[Ord. 94-4, 4/2/1994, § 501; as amended by Ord.
2002-1, 2/21/2002, § 1]
As used in this Part, the following terms have the meaning indicated,
unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
CAT
A felis libyca domestica, kept as a pet and/or for rodent
control.
OWNER
Any person owning, keeping, feeding, harboring or having
custody of a cat, or who allows a cat to reside or remain about his
premises, shall be considered a "cat owner."
RUNNING AT LARGE
Being upon the public highway, street, alley, park or other
public land or upon property of another person other than the owner,
and not being accompanied by or under the control of the owner or
any other person having custody of said cat.
VACCINATION
The practice of inoculations with a vaccine to afford protection
from rabies, as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Resources.
[Ord. 94-4, 4/2/1994, § 502; as amended by Ord.
2002-1, 2/21/2002, § 2]
1. It shall be unlawful for any owner to have any cat that becomes a
nuisance in the Borough. Acts of nuisance shall include, but are expressly
not restricted to, the following:
A. Noise disturbance as put forth in §
2-302 (Noise Disturbance) of this chapter.
C. Digging into flower beds, lawns, children's sandboxes, gardens or the damaging of shrubbery, trees, lawns, personal property not belonging to the owner of the cat, or the depositing of feces as set forth in §
2-401 (Animal Defecation on Public and Private Property Restricted) of this chapter.
D. Running at large in the Borough either upon the public streets, highways,
alleys, sidewalks, any public property, upon any property not belonging
to or resided in by that person, or any other property other than
the owner of such cat.
2. No owner shall permit a cat to enter upon any area designated as
a tot lot in any publicly owned park or playground.
3. Any owner of a cat shall comply with, and be current with rabies
vaccination requirements of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
with regard to cats.
[Ord. 94-4, 4/21/1994, § 503]
1. The Borough Code Officer or the person or agency designated by the
Borough Council of the Borough shall enforce the provisions of this
Part. Upon receipt of a written complaint that a cat is a public nuisance,
the Code Officer will investigate said compliant and, if found to
be legitimate, the Code Officer shall authorize the seizure of the
cat by the issuance of humane-type cat trap to trap said cat alive.
Traps will only be set during daylight hours. Trapping at night is
prohibited.
2. The person who is issued the trap must notify the Code Officer as
soon as possible after a cat is apprehended. The Code Officer and/or
the person or agency designated by the Borough Council of the Borough
will transport and deliver the cat to the Humane Society for holding.
If the Humane Society refuses to take the animal, the cat will be
delivered to a veterinarian contracted with the Borough and held for
72 hours prior to being disposed of in a humane manner. If the cat
so apprehended bears any identification of ownership, the Code Officer
shall, on the date of apprehension, notify the owner that the animal
has been apprehended and that it may be claimed at a designated location
subject to the provisions of this Part.
3. Any cat may be claimed by its owner at the veterinarian during the
custodial period and shall pay all costs for the care, maintenance
and disposal of said cat at the prevailing veterinarian rate.
4. Any cat which has been seized pursuant to this Part and which has not been reclaimed during the custodial period may be disposed of in a humane manner in accordance with standards generally followed by the Humane Society or as provided by the contracted veterinarian service in §
2-503, Subsection
2.
[Ord. 94-4, 4/21/1994, § 504]
No more than four cats shall be kept, maintained or harbored
for more than 90 days in any residential housing unit or on its grounds.
This provision shall not apply to cats which have been owned prior
to the effective date of this Part.
[Ord. 94-4, 4/21/1994, § 505]
If the owner of animals in violation of this Part does not comply
with a notice to abate the violation which constitutes a nuisance
or health hazard, within the time period described, the Borough shall
have the authority to take measures to correct the conditions and
collect the cost of such correction plus 10% of all costs. The Borough,
in such event and pursuant to its statutory or otherwise authorized
police powers, shall have the right and power to enter upon the offending
premises to accomplish the foregoing. The enforcement authority of
this provision shall contain the right to use all other enforcement
provisions of this Part.
[Ord. 94-4, 4/21/1994, § 506]
1. In order for the Borough to distinguish between a stray cat or owned
cat, the Borough requires the licensing of all cats by their owners
within the limits of the Borough of Hummelstown. Licenses will be
issued by the Borough and must be affixed to the cat's collar which
must be worn by the cat at all times. License fees will be adopted
by resolution of the Borough Council from time to time with a copy
of the most recent resolution, establishing cat license fees, kept
on file at the Borough Office.
2. Licenses will [be] required to be purchased on a yearly basis. Any
cat six months or older must be licensed and have the appropriate
rabies vaccine. A license will not be issued without the proof of
a rabies inoculation certificate.
[Ord. 94-4, 4/21/1994, § 506]
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, feed or harbor
any cat which has been found to violate the provisions of this Part.
Any person found to violate the provisions of this Part shall, upon
conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $300
and/or imprisonment for a term not to exceed 90 days.