For the purpose of this article, the following terms shall have
the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context
in which the word is used clearly indicates otherwise:
Any dog, cat, domesticated animal or nondomesticated animal.
An animal which is off the premises of the owner, such as
upon a public highway, street, alley, park or any other public land
or upon property of another person other than the owner and not being
secured by means of a leash, cord, chain or other device so that it
cannot stray or not being accompanied by or under the reasonable control
of a person; voice control alone shall not be considered as under
the reasonable control of a person.
The Borough of Hanover, York County, Pennsylvania.
A pet, such as a dog or cat, domesticated so as to live and
breed in a tame condition.
A cat existing in a natural state, not domesticated, or having
reverted from domestication to a wild state.
A vehicle which is a self-propelled road vehicle or off-road
vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails, such as
trains or trains, and used for the transportation of passengers, or
passengers and property.
An animal shall be considered a nuisance if it habitually
trespasses upon or damages private or public property, annoys or harms
Borough residents or others or is kept, harbored, walked or exercised,
or allowed to run at large in violation hereof.
Any unowned free-roaming cat that is partially socialized
or unsocialized to humans and tends to resist contact with humans,
is not altered and habitually trespasses upon or damages either private
or public property or annoys or harms lawful users or occupants thereof.
Includes every person, firm, corporation or other entity
having a right of property in any animal which is kept or harbored,
or permitted, or suffered to be within the limits of the Borough of
Hanover, York County, Pennsylvania, as well as every person, firm,
corporation or entity occupying any premises within the limits of
the Borough of Hanover, York County, Pennsylvania, permitting an animal
to remain on or about his, her or its premises. 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.
Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm,
or association.
[Amended 7-22-2020 by Ord. No. 2301]
Any person employed by the Borough whose duty it is to preserve
peace or to make arrests or to enforce any law, including auxiliary
policemen.
Any cat whose owner or keeper from time to time allows the
cat to run free of the property of the owner or keeper.
Any animal which is not normally domesticated in this state,
including but not limited to deer, feral cats, ground hogs, opossums,
raccoons, skunks, rodents, bears, foxes, coyotes, and waterfowl.
[Added 7-22-2020 by Ord. No. 2301]
A.
Disturbing the peace.
(1)
It shall be unlawful for any owner to keep or harbor any domestic
pet which habitually barks, howls, screeches, bays, or yelps incessantly
or which in any way or manner unreasonably disturbs the peace and
quiet of any person in the vicinity, or which disturbs or endangers
the comfort, repose or health of persons in the vicinity. The keeping
or harboring of any such domestic pet is hereby declared to be a nuisance.
(2)
It shall not be necessary to establish that any occurrence has lasted
for any specific period of time in order to find a violation of this
section. However, continuous making of any loud or harsh noise by
a domestic pet for more than one-half hour on any one occasion shall
give rise to the presumption that the domestic pet on the premises
has disturbed the peace and quiet of persons in the vicinity and has
disturbed or endangered the comfort, repose or health of persons in
the vicinity. Such domestic pets are hereby declared a nuisance.
(3)
In any legal proceeding brought to prosecute an alleged violation
of this section, if it shall be determined that a domestic pet has
disturbed the peace and quiet of persons in the vicinity or has disturbed
or endangered the comfort, repose or health of persons in the vicinity
by unseemly noise as hereinbefore set forth, it shall be conclusively
presumed that the owner of the domestic pet has permitted the occurrence
to have happened.
B.
No person shall allow the frequent and habitual disruption of the
comfort, repose, or health of persons in the neighborhood by domestic
pets.
C.
It shall be unlawful for any owner to allow a domestic pet to defecate
in or upon any public street, public property or private property
(other than that of the owner), unless the defecation is immediately
removed from the public or private property by the owner or person
in control of the domestic pet.
D.
It shall be unlawful for any owner to allow a domestic pet to be
harbored or kept in unsafe, offensive or unsanitary conditions so
as to create offensive or foul odors or so as to create a danger,
risk or infringement upon or to the health, safety, welfare, or comfort
of its neighbors or the public.
E.
It shall be unlawful for any owner to allow a domestic pet to scratch,
dig, burrow, chew or otherwise damage any public or private property
(other than that of the owner).
