[Adopted 3-17-2015 by Ord. No. 1043]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated, unless a different meaning clearly appears from
the context:
AFRICANIZED HONEY BEE
Hybrids of the African honey bee with various European honey
bees that are aggressive compared to the European subspecies.
ANIMAL
Any living member of the animal kingdom, excluding humans.
ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER
The person duly appointed by the Borough who is tasked with
enforcing all provisions of this article.
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
APIARY
Any place where one or more colonies or nuclei of bees are
kept.
AT LARGE
An animal that is off the premises of the owner and not on a leash or otherwise under the immediate control of a person physically capable of restraining the animal, or which meets the language set forth in §
152-12A.
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
ATTACK(S)
Whether or not in response to a command by its owner, an
animal that attempts to or does kill, destroy, injure, bite, wound,
harm, or otherwise damage any person, domestic animal, or livestock.
This definition also includes, but is not limited to, an animal that
a reasonable person under a totality of the circumstances would upon
observation conclude to be stalking or pursuing any person, domestic
animal, or livestock regardless of whether it attempts to kill, destroy,
injure, bite, wound, harm, or damage that person, domestic animal,
or livestock.
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
BAT HOUSE
Any device, either stand-alone or designed to be attached
to a structure, for the sole purpose of housing native bats.
BEE
Any stage of the common honey bee (Apis mellifera) or other
species of the genus Apis.
BEEKEEPER
An owner of an apiary or a person who has charge of an apiary
or one or more colonies of bees in the Borough.
BEE DISEASE
Any American or European foul brood, sac brood, bee paralysis
or other disease or abnormal condition of eggs, larva, pupa or adult
stages of the honey bee.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
The policies, procedures and methods contained in the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture's Compliance Agreement for Beekeepers.
BOROUGH
The Borough of West Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
BROOD
The embryo and egg, larva, and pupa stages of a bee.
CARRIER PIGEON
Homing and racing pigeons which have the name of the owner
stamped upon the wing or tail, or are banded upon the leg with the
name or initials of the owner or with an identification or registration
number stamped on the band.
COLONY
An aggregate of bees consisting principally of workers, but
having, when perfect, one queen and, at times, many drones.
COMB
The assemblage of cells containing a living stage of a bee
at a time prior to emergence as an adult.
CONTROL
The power to influence or direct an animal's behavior or
the course of events so that the animals does not intimidate or cause
physical harm or damage to persons, other animals or property.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1146]
DEPARTMENT
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
DOMESTIC ANIMAL
All species of animals commonly and universally accepted
as being domesticated.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1146]
DOMESTIC FOWL
Domesticated breeds/varieties of chickens, excluding roosters;
quail; pheasant; pigeons; and doves. Also, domesticated varieties
of Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata), excluding drakes (male ducks),
are herein included.
ENCLOSURE
A coop, cage or hutch that is designed to house domestic fowl or domesticated rabbits and is covered, predator-proof, well-ventilated, has at least two solid sides, is designed for easy cleaning access and complies with §
152-6 of this article.
FENCE
For the purpose of this chapter, any structure of wire, wood, stone or other material, which is of sufficient height and strength to act as a barrier against passage of the animal it is intended to enclose. A fence must be sufficient to prevent the animal from being able to jump, dig, or escape confinement. Underground electric or wireless fences are not considered a barrier against passage. Regulations pertaining to the placement, construction, permitting and inspection of artificial fences can be found in §
455-145.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1146]
FLYWAY
A barrier composed of dense vegetation or man-made materials
which directs bees quickly into the sky.
FLYAWAY ZONE
An unobstructed area to allow for the natural ingress and
egress behaviors of mammalian bats.
HIVE
A container intended for the housing of a colony of bees.
IMPOUNDMENT
The taking into custody of an animal by any officer.
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
LEASH
A restraint not greater than six feet in length which is
attached to a collar or harness of sufficient strength and quality
to restrain the animal to which it is attached and which shall at
all times be held and controlled by a person or an owner having the
ability to control the leashed animal.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1146]
LEASHED
Restrained by a leash.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1146]
LOFT
Any structure in which carrier pigeons are housed.
NATIVE BAT
Those species of bats that are native to southeastern Pennsylvania.
