No individual or individuals, partnership, company
or corporation shall keep a pig or swine within the limits of this
municipality without first obtaining a permit from the Board of Health.
All such permits shall expire on December 31 of each year unless sooner
revoked. Any permit may be revoked at any time by the Board of Health
for cause.
A license to transport garbage, offal or other
offensive substance along the public highways of this municipality
must be obtained from the Board of Health in accordance with MGL c.
111, § 31A, and no such materials shall be so transported
without such a license. All licenses shall expire on December 31.
Any license may be revoked at any time by the Board of Health for
cause. Garbage and other offensive material shall be transported only
in watertight vehicles or containers and shall be securely covered
with wood, iron or canvas cover while the vehicles are in motion.
The Animal Control Officer (hereinafter called
"ACO") is authorized to require all dogs in the Town of Middleton
to be licensed in accordance with MGL c 140, § 137. The
ACO is authorized to require all Middleton dogs and cats to be vaccinated
against rabies by a licensed veterinarian and to require their owners
or keepers to retain proof of said vaccination supplied by a veterinarian.
Whosoever violates the provisions of this section shall be subject
to a fine in accordance with MGL c 140, § 173, of $50.
The Animal Control Officer is authorized to
require owners or keepers of dogs to keep such dogs from becoming
a public nuisance. The ACO is further authorized to require owners
or keepers of dogs to restrain their dogs from running at large or
loose. The ACO is required to enforce this requirement with uniformity.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
AT LARGE or LOOSE
A dog which is off the property of its owner or keeper and
is:
A.
Unaccompanied by a person of adequate age and
discretion to properly control its actions;
B.
Unrestrained by a leash or chain of less than
eight feet in length;
C.
A danger to persons or property as determined
by the ACO.
NUISANCE
Animal behavior which constitutes a nuisance includes but
is not limited to the following: molesting a passerby or passing vehicles
(including bicycles), attacking persons or domestic animals, trespassing
on public or private property or damaging public or private property,
and barking, whining or howling in an excessive, continuous or untimely
fashion.