Village of Williamsville, NY Chapter 8 Animals

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Williamsville 1-8-1990 as L.L. No. 1-1990. Section 8-7 amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I. Other amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Parks and public areas — See Ch. 70.

§ 8-1 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

ANIMAL WILDLIFE

Any nondomesticated rodent life, including but not limited to squirrels, chipmunks, woodchucks, moles, muskrats, beavers and raccoons.

[Added 6-14-1993 by L.L. No. 6-1993]

DOMESTIC ANIMAL

Any animal which is trained or adapted to live with and be of use to human beings.

HARBOR

To give permanent or long-term home or shelter to an animal. The feeding of community cats in conjunction with TNVR practices as provided in § 8-6(B)(7) shall not constitute the harboring of cats.

[Added 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 4-2019]

KENNEL

Any premises that:

A. Accommodates the boarding, sale or care of more than three (3) domestic animals.

B. Harbors more than three (3) domestic animals over the age of three (3) months.

WILD WATERFOWL

Any nondomesticated waterfowl, migratory or otherwise, including but not limited to mallard ducks and Canada geese.

[Added 6-14-1993 by L.L. No. 6-1993]

§ 8-2 Harboring of dogs.

A. Any person harboring a dog shall be responsible for the control of the animal at all times. It shall not be permitted to stray off the premises of such person unless restrained by a chain or leash which may not exceed six (6) feet in length.

B. No person shall harbor any dog which by its frequent barking, howling or whining shall unreasonably disturb the comfort or repose of the community.

C. No person owning or occupying any premises on which a dog is harbored shall permit the premises to become unclean, unsanitary or to become the source of offensive odors due to an accumulation of animal droppings.

D. Any person harboring a dog shall make a reasonable effort to expeditiously remove any droppings left by the dog on any public place or private property not under the control of said person.

E. No person shall harbor a dog not licensed as required by Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of New York State.

§ 8-3 Harboring of cats.

Cats are prohibited within the village except as follows:

A. Any person harboring a cat shall make a reasonable effort to keep the animal on the premises and under the control of said person.

B. No person shall harbor a cat which by its frequent yowling shall unreasonably disturb the comfort or repose of the community.

C. Any person harboring a cat shall make a reasonable effort to expeditiously remove any droppings left by the cat on any public place or on any private property not under the control of said person.

§ 8-4 Public nuisances.

Any domestic animal shall be considered a public nuisance if it has no known owner, no known place of care or shelter and habitually trespasses upon private or public property.

§ 8-5 Miscellaneous provisions.

A. No person shall harbor, breed or maintain any chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese or any other fowl, or any horses, mules, goats or any other uncaged animal, other than a domestic animal.

B. Except activities conducted pursuant to licensed wildlife rehabilitation or TNVR practices conducted pursuant to § 8-6, no person shall at any time take with traps any birds or animals or engage in the trapping of any birds or animals within the Village without first having obtained a permit from the Mayor.

[Amended 9-29-2014 by L.L. No. 9-2014]

C. No person shall operate a kennel except as permitted in Chapter 112, Zoning.

D. Except for TNVR practices conducted pursuant to § 8-6, no person shall at any time feed or otherwise provide or make available any food to or for any wild waterfowl or animal on any public or private property within the Village of Williamsville.

[Added 6-14-1993 by L.L. No. 6-1993; amended 9-29-2014 by L.L. No. 9-2014; 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 4-2019]

§ 8-6 Community cats.

[Added 9-29-2014 by L.L. No. 9-2014]

A. Definitions for the purpose of this section shall be as follows:

AT LARGE

Not confined, outside an area of escape such as a pen, corral, yard, cage, house, vehicle, or other secure enclosure, unless otherwise under appropriate human control.

BEST FEEDING PRACTICES

Best feeding practices means a person supporting one or more community cats which shall adhere to the following:

[Added 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 4-2019]

(1) Feeding is conducted on a regular schedule;

(2) Feeding is limited to the offering of food intended for community cats to approximately one hour per day;

(3) Providing only food appropriate for cats, and not scraps or other foods that may be dangerous, deadly, or hazardous to other cats or other animals;

(4) The community cat feeding area is kept clean and free of trash;

(5) Food and/or water intended for community cats is kept in containers and not on the ground;

(6) Feeding shall be conducted only within the confines of the property of the person engaged in TNVR practices.

