[Adopted 9-26-2005 by L.L. No. 3-2005]
Cats in the Town of Salina have in some instances
been allowed to roam free on the property of others and to cause annoyance
and damage to the persons and properties of others. The Town of Salina
Board has determined that due to the prevalence of numbers of feral
and domesticated cats within the Town of Salina and the failure of
existing laws to address the potentially adverse effects of same,
including damage to property, injury to persons and the failure to
properly and humanely care for such pets, the Town of Salina must
seek to regulate such conduct in a reasonable manner. Therefore, the
Town Board of the Town of Salina enacts the following article to protect
the health, safety and property of others from annoyance and damage
caused by cats and to establish the responsibility and liability of
cat owners arising from their conduct and the conduct of their pets.
The title of this article shall be "Cat Control."
As used in this article, the following words
shall have the following respective meanings:
The person authorized by the Town Board, by resolution, to
enforce the provisions of this article. The Animal Control Officer
shall have all the powers of a constable or other peace officer in
the execution of the provisions of this article, including the service
of a summons, the issuing and serving of an appearance ticket and
the service and execution of any other order of process, notwithstanding
any provision of the Uniform Justice Court Act and also including
such authority as is authorized under the New York State Agricultural
and Markets Law.
Any agency, not-for-profit group or other association formed
for the purposes of assisting the owners of cats and feral cat harborers
with the proper care, shelter and protection of same, as designated
by the Town of Salina Town Board by resolution.
Any person who is an owner of a cat or any person who keeps,
harbors or feeds a cat for in excess of 72 hours continuously or 96
hours within any seven-day period. The owner need not be a resident
of the Town of Salina, but for a violation to occur, the cat must
be within the Town limits of the Town of Salina.
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any cat
to permit or allow such cat in the Town of Salina to:
A.
Act or to spray or defecate in such a way as to cause
injury or annoyance to any person other than the owner of such cat.
B.
Cause damage or destruction to property or to commit
a nuisance upon the premises of a person other than the owner of such
cat.
C.
Be at large in the Town of Salina unless vaccinated
currently against feline rabies and neutered or spayed. A cat which
is continuously kept in an owner's home shall not be deemed "at large"
for purposes hereof.
Any Town Justice of the Town of Salina shall
have jurisdiction to hear all actions and proceedings hereunder and
of all prosecutions for the violations of this article.
All complaints concerning alleged violations
of this article shall be communicated to the Town of Salina Animal
Control Officer. All such complaints shall be investigated, and it
shall be the duty of the Town of Salina Animal Control Officer, in
his or her sole discretion, and in the appropriate case, to make a
referral or otherwise address the violation in any manner contemplated
under this article, including to proceed with civil or criminal enforcement
of this article or any provision of law pertaining hereto.
The Animal Control Officer, having reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this article has occurred, may make a referral or otherwise address the violator in the manner contemplated under § 70-20 hereof or shall issue and serve upon such person an appearance ticket for such violation.
It shall be the duty of the Town of Salina Animal Control Officer to enforce the provisions of this article. Any person convicted of a violation hereof shall be subject to a penalty pursuant to § 1-14 of the Town of Salina Code.
A.
Any cat in violation of § 70-14 hereof or any other nuisance cat running at large within the limits of the Town may be subject to seizure and delivered to an authorized agency or impounded with any incorporated humane society or similar incorporated animal protective association by and in the sole discretion of any peace officer or by the Animal Control Officer.
B.
Every cat seized shall be humanely fed and cared for
until disposition thereof shall be made as herein provided.
C.
Notice of impounding. The Animal Control Officer shall exercise reasonable diligence to ascertain the owner of the cat and shall give or cause to be given reasonable notice to such owner or an adult member of his or her family that the cat has been seized and will be adopted or humanely destroyed unless redeemed within the period herein provided. If notice is personally given, such cat will be held for seven days after the day of notice, during which period the cat may be redeemed by the owner. If notification is done by mail, such cat will be held for nine days from the date of mailing, during which period the cat may be redeemed by the owner. A properly marked feral cat may be dealt with in accordance with § 70-20 hereof.
D.
Disposal of unredeemed cats. If not redeemed within five days, except in the case of identified cats as set forth in Subsection C above, the owner of the cat shall forfeit all title to the cat, and the cat shall be adopted or humanely destroyed in accordance with Article 7, § 118, Subdivision 7-a, of the Agriculture and Markets Law.
E.
Enforcement provisions. The Animal Control Officer
or any other person or agency designated by the Town or authorized
by law to seize and impound a cat pursuant to the provisions of this
article shall have the power to seize and impound any cat in violation
of any section of this article and issue appearance tickets.
F.
Redemption fees. Any cat seized in accordance with
the provisions of this article may be redeemed by the owner of the
same upon payment of such impoundment fees as are set forth in Article
7, § 118, Subdivision 4, of the Agriculture and Markets
Law and/or otherwise established by Town of Salina Code and by providing
proof of vaccination.
