[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Town Council of the Town
of Edmonston 2-10-1997 by Ord.
No. 96-002 (Ch. 5 of the 1997 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
An animal not under restraint.
An animal secured by a leash or lead and under the control
of a responsible person or confined within a vehicle or within the
real property limits of its owner.
Any and all types of animals, both domesticated and wild,
male and female, except humans.
Extending or prolonged without interruption or cessation;
unceasing.
An act of commission or omission whereby unjustifiable physical
pain, suffering or death is caused or permitted, including failure
to provide proper drink, air, space, shelter, protection from the
elements, sanitary conditions, veterinary care or nutritious food
in sufficient quantity. Customary and normal veterinary and agricultural
husbandry practices, including, but not limited to, dehorning, castration,
docking tails and limit feeding, are not considered to be acts of
cruelty.
Any member of the canine species, male or female.
Any and all kind of bird, domesticated and wild, male and
female.
An establishment wherein a person engages in boarding, breeding,
buying, grooming, letting for hire, training (for a fee) or selling
dogs or cats. The ownership of dogs which are part of the household
or are maintained in a building or structure adjoining a private residence
and are kept for hunting, practice tracking or for exhibiting in dog
shows or field or obedience trials or for guarding or protecting the
household's property, and sale of no more than one litter per year,
shall not constitute the operation of a kennel. The ownership of cats
which are part of the household or are kept for exhibiting in shows,
and sale of no more than one litter per year, shall not constitute
the operation of a kennel.
Any person owning, keeping, harboring or acting as custodian
of an animal.
Includes individuals, corporations, firms, partnerships and
all other clubs or organizations.
Any and all of the following dogs:
Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed of dogs;
American Staffordshire Terrier breed of dogs;
American Pit Bull Terrier breed of dogs;
Dogs which have the appearance of being predominantly of the
breed of dogs known as "Staffordshire Bull Terrier," "American Staffordshire
Terrier" or "American Pit Bull Terrier." "Predominantly" shall mean
that the dog exhibits the physical characteristics of a Pit Bull Terrier
more than of any other breed of dog; and
Dogs which have been registered at any time as a Pit Bull Terrier.
Secure confinement indoors or secure confinement in a locked
pen or structure measuring at least five feet in width, 10 feet in
length and six feet in height, with secure sides and secure top, which
provides protection from the elements for the dog, is suitable to
prevent the entry of young children and is designed to prevent the
animal from escaping while on the owner's property.
Any animal which does or is described by any one of the following:
Is repeatedly found at large.
Damages the property of anyone other than its owner.
Is a vicious animal.
Causes fouling of the air by odors.
Causes unsanitary conditions in enclosures or surroundings.
By virtue of the number or types of animals maintained, are
offensive or dangerous to the public health, safety or welfare.
Makes excessive disturbing noises.
Molests passersby or passing vehicles.
Attacks other domestic animals.
Has been designated by the County Animal Control Commission
or the Mayor and Town Council to be a public nuisance animal by virtue
of being a menace to the public health, welfare or safety.
Any holding facility harboring a public nuisance animal.
Any animal which is dangerously aggressive without provocation,
or any animal that attacks, bites or has a known propensity to attack
or bite human beings or other animals on streets, sidewalks or other
public or private places.
A.Â
No person shall keep or permit to be kept on private or public property
within the corporate Town limits of Edmonston any swine, sheep, goats,
horses, cows and/or other livestock of the horse or bovine kind, pigeons,
fowl, poisonous reptiles or wild animals.
B.Â
Except as provided in § 206-3, no person shall own, keep or harbor a Pit Bull Terrier within the Town.
C.Â
It shall be the duty of the Police Department of the Town of Edmonston and of any person so authorized by the Mayor and Town Council of Edmonston to impound any animal kept in violation of Subsections A or B of this section and to notify immediately the owner or custodian, if known, where the animal can be reclaimed. Any animal impounded by the Town shall be turned over to the proper county authorities and disposed of according to county law. In addition to or in lieu of impounding any animal kept in violation of Subsection A or B, the Mayor and Town Council may issue a notice of violation and a cease-and-desist order, as provided for in § 206-18 herein.
