall remain valid as long as the person is in compliance with the termsand conditions, if any, .ofth permit. If any of the circumstances change, such as, but notlimited to, more el.niooals, new structures or other such similar change that mightreasonably violate the fi e (5) standards set for the above, then the permit shallautomatically terminate an be null and void. The person must secure a new permit, orthe person shall be in viol tion of this section. The Town Board shall have the authorityto revoke the permit at ny time if there is a violation of the standards stated insubsection (b), for a violati n of any term or condition of the permit if there has been any

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misrepresentation, or for any other similar reason. The Town Board shall state in writingthe basis of the revocation'l Any person who wishes to appeal such a revocation shallhave ten (10) days from the date of receipt of the revocation to appeal the revocation tothe Town Clerk for discussiln at a regular meeting.

(d) All penning facilities less than one hundred fifty (150) square feet per dogspecifically dedicated to dog keeping must be located to the rear of the principalstructure and shall not be mkintained closer than ten (10) feet from any property line.

(e) It shall be unlawful to tether or chain anyanirpal in such a fashion as to allow theanimEfI to be closer than ten (10) feet to any property line. Dogs kept by chaining ortethering must be kept to the rear of the principal structure. Adequate shelter, water andfood must be made available to the animal at all times or the owner is in violation of thisordinance.

(f) Exemptions. The requirements in subsection (a) shall not apply to ~rUl)1al~.kept inan ah.im.~l shelter, veterinarian's facility, commercially licensed kennel or othercommercially licensed holding facility.

(g) It shall be unlawful for the owner or custodian of any ~qlmIiIto maintain such a'r1im~1in quarters that are not sanitary or humane.

Sec. 4-25. Artin1~I~creating nuisance.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, possess or maintain an a'rJjrJl~1insuch a manner so as to constitute a nuisance.

(b) The actions of an ~hlm~!constitute a nuisance when an aJ"lirjJ~1disturbs the rightsof, threatens the safety of, or damages a member of the general public; or interferes withthe ordinary use and enjoyment of private or public property. By way of example and notof limitation, the following acts or actions by an owner or possessor of an :a:rii'i"nalarehereby declared to be a nuisance and are therefore unlawful:

(1) Maintaining an I~nirl'lalthat habitually or repeatedly disturbs, interferes withor annoys human beings.

(4) Allowing or permitting anan.im.al to bark, whine, howl or yowl in anexcessive, continuous or u I timely fashion, or to make other noise in such a manner soas to result in a serious annoyance or interference with the reasonable use andenjoyment of neighboring p emises.

(2) Maintaining an ~nlrn~1that tips over garbage pails or damages gardens,flowers or vegetables.

(3) Failing to confi e in a building or secure enclosure a female dog while inestrus.

(5) Maintaining ananirii.al that chases, snaps at, attacks or otherwise molestspedestrians, bicyclists, mot r vehicle passengers or farm stock or domestic a"n,mals.

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(6) Maintaining an (lImal that habitually or continuously loiters on public placesor on the property of anothe .

(7) It shall be unla ul for the owner of any dog to leave its feces on publicstreets, sidewalks, city pa s, other city property or the property of another without thepermission of the owner of t e property.

(8) Maintaining an a!1ima:1that is diseased or dangerous to the health of thepublic unless under the car of a licensed veterinarian.

(c) Upon receipt by a police officer or ~hfO:l~1control ()f!i<?erof a second, substantiatedcomplaint that any person .Is maintaining a nuisance~mlma:1 as defined in this section(excluding subse~t,io~(b)(1»' the officer shall investi~~~~/and if the officer's findingsindicate that the 9nimal c0rlflplained of is a nuisance a:9ima:l, it will be impounded in theCounty Animal Shelter and will be subject to County policies governing Shelteroperations.

(d) Upon receipt by a police officer or~[lim~1 control 0f!i.~~rof a second, substantiatedcomplaint that any person lis maintaining a nuisance ~r;lim~alas defined in subsection(b)(~), the officer shall investigate an~ ..iL.me officer's written findings indicate that theanimal complained of is a nuisance ~nim~l,the owner shall be cited as violating thischapter and will be penalize according to article IV, section 4-51.

Sec. 4-26. Owner liable for damages caused by dog.

(e) The owner of a nuisan e animal may appeal the order of abatement and the mattershall be heard by the city m nager.

A dog owner who al ows his dog to run at large in any public place in the city oron any private property wit out the permission of the owner or occupant of said privateproperty shall be liable in d mages to any person injure~.px~uGh dog and to any personsuffering loss to his real or ersonal property, including ~!1imal~, caused by such dog.

Sec. 4-27. Disposition f fierce, dangerous or vicious dogs.

If any dog, fierce, d ngerous or vicious, or having vicious propensities is foundrunning at large in any pu lic place in the city, or on any private property without thepermission of the owner or occupant of said private property, and such dog cannot besafely taken up and impou ded, such dog may be slain by any law enforcement officialor ahirn~1control officer of t e city or the county or the state.

Secs.4-28--4-40. Reserve.

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For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have themeanings respectively ascri ed to them by this section:

ARTICLE III. CATS*

Sec. 4-41. Definitions.

At large: Off the premises of the owner when not under the control of the owneror other person accompanying the cat.

Cat: Any cat, male or female, over the age of four (4) months.

Owner: Any person owning, keeping or harboring a cat, and for the purpose ofthis article the head of a household shall be deemed to be the owner in respect to anycat owned, kept or harbored by any person residing in such household and kept on thepremises.

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Sec. 4-42. Number of cfS kept.

. No owner shall kee9 more than three (3) cats within the city except within a petshop or shelter or the premises of a humane society.

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Sec. 4-43. Collar, vaccination tag, etc.I

The owner of any cdt kept within the city shall provide each such cat with a collarto which shall be affixed a t~g or tags denoting the name and address of the owner, andthe fact that such cat has belen vaccinated for rabies in accordance with the laws of thestate.

Sec. 4-44. Running at large.I

No owner shall allovy any cat of his to run at large while it is creating a nuisance.A cat shall be considered as creating a nuisance if the cat either:

(1) Damages, SOilSIor defiles private or public property; or

(2) Interferes with, molests, or attacks persons or other ani""als; or

(3) Chases, snaps Ilat,harasses, or impedes pedestrians, bicyclists, or vehicles;or

(4) Is diseased or angerous to the public health.

(a) Cats found running t large shall be taken by the §l1fmal control officer andimpounded in the ifft. sT'ter.

Sec. 4-45. Impoundme t.

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(b) When a cat is found n nning at large and its ownership is known to thealJimalcontrol officer, it need not e impounded, but the agent may, at his discretion, cite itsowners in accordance with t e penalty provisions set forth in section 4-51.

(c) Upon receipt by a polic officer or ~Hl/T)~I control officer of a second, substantiatedcomplaint that any person \S maintaining a nuisance aJilmEjI as defined in this section~ex?luding subse.<::ti;>.~(b)(4~), t.he offi~er sha~1invest.ig~~~,a~d !f the. officer's fin.dingsindicate that the al'llm~lc0"rplalned of IS a nuisance ~111ffl~l,It Will be Impounded In theCounty Animal Shelter a~d will be subject to County policies governing Shelteroperations.

Sees. 4-46--4-50. Reserved.

(SEAL)

6ZJa-SL~Roland G. Hall, Mayor

ADOPTED this the 13th day of October, 2009.

ATTEST:

Drenda Ammons, Town Cle k

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