[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Louisa as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-28-1981 as Ch. 4 of the 1981 Code]
No person shall pasture or graze or cause to be pastured or grazed or otherwise permit to be on any right-of-way or any street in the Town, except as herein otherwise provided, any livestock, unless such animal or animals is or are securely tied or held by chain or rope so as to prevent such animal from getting on the traveled portion of the street; provided, however, that this section shall not apply when such livestock are being driven along such road or right-of-way while under the control of a responsible drover or drovers.
[Added 1-17-1995]
A. 
No dog shall run at large in the Town. Where any dog is found running at large in the Town, the owner or custodian of the dog shall be in violation of this section.
B. 
For purposes of this section, a dog shall be deemed "running at large" when off the property or premises of its owner or custodian, and not under the control of the owner or its custodian, or his agent, either by leash, cord or chain.
C. 
For purposes of this section, "property or premises of its owner or custodian" shall not mean common areas of apartment complexes, townhouse complexes and the like, which areas are held in common ownership for all owners or tenants within the complex.
D. 
An animal control officer may take control of any dog found running at large within the Town limits and hold such dog at the Louisa County Animal Shelter in accordance with the regulations for holding of all other such dogs at said shelter.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
E. 
For the first two violations of this section, no civil or criminal penalty shall be imposed. An owner or custodian may retrieve any such dog found running at large from the animal shelter by complying with all regulations for the retrieval of animals imposed by the animal shelter, by paying all impoundment fees, and by paying any and all other fees imposed by said animal shelter.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
F. 
For any third and subsequent violation of this section, there shall be imposed a civil penalty in the amount of $25 against said owner or custodian for each such violation, and the owner or custodian shall be required to comply with the provisions of Subsection E hereinabove.
G. 
This section shall not apply to any person while engaged in law enforcement or search-and-rescue activity; in a supervised formal obedience training class or show; and during formally sanctioned field trials; provided, however, that it shall be a violation of this section for the owner or custodian of any such dog to place such dog or allow it to be placed in the custody of any other person not physically capable of maintaining effective control of such dog.
It shall be unlawful for any person who keeps or maintains any poultry, fowl or livestock of any description within the Town to allow such poultry, fowl or livestock to stray to public property or private premises of another, and, further, all poultry, fowl and livestock shall be sufficiently housed or fenced by the owner or person exercising control over such poultry, fowl or livestock so as to prevent the same from trespassing or straying from the premises of the owner or person exercising control thereover. The housing and fencing of such fowl, poultry and livestock of every description shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition for the protection of health and shall be so kept as not to give rise to objectionable odors upon any public highway or street or upon any premises owned or occupied by any person other than the person maintaining such fowl or livestock.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep, raise or fatten any hog or pig within the Town or within 300 yards thereof; provided, however, that this section shall not be construed to apply to a person who brings hogs or pigs into the Town for the purpose of market or sale and does not keep such hogs or pigs within the Town for more than 24 hours.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1) 
Override, overdrive, overload, torture, ill-treat, abandon, willfully inflict inhumane injury or pain not connected with bona fide scientific or medical experimentation to or cruelly or unnecessarily beat, maim, mutilate or kill any animal, whether belonging to himself or another, or deprive any animal of necessary sustenance, food, drink or shelter or cause any of the above things or, being the owner of such animal, permit such acts to be done by another;
(2) 
Willfully set on foot, instigate, engage in or in any way further any act of cruelty to any animal; or
(3) 
Carry or cause to be carried in or upon any vehicle or vessel or otherwise any animal in a cruel, brutal or inhumane manner, so as to produce torture or unnecessary suffering; but nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the dehorning of cattle.
B. 
The word "animal" as used in this section shall be construed to include birds, poultry and fowl.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 40-5, Unreasonable noise unlawful, was repealed 7-16-2013. See now Ch. 107, Noise Control.
It shall be unlawful for any person to cast any dead animal into a road or to knowingly permit any dead animal to remain unburied upon his property when offensive to the public or, having in custody any maimed, diseased, disabled or infirmed animal, to leave it to die or be in a street, road or public place.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of the sections of this article shall be punished as provided in § 1-6, General penalty, of the Code of the Town of Louisa.
[Adopted 9-21-2010]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
EXOTIC ANIMAL
Any live monkey (nonhuman primate), raccoon, skunk, wolf, wolf-canine hybrid, squirrel, fox, and nondomesticated porcine, leopard, tiger, lion, panther, or any other similar warm-blooded animal, venomous reptile, including, but not limited to, coral snakes, rattlesnakes, cottonmouth snakes, vipers and cobras, sea snakes, gila monsters, Mexican beaded lizards, or nonvenomous reptiles six feet or longer in length which can normally be found in the wild, all constrictor-type snakes, poisonous arachnids, including, but not limited to, black widow spiders, brown recluse spiders and scorpions, poisonous amphibians, including, but not limited to, poison arrow frogs, or any member of the crocodilian family, including, but not limited to, alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gavials, or any other animal that would require a standard of care and control greater than that required for customary household pets sold by commercial pet shops, or domestic farm animals. Ferrets and birds which are normally purchased through pet stores, nonpoisonous reptiles less than six feet in length, domestic rabbits, and domestic rodents which have been bred in captivity and have not been kept in the wild shall be excluded from the definitions of wild and exotic animals.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep, exhibit, or permit to be kept or exhibited upon any property within the Town limits any wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animal without a permit from the Town Manager. In no case, however, shall any such wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animal(s) be exhibited, displayed, or kept in such a manner so as to permit said animal(s) to escape, be at large, or to otherwise come in direct physical contact with any person unless under the direct care and control of the handler.