Any person owning a Pit Bull Terrier prior to November 1, 1996,
may continue to harbor the animal on his premises under the following
conditions:
A.Â
The animal shall be registered with the Prince George's County Administrator
of Animal Control and must at all times wear a tag provided by the
Administrator which will readily identify it as a registered Pit Bull
Terrier.
B.Â
The owner shall maintain the dog within a building or proper enclosure
at all times. Whenever the dog is removed from the building or enclosure,
it shall be secured by an unbreakable or unseverable leash and maintained
under the control of an adult.
C.Â
A person may temporarily hold a Pit Bull Terrier in the Town for
the purpose of showing the dog in a place of public exhibition, contest
or show sponsored by a dog club, association or similar organization.
The sponsor of the exhibition or show must obtain written permission
from Prince George's County and must provide protective measures adequate
to prevent all dogs participating in the show or exhibition from escaping
or injuring the public. All such dogs shall at all times during the
transportation to and from the show or exhibition be confined in a
secure temporary enclosure.
[Amended 3-9-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-OR-01]
A.Â
APIARY
BEEKEEPER
BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT
COLONY
HIVE
HONEYBEE
Definitions.
As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any place where one or more colonies of bees are located.
A person who owns or has charge of one or more colonies of
bees.
Anything used in the operation of an apiary, such as hive
bodies, supers, frames, top and bottom boards, and extractors.
Any bees in any hive, including queens, workers, and drones.
A frame hive, box hive, box, barrel, log, gum skep, or other
artificial or natural receptacle which may be used to house bees.
The common honeybee, Apis mellifera species, at any stage
of development, but not including the African honeybee, Apis mellifera
scutellata species, or any hybrid thereof.
B.Â
Standards
of practice.
(1)Â
Honeybee
apiaries are permitted when in compliance with the Annotated Code
of Maryland, Agriculture Article, §§ 5-501 through
5-507, as amended, and the following regulations:
(a)Â
No beekeepers may own or maintain an apiary within the Town without
first registering each colony of bees and maintaining an annual registration
for all colonies with the Maryland State Department of Agriculture.
(b)Â
A beekeeper owning or maintaining a bee colony in the Town shall
promptly notify the Code Enforcement Officer without unnecessary delay,
and in no event longer than 72 hours, if the Department of Agriculture
revokes said bee colony registration or if said registration has lapsed.
(c)Â
No beekeeper shall own or maintain a bee colony within the Town without
first obtaining a registration permit from the Town. An application
for a one-time registration permit shall be made, in writing, on a
supplied form or in such other format as established by the Town.
The application shall be accompanied by a lot plan that includes the
size of the lot, the location and number of hives, and the location
of the water source. Permit fees may be established from time to time
by resolution by the Town and must be paid by the applicant at the
time of application.
(2)Â
Beekeepers
that wish to own or maintain an apiary on property that they do not
own must include written permission from the property owner or landlord
that explicitly indicates that the beekeeper has permission to own
or maintain an apiary on the subject property. Such written permission
shall be supplied to the Town as part of the beekeeping registration
application.
(3)Â
Moveable
frames. Every person engaged in beekeeping shall provide moveable
frames in all hives and shall cause the bees in the hives to construct
brood combs in the frames so that any frame may be removed without
injury to other combs in the hive.
C.Â
Nuisance.
It shall be unlawful, and shall constitute a nuisance, for any person
to:
(1)Â
Maintain
an apiary or to keep any colony on any property in a manner that threatens
public health or safety or creates a nuisance and does not comply
with the Annotated Code of Maryland, Agriculture Article, §§ 5-501
through 5-507, as amended; or
(2)Â
Allow
or enable hive placement and related bee movement such that the bees,
without provocation, interfere with the reasonable freedom of movement
of persons in a public right-of-way, or the location of bees has a
proven impact to the general safety, health, and welfare of the public.
No person shall maintain or keep any kind of rabbit within the
corporate limits of the Town without a permit from the Mayor and Town
Council of Edmonston, to be issued after findings by the Mayor and
Town Council that such maintenance will not be a threat to the health
or safety of residents of the Town. Application for the permit shall
be made to the Clerk and shall include the name and address of the
applicant, the proposed location, an accurate description of the kind
and number of rabbits to be kept and the proposed owner of said rabbits.
