[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Derry as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Parks and recreation — See Ch. 132.
[Adopted 9-13-1988 by Ord. No. 298]
The purpose of this article is to control domestic animals within the
Township of Derry so that they do not cause a public nuisance or infringe
upon the property rights or free and enjoyable use of public and private property
of the residents of Derry Township.
For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following
meanings:
Any living animal, other than man, which has been tamed, captured
or otherwise kept for the purpose of agricultural use or the enjoyment of
its owner regardless of whether the animal is licensed or unlicensed.
Any person having a right of property in any domestic animal or having
custody of any domestic animal, or any person who harbors or permits a domestic
animal to remain on or about his property. For purposes of this article a
"custodian" shall have the same responsibilities and duties as an "owner."
Any individual, partnership, association or private corporation and,
in the case of associations, the members thereof, and in the case of private
corporations, the officers thereof.
Being upon any public highway, street, alley, park, or any other
public land, or upon the property of a person other than the owner, and not
being accompanied by or under the control of the owner or any other person
having custody of a domestic animal.
All domestic animals shall be under the control of their owner or custodian
at all times, by means of leash, harness, rope, tether, fence, cage, training
or other means of restraint, so that the animal does not run at large, move
at will, or is otherwise unconstrained from entering on property other than
that of its owner or custodian without permission of the other property owner.
No domestic animal shall be allowed to enter onto public property either
at its will or under the control of its owner or custodian when and/or where
the public entity owning the property has prohibited domestic animals from
being on the property by regulation or by posting notice on the property.
Further, it shall be the responsibility of the owner or the custodian of any
domestic animal to be aware of and obey posted regulations, requirements and/or
conditions established for allowing domestic animals to be on any particular
public property.
The owner or custodian of any domestic animal shall remove immediately
any feces or vomit deposited by his/her domestic animal on any public street
or street right-of-way, including the sidewalk and any other part of the street
right-of-way, such as the grass boulevard between the street and the private
property line; on any public parkland or public use area; or on any property
of which such person is not the owner or tenant. The feces or vomit deposited
by a domestic animal on any property other than that of the owner or custodian
of the domestic animal shall be collected by the owner or custodian in a sanitary
fashion and returned to his/her property for sanitary disposal.
A.
No domestic animal shall be allowed by its owner or its
custodian to howl, bark, meow or make any other sound frequently or for a
continued duration which creates a noise disturbance which deprives or causes
unreasonable interference with the peace, quiet, rest or sleep of any person
or persons not the owner or custodian of the animal causing the noise.
B.
Noise made by any domestic animal will be considered
a public nuisance if the noise if continuous or incessant for a period of
15 minutes or such noise is intermittent for one hour or more; provided, that
at the time the animal is making such noise no person is trespassing or threatening
to trespass upon the private property in or upon which the animal is situated,
nor is there any legitimate cause which justifiably provokes the animal.
C.
It shall be unlawful for any person to continue to own, harbor, possess or otherwise keep an offensively noisy domestic animal, which shall be defined as a domestic animal which has caused its owner or custodian to be cited and convicted of more than two violations of this § 61-6. Payment of fine and costs shall be deemed a conviction for purposes of this § 61-6.
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons whether the owner of the animal or not, to mistreat, abuse or to cause bodily injury to any domestic animal or otherwise to inhumanely dispose of such animal. For purposes of this § 61-7, mistreatment shall include, but not be limited to, not providing for the proper care, shelter, feeding and medical treatment of a domestic animal by its owner or custodian.
Any person or persons who owns or has custody of any domestic animal
that has injured any person or any other animal by biting that person or animal,
must keep said animal in quarantine for no less than 14 days from the time
said person or other animal was bitten, and shall notify the Derry Township
Police Department of the incident within one hour after discovery that the
animal bit any person or any other animal.
All owners or custodians of domestic animals, of a species for which
veterinarians normally recommend a rabies inoculation, shall have said animal
inoculated for rabies within two weeks after becoming the owner or custodian
of the animal or within two weeks after becoming a resident of Derry Township.
Any domestic animal running at large or otherwise not in the control
or under the restraint of its owner or custodian may be captured by a police
officer of Derry Township or other duly authorized employee or contractor
of Derry Township. Any animal captured shall be humanely boarded and dealt
with in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The owner or custodian of any domestic animal so captured shall be in violation
of the terms of this article and may be so cited, and shall be liable for
all of the costs of the capture, boarding and disposition of the animal.
Any domestic animal running at large or out of the control of its owner
or custodian that, in the judgment of a duly appointed police officer of Derry
Township, poses a threat to the life or physical well-being of any person
or persons may be destroyed as humanely as possible by the officer when, in
the judgment of the officer, capture or containment of the animal is not possible
without further risking the health and safety of the public.
A.
Enforcement notice.
(1)
If it appears to the Township that a violation of this
article has occurred, the Township shall initiate enforcement proceedings
by sending an enforcement notice as provided in this section.
(2)
The enforcement notice shall be sent to the violator
and, if applicable, the owner of record of the parcel on which the violation
has occurred, to any person who has filed a written request to receive enforcement
notices regarding that parcel and to any other person requested in writing
by the owner of record.
B.
Enforcement remedies.
(1)
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has
violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this article shall,
upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township, pay a judgment of not more than $600 plus all court costs,
including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Township as a result thereof.
No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date
of the determination of a violation by the district justice. If the defendant
neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the
judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that
a violation continues and each section of this article which shall be found
to have been violated shall constitute a separate violation.
(2)
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed
or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the Township the
right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.
(3)
District justices shall have initial jurisdiction over
proceedings brought under this section.