COLONY

Group of one or more community cats.

COMMUNITY CAT

Any cat that is:

(1) Homeless, stray, or at large, where the cat:

(a) Has been socialized to people, or is less than five weeks old;

(b) Could become feral as connection with humans is farther removed; and

(c) In the case of cats older than five weeks, has a good potential to quickly become domesticated once again; or

(2) Feral, where the cat:

(a) Is not socialized toward humans;

(b) Is born in the wild or is the offspring of an owned cat; or

(c) Is a formerly owned cat that has been abandoned; or

(3) A cat that lives in the community but is not owned by a human, sometimes referred to as a "free-roaming" or "street" cat.

DOMESTICATED CAT

A cat:

(1) That is social towards humans;

(2) That currently lives within the residence or on the property of a person or persons accepted as the cat's owner; and

(3) That is considered appropriate as a companion for humans.

EAR TIPPING

A straight line cutting of the tip of the left ear of a cat while the cat is anesthetized.

NEUTER

To permanently sterilize male cats to render them incapable of impregnating female cats by means of either surgery performed to remove the reproductive organs or chemical sterilization by which the cats are injected with a drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for that purpose.

SPAY

To permanently sterilize female cats to prevent estrus (heat) cycles and eliminate their ability to become pregnant by means of either surgery performed to remove the ovaries and uterus or chemical sterilization by which the cats are injected with a drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for that purpose.

STERILIZE

To spay or neuter a cat.

TRAP, NEUTER, VACCINATE AND RETURN PROGRAM (TNVR)

A program in which community cats are humanely trapped, which sometimes requires feeding, evaluated, vaccinated, sterilized, and ear-tipped by a veterinarian and returned to the trap location with the intent of controlling or reducing feline population and reproduction.

VETERINARIAN

A person licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the State of New York.

B. General policy.

[Amended 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 4-2019]

(1) TNVR of community cats shall be legal in the Village of Williamsville and interested citizens are encouraged to participate in and support TNVR activities on a voluntary basis on their own private property or residence.

(2) All persons who attempt to trap community cats for TNVR in the Village of Williamsville should be familiar with the guidelines supported by regional and national feral and community cat organizations, as well as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), regarding appropriate methods of TNVR.

(3) Socialized cats and all kittens subjected to TNVR shall be eligible to be, but not mandated to be, resocialized and put up for adoption.

(4) An ear-tipped cat received by local shelters shall be returned to the location where trapped unless veterinary care is required. A trapped ear-tipped cat shall be released on site unless veterinary care is required.

(5) Animal control officers shall use appropriate opportunities to inform stakeholders about TNVR.

(6) It shall not be a violation of this section to determine that the best course of action for a particular cat, or cat colony, is to be left alone.

(7) It shall be permitted in the Village of Williamsville to feed community cats pursuant to the best feeding practices.

C. Implementation. The Code Enforcement Officer, or such other official as designated by the Village Board, shall implement and administer this section with the goal of reducing intakes and eliminating humane destruction of cats via TNVR, in consultation with community cat welfare experts including Alley Cat Allies, NYC Feral Cat Initiative, Best Friends Animal Society, Neighborhood Cats, IndyFeral, and No Kill Advocacy Center.

[Amended 6-24-2019 by L.L. No. 4-2019]

D. Severability. Should any section or provision of this section be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such determination shall not affect the validity of the section, other than the part declared to be invalid.

§ 8-7 Enforcement.

This chapter shall be enforced by the Village Code Enforcement Officials, Town of Amherst Dog Warden and Amherst Police Department, each of whom are hereby authorized to issue and serve appearance tickets upon any person in violation of this chapter.

§ 8-8 Penalties for offenses.

[Amended 8-26-1991 by L.L. No. 7-1991]

Except as otherwise provided in Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law, any person committing an offense against any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation as defined by the Penal Law and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable for each offense by a fine not to exceed $250 or imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or by both a fine and imprisonment.