No rabbit shall be kept within 100 feet of a building used by the
public. The owner of the rabbits shall provide them with adequate
coops, pens or other shelter and water, food and sanitary conditions,
free from obnoxious odors.
A.Â
No person owning, keeping or having custody of animals or fowl shall
permit said animals or fowl to run at large upon the streets or other
public property within the Town. Such action shall be deemed a nuisance
and dangerous to the public health and safety.
B.Â
Every female dog or cat, while in heat, shall be confined in a building
or secure enclosure by the owner in such manner that she will not
be in contact (except for intentional breeding purposes) with any
other dog or cat or create a nuisance by attracting other animals.
C.Â
Any person owning, keeping or having custody of a dog within the
Town limits shall secure and be in control of such animal by means
of a leash or lead, not exceeding eight feet in length, except when
such animal is on the premises owned or occupied by said person.
D.Â
It shall be the duty of the Police Department of the Town of Edmonston and of any person so authorized by the Mayor and Town Council of Edmonston to impound any animal or fowl not restrained properly pursuant to Subsection A, B or C above and to immediately notify the owner or custodian, if known, where the animal or fowl can be reclaimed. Any animal or fowl impounded by the Town shall be turned over to the county or other appropriate authorities for disposition according to county law. In addition to or in lieu of impounding any animal or fowl not restricted properly pursuant to Subsection A, B or C above, the Mayor and Town Council may issue a notice of violation and a cease-and-desist order, as provided for in § 206-18 herein.
A.Â
No person owning, keeping or having custody of any animal, except
a Seeing Eye dog, shall allow or permit excrement of such animal to
remain on any property within the Town limits other than that owned
and/or occupied by said person without the consent of the owner or
occupant thereof.
B.Â
No person owning, keeping or having custody of any animal shall allow
or permit excrement of such animal to remain on any property if doing
so causes obnoxious odors, unsanitary conditions and is offensive
and/or dangerous to the public health and welfare. Such action shall
be deemed a nuisance and dangerous to the public health and welfare.
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, operate or maintain
a kennel on any residentially zoned property within the corporate
limits of the Town.
A.Â
Any animal which two or more times bites or injures any human being
or habitually attacks or injures other animals or which has a known
propensity to attack or bite human beings or animals is defined to
be a "biting animal" for purposes of this section.
B.Â
It shall be the duty of the Police Department of the Town of Edmonston
or any person so authorized by the Mayor and Town Council of Edmonston
to receive and investigate complaints against biting animals. Whenever
any animal complained against shall be reasonably determined to be
a vicious animal by the above officers, said officers will assist
the complaining party in filing a complaint with the County Animal
Control Commission for a hearing on the facts. In addition, the Mayor
and Town Council may issue a cease-and-desist order preventing the
animal from running at large or being upon any street or public place,
except while securely confined by an adequate leash and humanely muzzled,
until a final determination of the complaint is made by the County
Animal Control Commission. Violation of such order shall be a misdemeanor.
The complaining party or animal's owner shall notify the Town Police
Department of the final decision of the County Animal Control Commission.
C.Â
No animal which has been determined by the County Animal Control
Commission to be a vicious animal shall be permitted to run at large
or be upon any street or public place, except while securely confined
by an unbreakable leash and humanely muzzled.
It shall be unlawful for any person to hold or to aid or abet
in the holding of any cockfight or to incite dogs to fight.
A.Â
No person shall keep any animal which, by causing frequent or continuous
noise and/or barking, shall disturb the comfort or repose of persons
in the vicinity. Such action shall be a public nuisance and detrimental
to the public health and welfare.
B.Â
Any person disturbed by a noisy animal shall advise the owner or
custodian who keeps such animal of this fact. If the nuisance is not
abated, the person shall notify the Police Department of the Town
of Edmonston or any other person authorized by the Mayor and Town
Council of Edmonston to receive such complaints. The officer shall
then advise the owner or custodian of the complaint and of the provisions
of this section prohibiting such violation.
C.Â
No owner or custodian shall fail to abate a nuisance caused by the frequent, habitual and long-continuing noise of his animal after having been notified in accordance with Subsection B above. Any person failing to abate such nuisance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor in accordance with § 206-18 herein.
