[Amended 8-23-1993 by Ord. No. 4-93-0189]
A.
No dog, cat or ferret over three months old shall
be permitted within the Town limits unless such animal has been vaccinated
or immunized against rabies. Any animal vaccinated prior to one year
of age or receiving the primary vaccination at any age shall be given
a booster rabies vaccination one year after, then at intervals not
to exceed every two years thereafter. All ferrets shall be vaccinated
against rabies at yearly intervals.
B.
The vaccination or immunization required by this section
shall be by a vaccine approved by the State Department of Health and
shall be certified by a licensed veterinarian. Such certificate shall
be dated as of the date of inoculation or vaccination and shall show
the rabies tag number, the sex and breed of the dog, cat and ferret
and the owner thereof, and whether the vaccine given is the one-year
vaccine or the two-year vaccine, together with such other information
as may reasonably be required by the State Director of Health or the
Veterinarian administering the vaccine.
C.
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep or
harbor any dog, cat or ferret over three months old within the Town
unless such animal has been vaccinated or inoculated in accordance
with the provisions of this section.
It shall be the duty of every physician or other
medical practitioner to report to the Animal Control Officer, at the
Police Department, the names and addresses of persons treated for
bites inflicted by animals, together with such other information as
will be helpful in rabies control.
It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer
to keep or cause to be kept accurate and detailed records of all bite
cases reported to him and his investigation of such cases.
It shall be the duty of every licensed veterinarian
to report to the Animal Control Officer any animal considered by him
to be a rabies suspect.
A.
Every animal that bites a person shall be promptly
reported to the Animal Control Officer and shall thereupon be securely
quarantined at the direction of the Animal Control Officer for a period
of 14 days. The animal shall not be released from such quarantine
except by written permission of the Animal Control Officer. At the
discretion of the Animal Control Officer, such quarantine may be on
the premises of the owner or at the pound, or, at the owner's option
and expense, in a veterinary hospital of his choice. In the case of
stray animals or of animals whose ownership is not known, such quarantine
shall be at the pound.
B.
The owner, upon demand by the Animal Control Officer, shall forthwith surrender any animal which has bitten a human or which is suspected as having been exposed to rabies, for supervised quarantine, the expense of which shall be borne by the owner. Such animal may be reclaimed by the owner if it is determined to be free of rabies, upon payment of the same fees as are prescribed in § 97-21.
Any dog that is bitten by a known rabid animal
shall be immediately destroyed or, if the owner is unwilling to destroy
the dog, it shall be strictly isolated in a kennel for six months.
If such dog has been previously vaccinated within the time limits
established by the State Director of Health based on the kind of vaccine
used, revaccination, and restraint by leashing and confinement for
30 days shall be carried out in lieu of the six months' isolation.
The Animal Control Officer shall direct the
disposition of any animal found to be infected with rabies.
No person shall fail or refuse to surrender
any animal for quarantine or destruction as required in this article
when demand is made therefor by the Animal Control Officer.
No person shall kill or cause to be killed any
rabid animal, any animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies,
or any animal biting a human, except as provided in this article,
nor remove such an animal from the Town limits without written permission
from the Animal Control Officer.
The carcass of any dead animal exposed to rabies
shall, upon demand, be surrendered to the Animal Control Officer.
When rabies has been diagnosed in an animal
under quarantine, or when rabies is suspected in such an animal by
a licensed veterinarian, and the animal dies while under such observation,
the Animal Control Officer shall immediately send the head of such
animal to the state department of health for pathological examination,
and shall notify the proper public health officials or officer of
reports of human contacts and the diagnosis.
A.
When any report made pursuant to this article indicates
a positive diagnosis of rabies, the Animal Control Officer shall recommend
an area-wide quarantine for a period of 90 days and, upon invoking
of such emergency quarantine, no animal shall be taken into the streets
during such period of quarantine. During such quarantine, no animal
may be taken or shipped from the Town without written permission of
the Animal Control Officer.
B.
During the quarantine period provided for in Subsection A of this section, and as long afterward as he decides it is necessary to prevent the spread of rabies, the Animal Control Officer shall require all dogs three months of age and older to be vaccinated against rabies with a canine rabies vaccine approved by the Biologics Control Section of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The types of approved canine antirabies vaccine to be used and the recognized duration of immunity for each shall be established by the State Director of Health. All vaccinated dogs shall be restricted by leashing or confinement on enclosed premises for 30 days after vaccination. During the quarantine period, the State Director of Health shall be empowered to provide for a program of mass immunization by the establishment of temporary emergency canine rabies vaccination clinics strategically located throughout the Town.
C.
No animal which has been impounded by reason of its
being a stray or unclaimed by its owner shall be allowed to be claimed
during the period of a rabies emergency quarantine invoked under this
section except by special authorization of the State Director of Health
and the Animal Control Officer.
D.
If there are additional positive cases of rabies occurring
during the period of a quarantine invoked under this section, such
period of quarantine may be extended for an additional six months.
