[Adopted 5-14-1980 by Ord. No. 1980-6 (Ch. 2, Part 4, of the 1990 Code)]
For the purpose of this article, the following terms shall be construed to have the meanings set forth in this section, except in those instances where the text of the article clearly indicates otherwise:
ANIMAL
Any domestic or wild animal or fowl or reptile.
PERSON
Any natural person, partnership, association, firm, corporation or other legal entity.
WILD ANIMAL
Any animal, bird, fowl, or reptile, not normally or ordinarily domesticated; not normally or ordinarily raised in this area and climate as livestock or for work or breeding purposes; or not normally or ordinarily kept as a household pet.
No person being the owner of or having charge of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, geese, ducks, turkeys, chickens, or other fowl, animals, or reptiles, shall permit them to run at large upon any public place or upon the premises of another.
The Police Department or the Humane Society of Dauphin County may impound every animal found in violation of § 104-17. If the identity of the owner or custodian of such animal is established, notice shall immediately be given to the owner or custodian that the animal has been impounded. Such notice may be by telephone or by registered or certified mail to the last known address of such owner or custodian. The animal shall not be released except upon the payment of reasonable expenses for its taking and keeping plus all other fees involved. Any animal remaining unclaimed for 10 days shall be sold or otherwise disposed of as provided by law.
[Amended 4-11-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-1]
No person shall maliciously or willfully and without the consent of the owner, kill, injure, or administer poison to any animal that is the property of another; and no person shall willfully and without the consent of the owner place any poisoned food where it may be found and eaten by children or animals, either upon his own lands or the lands of another. This section does not apply to a licensed veterinarian acting in an official capacity nor shall it apply to the destruction of an animal attacking a human with the capability of doing serious bodily injury to such human.
No person shall overwork, overdrive, overload, or torture an animal, deprive one of necessary sustenance or shelter, unnecessarily or cruelly beat, needlessly mutilate or kill, or impound, or confine an animal without supplying it during such confinement with a sufficient quantity of good, wholesome food and water. No person shall carry or convey an animal in a cruel or inhumane manner, or keep horses, cows or other animals in an enclosure without wholesome exercise and change of air, or work or abandon to die an old, maimed, sick, infirm, or diseased animal.
A. 
No person shall keep or harbor any animal in the Township of Swatara so as to create offensive odors or unsanitary conditions which are a menace to the health, comfort, or safety of the public.
B. 
No person, whether the owner or person in charge or control of an animal, shall permit the animal to destroy or damage any lawn, tree, shrub, plant, building, or other property, other than the property of the owner or of the person in charge or control of such animal, by scratching, digging, defecating, or urinating, or by any other means.
No person shall keep or harbor any animal within the Township of Swatara which creates unreasonably loud and disturbing noises of such a character, intensity and duration as to disturb the peace, quiet and good order of any neighborhood in the Township of Swatara. Any person who shall allow any animal habitually to remain or be lodged or fed within any dwelling, building, yard, or enclosure which he occupies or owns shall be considered as harboring such animal.
[Amended 12-11-1985 by Ord. No. 1985-6; 9-8-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-6]
A. 
Whenever it is established that any animal has bitten any person or shows signs of being infected with rabies, the owner or person having custody or possession of such animal, upon the order of the Health Officer, Chief of Police or the East Shore Shelter of Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, Inc., shall quarantine such animal in a veterinarian's kennel or in the owner's home for a period of 10 days.
B. 
At the end of the quarantine period, the owner or person having custody or possession of the animal shall have the animal examined by a veterinarian for signs of rabies. If any animal is found to be rabid, a report shall be made immediately to the Health Officer, Chief of Police or the East Shore Shelter of Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, Inc., and such officers shall make whatever arrangements they believe necessary pursuant to law.
C. 
If the animal is quarantined in the home of the owner for the 10 days, such animal shall not be allowed out of the house except in the custody of an adult.
D. 
In the event that the owner or person having custody or possession of the animal fails to comply with the order provided for in Subsection A of this section within six hours after such order has been issued and served upon such owner or person having custody or possession, any police officer or the East Shore Shelter of Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, Inc., may take such animal into custody and place the same in quarantine at the expense of the owner or person having custody or possession of the animal.
The owner, keeper, or harborer of any animal which damages or destroys public or private property shall be held liable for the full value of the property damaged or destroyed, in addition to any penalty imposed for a violation of this article.
Effective one year from date of adoption of this article (May 14, 1980), no horses, donkeys, burros, cows, pigs, goats, sheep, ducks, geese, or other such animals larger than the average dog and no wild animals shall be harbored or kept within the Township of Swatara; provided, however, that the aforesaid prohibition shall not apply to animals on farms currently existing within the Township of Swatara or other similar areas devoted to agricultural purposes under the provisions of Chapter 295, Zoning, or in commercial businesses dealing in the sale or transfer of animals, domesticated or wild, or in such specific instances as the Code Enforcement Officer of Swatara Township determines not to be detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the Township and issues a special permit permitting the maintenance of a specified animal or animals in a specified location; the fee for such a special permit shall be determined by the Board of Commissioners of Swatara Township pursuant to resolution and no such special permit shall be issued until the prescribed fee shall have been paid.
[Amended 4-11-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-1]
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine not less than $15 nor more than $600 or, in default of the payment of such fine and costs, then to imprisonment for not more than 30 days. Every day that a violation of this article continues shall constitute a separate offense.