OFFICER
A police officer and/or animal control officer.
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
OWNER
Any person having temporary or permanent custody and/or control
of, sheltering or having charge of, harboring, exercising control
over, or having property rights to, any animal covered by this article.
An animal shall be deemed to be harbored if it is fed or sheltered
by the person having custody and/or control of the animal.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1146]
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation or
other entity.
PROVOCATION
Any action which incites, instigates, angers, irritates,
enrages or stimulates an animal.
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
PUBLIC NUISANCE ANIMAL
Any animal that unreasonably annoys a person, endangers the
health, safety or welfare of a person, or substantially interferes
with the use and enjoyment of a person's property, including
but not limited to:
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
A.
Any animal that is found running at large;
C.
Any animal that without provocation, molests, attacks, or otherwise
interferes with the freedom of movement of persons in a public right-of-way
or on public property; or
D.
Any animal that chases motor vehicles in a public right-of-way
or on public property.
RACING PIGEON
Any pigeon registered with any national pigeon racing organization.
RESTRAINT
Control of an animal by physical means so that it remains
on the premises of the owner and/or person maintaining custody and/or
control of the animal, or, when off the owner's premises, by means
of a cage, or leash under the direct control of a person of sufficient
strength and ability to control the animal.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1146]
SANITARY
A condition of good order and cleanliness to minimize the
possibility of disease transmission.
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING
A single-family attached dwelling, a single-family detached dwelling or a single-family semidetached dwelling, each as defined in Chapter
455, Zoning, as amended from time to time.
TETHERED
A domestic animal that is attached to a stationary object
by a leash.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1146]
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
Borough Council may appoint an Animal Control Officer to carry
out and enforce any and all provisions of this article.
Except as provided in this article, no person shall import into
the Borough, possess, display, offer for sale, trade, barter, exchange
for adoption, or give as a household pet to any person to be maintained
within the Borough any animal except the following, which require
the providing of adequate housing and proper care:
A. Domestic dogs, excluding hybrids with wolves, coyotes, or jackals;
B. Domestic cats, excluding hybrids with ocelots or margays;
D. Captive-bred species of common cage birds;
E. Nonpoisonous snakes under six feet in total length;
G. Small reptiles, including turtles and lizards;
H. Small amphibians, including newts, frogs and salamanders, traditionally
kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes;
I. Carrier pigeons and racing pigeons, when kept in compliance with
permit requirements;
J. Domestic fowl, when kept in compliance with permit requirements;
L. Bees, when kept in compliance with permit requirements;
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
A. In addition to the other penalties provided in §
152-15, an officer may temporarily seize, impound, or humanely confine any animal if he has probable cause to believe that any provision of this article has been violated, and follows the laws of this commonwealth to obtain and execute a search warrant to seize, impound, or humanely confine that animal.
B. Pursuant to the laws of this commonwealth, that officer need not obtain and execute a search warrant to temporarily seize, impound, or humanely confine an animal pursuant to §
152-3.1A under the following circumstances, which the Borough finds sufficiently compelling exigencies to justify the immediate albeit temporary seizure, impoundment, or humane confinement of that animal for the health, safety, and welfare of its residents:
(1)
Any public nuisance animal;
(2)
Any animal that is in violation of any quarantine or confinement
order and is in a public right-of-way or on public property;
(3)
Any unattended or abandoned animal that is outdoors or in an
automobile, and a reasonable person under a totality of the circumstances
would conclude is freezing, overheating, critically ill, severely
injured, or otherwise in need of immediate, life-saving care;
(4)
Any animal that a court of competent jurisdiction has ordered
impounded or destroyed but is in a public right-of-way or on public
property; and/or
C. In lieu of temporary seizure, impoundment or humane confinement,
an officer may issue a notice of violation or citation.
[Added 9-19-2023 by Ord.
No. 1173]
A. Upon impoundment of the animal, the officer shall immediately thereafter notify the owner in person if his last known address is in the Borough by delivering a written notice disclosing the identity of the officer and his/her contact information, the date, time, nature, place, and circumstances of the impoundment, where the animal is impounded, how to reclaim the animal, and all contents of this §
152-3.2. If the owner's last known address is outside of the Borough then the officer shall provide said written notice as described in the preceding sentence by certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, and overnight courier, postage prepaid.