B. 
The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1) 
Institutions accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA).
(2) 
Registered nonprofit humane societies.
(3) 
Animal control officers or law enforcement officers acting under the authority of this article.
(4) 
Veterinary hospitals or clinics.
(5) 
Any wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the state.
(6) 
Any wildlife sanctuary.
(7) 
Any licensed or accredited research or medical institution.
(8) 
Any licensed or accredited educational institution.
(9) 
Any circus, rodeo, or trade show.
(10) 
A person temporarily transporting an exotic animal through the Town if the transit time is not more than 96 hours and the animal is at all times maintained within a confinement sufficient to prevent the exotic animal from escaping.
A. 
The owner or custodian of any wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animal shall apply to the Town Manager, within 10 working days of obtaining an address within the Town or, in the case of an exhibition, 10 working days prior to the exhibition, for a permit authorizing the keeping of said animal within the Town limits.
B. 
Each applicant for a wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animal permit shall, by affidavit and/or supporting written documentation, provide the following:
(1) 
Name and street address of each owner/custodian 18 years of age or older; Permits will not be issued to owners/custodians under 18 years of age;
(2) 
Location of animal storage facility;
(3) 
The common and scientific name of the subject animal(s);
(4) 
The date of acquisition of each animal;
(5) 
The source of acquisition of each animal;
(6) 
The sex, age, height and/or length of each animal;
(7) 
Any identifying marks or numbers unique to each animal;
(8) 
A statement of understanding signed by the owner(s)/custodian(s) concerning human exposure in relation to the current state and local laws involving rabies control;
(9) 
Verifiable documentation the animal was brought into the country legally; proof the animal was purchased from a reputable dealer or pet store may constitute sufficient proof; the Town Manager has final authority in determining what constitutes sufficient proof;
(10) 
A current veterinarian's certificate confirming the animal is disease-free;
(11) 
The current phone number and street address of owner(s)/custodians(s), and animal(s) if storage location differs from residence of owner(s)/custodian(s);
(12) 
At least one emergency phone number where owner(s)/custodian(s) can be contacted in case of emergency;
(13) 
Proof that the owner has a secure pen, cage or enclosure of sufficient size and strength to provide adequate shelter for the animal and to reasonably protect the public; and
(14) 
Where required by § 29.1-542 of the Code of Virginia, a copy of the special permit from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
A. 
The permit shall not be transferable and shall be valid through December 31 of the year of issue and shall be renewed by January 31 of each subsequent year. Permits for temporary exhibit shall be valid for the time period specified in the permit.
B. 
One permit per address will be required within the Town of Louisa.
C. 
On the permit shall be listed each animal held within the Town limits as identified in § 40-10.
D. 
The Town of Louisa's wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animal permit shall be required in addition to any required federal or state permits.
(1) 
Information supplied on such permit shall be provided to relevant Town and county departments as notification for public health and safety purposes.
(2) 
No permit for an exotic animal will be issued by the Town Manager unless all required special permits from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for wolves, coyotes, or birds or animals otherwise classified by the Department as predatory or undesirable have been obtained by the owner or custodian of the exotic animal.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
(3) 
It shall be the responsibility of the owner or custodian of the exotic animal to provide a valid copy of the special permit to the Town Manager at the time the request for a local exotic animal permit is made.
It shall be unlawful to release, or permit to be released, any wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animal(s) into the wild.
The initial fee to cover the cost of the permit issuance shall be $50 per address. A charge of $25 will be collected for annual permit renewal, the adding of additional animals to an existing permit, or the duplication of an existing permit.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
It shall be unlawful for any person to furnish false information for the purpose of obtaining a permit pursuant to § 40-10. Any permit obtained under fraudulent pretenses shall be null and void, with any animals named thereon subject to impoundment by an animal control officer pending a determination by a court of competent jurisdiction as to the appropriate disposition of said animal(s). Upon redemption of the animal, the owner shall pay impoundment fees plus boarding fees as charged by the animal shelter and any additional costs for medical care or treatment.
Any person applying for a wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animal permit shall provide evidence of surety bond or liability insurance or bond in the amount of $50,000 which covers incidences or occurrences involving the wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animals.
The Town Manager may reject an application for a wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animal permit, renewal of a permit, or the addition of an animal to an existing permit for any of the following reasons:
A. 
Failure to comply with or supply any information required in § 40-10; or
B. 
Falsification of any information required in § 40-10; or
C. 
Previous or current violations of any provisions of this article; or
D. 
Previous or current violations of any local, state, or federal law relating to animals; or
E. 
The history or demonstration of a vicious or dangerous nature of an animal.
The Town Manager may revoke a wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animal permit and impound the animal(s) for any of the following reasons:
A. 
Failure to comply with the terms of this article; or
B. 
Falsification of any information required in § 40-10; or
C. 
Violation of any local, state or federal law applicable to animals.
The permittee shall post a placard provided by the Town Manager in an area of public view on any premises, building or structure where the wild, exotic, venomous, or poisonous animal is kept or housed. Failure to post the placard shall be a violation of this article. The location of the placard must be approved by the Town Manager.