[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Upper Allen as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any dog, cat, domesticated animal, or nondomesticated animal.
Any person who provides care, including food, water, shelter,
and, in some cases, medical care, to feral cats, in accordance with
a program approved by the Township to trap, neuter, vaccinate, ear-tip,
and return feral cats to the location at which they were trapped.
An unowned free-roaming cat that is partially socialized
or unsocialized to humans and tends to resist contact with humans.
Any person having a right of property in, having custody
of or who harbors or permits an animal to remain on or around his
or her property, excluding feral cat caregivers as defined herein.
An eligible animal welfare organization appointed by the
Township to run a TNR program in the Township.
Any cat whose owner or keeper from time to time allows the
cat to run free off of the property of the owner or keeper.
The Township of Upper Allen, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
A nonlethal approach to feral cat population control whereby
feral cats are humanely trapped, sterilized, vaccinated, ear-tipped,
and then returned to the location where they were originally trapped.
No owner shall suffer or permit his or her animal to run at
large in the Township of Upper Allen and upon public streets or highways
or upon lands of any person other than the person having control and
custody of such animal.
No owner shall allow or permit his or her animal to make loud,
harsh noises to the extent that it shall disturb or interfere with
the peace, quiet, rest or sleep of other persons.
It shall be unlawful for any owner of any cat to permit such
cat to run free outside the residence of its owner or keeper unless
said cat has been:
It shall be unlawful for any person to feed stray or feral cats,
where such feeding causes a nuisance to neighbors or creates a condition
contrary to the health, safety and welfare of the community, unless
that person participates as a caretaker in a trap, neuter and return
program managed by the Township or a sponsor of the Township.
Animal welfare organizations may make application to the Township
to serve as the sponsor of a TNR program. Sponsors appointed by the
Township shall have the following responsibilities:
A.
Register each feral cat colony they are managing with the Township.
Information submitted to the Township shall include general location
(neighborhood), number of cats in the colony, and number of caretakers
working with the colony;
B.
Record and report to the Township, on an annual basis, the intake
and disposition of each feral cat brought to their facility;
C.
Record and report to the Township, on an annual basis, the total
number of members and the number of sterilized members of each feral
cat colony within the Township for which they have implemented a TNR
program;
D.
Record and report to the Township, on an annual basis, the number
of kittens born into each feral cat colony within the Township for
which they have implemented a TNR program; and
E.
Address complaints received by the Township and passed along to the
sponsor regarding caretaker behavior, and serve as an intermediary
to address and, where possible, remediate the behavior within a reasonable
period of time, based on the matters at issue and utilizing Township
resources where necessary.
A.
Upon receiving a complaint or information that a violation of §§ 88-2 through 88-6 of this article is being or might be committed in the Township of Upper Allen, any police officer of said Township or any other person or persons designated to enforce the provisions of this article by a duly adopted resolution of the Board of Commissioners of Upper Allen Township shall make an investigation, and if the complaint or information is found to be true, a written notice shall be served upon the owner of the dog or other domesticated or nondomesticated animal, either by a police officer of said Township or by such other designated person or persons, notifying said owner that he or she is in violation of the applicable section of this article.
B.
The Police Department shall keep a record of all notices as set forth in § 88-8A of this article, and upon receiving a second complaint or information against the same owner and if, upon investigation, said second complaint or information is found to be true, then and in that event any police officer or such other designated person or persons shall prosecute said owner under the terms of this article.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article
shall, upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding before any
Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not more than $600, together
with the cost of prosecution for each and every offense, and in default
of payment of said fine and costs, shall undergo imprisonment in the
Cumberland County Prison for a term not to exceed 30 days, provided
that each day's violation of any of the provisions of this article
shall constitute a separate offense.
Any and all costs incurred by the Township in connection with
the seizure and detention of animals at large in the Township, including
both domestic and/or nondomesticated animals, shall be billed to the
owner of said animal(s). The Township, at its discretion, may include
reasonable administrative costs in an amount established from time
to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners of Upper Allen
Township. Such payment shall be in addition to any fines and costs
which may be related to prosecution and shall further be in addition
to any fees claimed by other animal control agencies.