B. An owner reclaiming an impounded animal shall pay a fee for each
day the animal has been impounded pursuant to Chapter 212, Fees.
C. An impounded animal not reclaimed by its owner within 96 hours of delivery of the notice(s) required by §
152-3.2A shall become the property of the Borough if that animal's owner is also found liable or convicted of violating this article, Chapter 55(B) of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5531 et seq., the Dog Law, 3 P.S. § 459-101 et seq., the Rabies Prevention and Control in Domestic Animals and Wildlife Act, 3 P.S. § 455.1 et seq., or any other local, state, or federal law, rule, or regulation concerning the welfare of animals. In such instance, an individual or entity having the jurisdiction and authority under the laws, rules, and regulations of this Commonwealth may, if the violated law, rule, or regulation, or court order permits, mandate that the animal be placed for adoption, put in an animal shelter, or euthanized in a manner prescribed by him or it and according to the laws of this commonwealth.
No residential housing unit in the Borough shall contain at
any one time more than three permitted domestic dogs or three permitted
domestic cats, or any combination thereof; or four of any other caged
or uncaged permitted animals; unless otherwise permitted herein. This
limit shall not include litters of young permitted animals who have
not yet been weaned or who have been weaned for fewer than six weeks.
Animals which occasionally birth litters of young shall not be used
for the sole intent to provide income to the animal's owner or constitute
a business based on the raising of animals. There shall be no limit
on the number of fish and small amphibians which any residential unit
in the Borough may maintain.
To encourage native bat populations in the Borough, residents
may install two bat houses on their property.
A. Each bat house may be installed as either stand-alone or attached
to an existing structure.
B. Each bat house must be at least 10 feet above ground level. Each
stand-alone bat house shall not be located more than 20 feet above
ground level.
C. Each stand-alone bat house must provide for a flyaway zone of at
least 10 feet.
D. The placement of a bat house in the front yard of any lot is strictly
prohibited.
E. Any waste products or fecal matter must be cleaned as required by §
152-7 of this article.
[Amended 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1146]
A. It shall hereafter be unlawful for any person or any owner to permit any domestic animal owned by, or in the possession of, or under the custody, supervision or control of such person to be at large without controlled restraint, as defined in §
152-1 either upon the public streets, alleys or sidewalks in the Borough or upon property of another, including the property of the Borough or of any school district. This prohibition shall apply to public and private property.
B. Restraining
animals:
(1) It
shall be unlawful to tether any domestic animal outside unless a person
or an owner remains within six feet of the domestic animal at all
times throughout the period of tethered restraint. This prohibition
shall apply to public and private property. During any period of tethered
restraint, the owner shall remain responsible to properly control
the domestic animal.
(2) The use of a tether is not required when a domestic animal is restrained within a fenced area from which they cannot escape, as defined in §
152-1.
(3) Exception.
Domestic animals may be restrained within a fenced area from which
they cannot escape when unattended outdoors, provided that the domestic
animals are not otherwise creating a nuisance or violating other provisions
of the Borough's ordinance and/or state law rules and regulations.
Owning, possessing, harboring, supervising or controlling any
animal or bird which howls, barks, meows, squawks or makes other sounds
continuously and/or incessantly for a period of 10 minutes or makes
such noise intermittently for 30 minutes or more to the disturbance
of any person at any time of the day or night, regardless of whether
the animal or bird is situated in or upon private property is prohibited;
provided, however, that at the time the animal or bird is making such
noise, no person is trespassing or threatening to trespass upon private
property in or upon which the animal or bird is situated or for any
other legitimate cause which teased or provoked the animal or bird.
Any violation of this article that would also violate any state
or federal law, statute, rule or regulation shall be prosecuted under
such state or federal law, statute, rule or regulation, as applicable,
and not under this article.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article
shall, upon being found liable therefor, pay a fine of not more than
$600, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by
the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. If the penalty is not
paid, the Borough shall initiate a civil action for collection in
accordance with the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day
a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense, and each section
of this article that is violated shall also constitute a separate
offense. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement under this section,
the Borough may enforce this article in equity in the Court of Common
Pleas of Berks County.