The Town Board may establish by resolution a fund ("town fund") to offset costs of trapping, neutering and vaccinating captured feral cats that can be returned to an appropriate, controlled, and registered colony site. Caregivers for such colonies, whether one or several animals, will be aided by an authorized agency and the town fund in properly managing and caring for those colonies, to the extent that such funding is available. The Animal Control Officer shall have the option to, in its sole discretion, deliver a cat seized for violation of § 70-14 to an authorized agency to be dealt with as provided hereunder.
A.
Each feral cat colony will be registered by the caregiver(s) with an authorized agency, which will serve as a clearinghouse for distribution of the town fund and information on current caregivers, education for new caregivers, and assistance for persons found in violation of §§ 70-14A through C and 70-20C(1) through (4). During the one-year period following the effective date hereof, any caregiver seeking use of the town fund and any caregivers having a cat(s) seized for violation of § 70-14 shall promptly register. All caregivers must be registered not later than one year from the effective date hereof.
B.
Any feral cat picked up by the Animal Control Officer which has an appropriate ear tipping or other distinguishing mark indicating it belongs to a registered feral cat colony will be returned to that colony unless veterinary care is required or the criteria listed in Subsection C apply. The designated authorized agency will be notified in such instances.
C.
Any person or caregiver determined to be in violation of § 70-14A through C or Subsection C(1) through (4) below may, in the Animal Control Officer's discretion, be immediately prosecuted in accordance with § 70-17 hereof or, alternatively, such person shall be issued a written warning and be allowed a period of time to come into compliance or provide satisfactory evidence of working towards achieving compliance. Such period of time shall be as determined by the Animal Control Officer but shall not exceed 60 days from issuance of the initial warning notice. Failure to comply within such period of time as set by the Animal Control Officer shall be deemed a violation of this article, which may result in the issuance of a citation. Caregivers of feral cat colonies shall implement proper management and sterilization practices as follows:
(1)
Register the feral cat colony with the authorized
agency designated by the Town of Salina.
(2)
Assure responsibility and arrangements for feeding
the cat or cat colony regularly throughout the year, including weekends,
holidays and vacations of the feral cat caregiver.
(3)
Sterilize (neuter) all adult cats that can be captured.
(5)
Make every attempt to sterilize all kittens over eight
weeks of age and before 16 weeks of age.
(6)
Make every attempt to remove kittens from the colony
before eight weeks of age for domestication and placement.
(7)
Make every attempt to remove sick or injured cats
from the colony for immediate veterinarian care or humane euthanasia.
(8)
Ear-crop all cats with a single cut, preferably on
the left ear, at least one inch from the outside tip of the auricle.
Providing either a tattoo on the inside of the right ear or an electronic
implant will aid in animal identification.
(9)
From the effective date of this article, maintain
proof of sterilization, vaccination, tattoo or implant and medical
records for all cats. These records must be provided to animal services
and enforcement upon request.
Where a cat has caused damage or injury (including, without limitation such material damage or injury as described at § 70-14) to persons or the property of another, not the owner thereof, such persons injured or the owner of such property damaged shall have a private cause of action and right of recovery for such damage or injury against the owner thereof. In order to proceed hereunder, the damaged or injured party must first notify the owner of the cat causing such injury or damage of the nature and extent of the damage or injury, the cause thereof and the estimated or actual cost of the treatment, replacement or repair of same as established by a paid receipt or invoice or two estimates for same. Such notice shall also state that the injured or damaged party shall proceed under this § 70-21 if restitution is not made within 30 days of the receipt of such notice. The notice shall be sent in the manner required of service of process in the local Justice Court, except that service may be effected by the plaintiff/claimant. In the event the owner fails to make payment or restitution within such thirty-day period, and provided the damaged or injured party has complied with the provisions of this § 70-21, in the discretion of the court, in addition to the sums described, the court may award expert witness fees, when experts are deemed necessary by the court, and disbursements and costs as incurred by such claimant, the intent of this provision being to make such injured or damaged claimant whole. The foregoing notwithstanding, in determining substantial justice in such cases, the court may also consider whether an owner is a feral cat caregiver in full compliance with § 70-20 hereof and whether mitigating factors exist as a result thereof.
The provisions hereof providing that certain
actions are within the sole discretion of the Animal Control Officer
are for the purpose of permitting the Animal Control Officer reasonable
latitude in dealing with issues relative to violative conduct, feral
cats, the conduct of caregivers and the like. Exercise of such discretion
shall be in any event rationally based, and there shall be no arbitrary
or selective enforcement in dealing with such issues.
The Town Board hereby declares its legislative
intent to supersede any provision of any local law, ordinance, rule,
or regulation or provision of the Town Law inconsistent with this
article. The courts are directed to take notice of this legislative
intent and apply it in the event the Town has failed to specify any
provision of law that may require supersession. The Town Board hereby
declares that it would have enacted this article and superseded such
inconsistent provision had it been apparent.
If any provisions of this article are held to
be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by any court of competent
jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of the article shall remain
in effect.
This article shall take effect upon the filing
of this article with the office of the Secretary of State of the State
of New York.