No person shall engage in cruelty to any animal, fowl or bird
by any act, omission or neglect. Abandonment of any animal, fowl or
bird within the Town shall be deemed a form of cruelty for purposes
of this section.
No person shall establish, have, maintain, own or otherwise keep in the corporate Town limits of Edmonston a public nuisance animal or a public nuisance facility, as defined in § 206-1.
No person shall own or harbor within the corporate Town limits
any animal over the age of four months which is susceptible to or
capable of contracting the rabies virus, including but not limited
to dogs and cats, without a valid rabies vaccination. Vaccinations
shall be performed and a valid rabies certificate shall be signed
by a licensed veterinarian or approved county or other governmental
agency. Said rabies certificate must be readily available for inspection
by the Town Police Department. Nothing herein shall be deemed to alter,
preempt or diminish any state or county regulations regarding the
vaccination of animals.
A.Â
A report of the circumstances of a person's being bitten by an animal
shall be made promptly to the Town Police Department by anyone having
personal knowledge of the incident.
B.Â
The owner or custodian of an animal who has bitten a person shall
confine the animal for clinical observation for a period of 10 consecutive
calendar days. Such confinement shall be on the premises of the animal's
owner, either indoors or in a proper enclosure. The animal will be
permitted out of the confined area only for the purpose of ridding
itself of waste and only when it is placed on a lead of no more than
eight feet and under the supervision of a competent adult. Such animal
shall be examined by a licensed veterinarian for suspected rabies
before the expiration of its confinement period. In the alternative,
the animal may be confined at any animal shelter, veterinary hospital
or humane shelter, at the owner's option and expense.
C.Â
It shall be the duty of the Police Department of the Town of Edmonston or any person so authorized by the Mayor and Town Council to impound any animal not quarantined pursuant to Subsections A and B above and to immediately notify the owner or custodian, if known, where the animal can be reclaimed. Any animal so impounded shall be turned over to the proper Prince George's County authorities for disposition according to Prince George's County law. The owner or custodian may not remove the animal from impoundment until after the expiration of the ten-day quarantine period. The cost of such impoundment shall be borne by the owner or custodian.
A.Â
No person who accidentally or otherwise strikes an animal with a
motor vehicle and injures it shall fail to notify the Town Police
or, if they are unavailable, the Prince George's County Police of
the location of such accident. Failure to do so may result in such
person's being charged with violation of the State Motor Vehicle Law,
Transportation Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, § 20-106.
B.Â
No person shall willfully or negligently injure, harm or destroy
any animal by any means, including but not limited to poisoning, cutting,
suffocating, drowning, trapping, shooting or striking.
No person shall own, keep or harbor more than four animals over
the age of four months on his premises at any one time. A person may
request of the Mayor and Town Council a special permit to maintain,
harbor or own more than four animals on his premises. The request
must be made in writing. Said permit may be issued for a specified
time period not to exceed six months.
A.Â
Violations of this chapter are municipal infractions, unless otherwise
noted, subject to the penalty and enforcement provisions of this Code.
Upon observing a violation of this chapter or upon the signed affidavit
of a person who has observed a violation of this chapter, the Police
Department of the Town of Edmonston may issue the person committing
the violation a written municipal infraction citation and a cease-and-desist
order.
B.Â
E.Â
In addition, the Police Department of the Town of Edmonston may apply to the District Court for issuance of a criminal summons for violation of this chapter. Any person who shall violate §§ 206-9, 206-10, 206-11, 206-12, 206-13 and 206-16 or who shall fail to comply with their requirements shall, upon conviction, be found to be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not less than $25 and costs nor more than $500 and costs for each offense, as well as to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.
G.Â
Additional action.
(1)Â
In addition to or in lieu of imposing civil and criminal penalties
for any violation of this chapter deemed a public nuisance, the Mayor
and Town Council of the Town of Edmonston may:
(2)Â
If compliance with the decision of the Mayor and Town Council does
not take place within the time specified by the Mayor and Town Council,
the Mayor and Town Council may institute legal action to enforce the
order and to terminate the nuisance.