A.
No person shall permit any dog owned by him or under his supervision
or control to run at large at any time upon the public streets, alleys,
highways, or public grounds of the Borough, or upon the private property
of any other person or upon any property other than property belonging
to the owner of such dog or to a person under whose supervision or
control of such dog is being kept. A dog must be firmly secured by
means of a leash, cord, chain or other device so that it cannot stray,
or must be accompanied by or under the reasonable control of some
person.
B.
Any police officer, law enforcement officer or other authorized official
of the Borough is hereby authorized and empowered to seize and detain
any dog which is found running at large in the Borough, or upon any
property other than the property of the owner of such dog or the property
of a person under whose supervision or control such dog is being kept,
and which is unaccompanied by the owner or such other person when
such police officer, law enforcement officer or authorized official
of the Borough is in pursuit or the presence of such dog.
C.
The provisions of this section shall apply to all dogs found running
at large in violation of this section, irrespective of payment for
or issuance of any license in respect to the dog involved.
D.
The Borough Council is hereby empowered and authorized to engage
the services of a qualified and suitable person to enforce the provisions
of this section.
Any police officer, law enforcement officer or other authorized official of the Borough is hereby authorized to seize and detain any animal running at large in violation of § 126-3 or any animal concerning which information has been received that such animal has been running at large. Notice of such seizure shall be given to the person in whose name the license, if any, was issued, or his agent, or to the person who the officer or official otherwise knows to be the owner, advising said person to claim such animal within 48 hours after receipt thereof. In the event that the animal does not bear a proper license tag and the owner or agent is not known, the animal will be held for a minimum of five days, after which the procedure outlined in § 126-5 for the disposition of any unclaimed animal will be followed. The owner or claimant of an animal so detained shall pay a fine as imposed under the animal laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, together with a charge as established from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council for room and board or the daily charge of the shelter where the animal is kept, whichever amount is greater. No animal shall be returned to the owner or claimant until said fine and expense or charges shall be paid.
If after 48 hours of receipt of such notice as set forth in
this section or a minimum of five days after the animal is taken into
custody where the owner of the animal is unknown, such animal (licensed
or unlicensed) has not been claimed, the police officer, law enforcement
officer or other authorized official of the Borough shall convey such
animal to a shelter, animal rescue, or foster care. No animal shall
be sold for the purpose of vivisection or research or be conveyed
in any manner for such purposes.
No person shall transport by motor vehicle on any public highway,
street, road or alley an animal, unless such animal is safely enclosed
within the motor vehicle or protected by a container, cage, cross
tether or other device to prevent the animal from falling from, being
thrown from or jumping from said motor vehicle.
No person shall leave an animal in any unattended motor vehicle
without adequate ventilation, sanitary conditions or in such a manner
as to subject the animal to extreme temperature which adversely affects
the health or safety of the animal.
On or after the effective date of this chapter, it shall be
unlawful for a person to own, keep, harbor or permit a dog to be housed
in the Borough that has not been licensed and that has not been vaccinated
against rabies. Proof of such licensing and vaccination shall be permanently
attached to the dog's collar for ease of identification. Collars must
be worn at all times when the dog is outdoors or indoors where the
dog may be in contact with the general public.
A.
It is unlawful to be the owner of a nuisance cat. Any owner of a
cat causing a nuisance as defined below shall be in violation of this
article and subject to the penalties herein. The following shall be
deemed a nuisance in fact:
(1)
Any cat which causes damage to the property of anyone other than
the owner.
(2)
Any cat that is a vicious animal in that it may cause injury to any
person/animal or property or may be a hazard to public safety.
(3)
Any cat which causes unreasonable fouling of the air by odors.
(4)
Any cat which causes unsanitary conditions in enclosures or surroundings.
(5)
Any cat which defecates on any public property, sidewalk, park or
building or on any private property without the consent of the owner
of such property, unless the person owning, having a proprietary interest
in, harboring, or having care, charge, control, custody, or possession
of such animal shall immediately remove any such defecation to a proper
trash receptacle.
(6)
Any cat which whines, calls or makes other disturbing noises in an
excessive or continuous manner.
(7)
Any cat which attacks other domestic animals.
(8)
Any cat which is determined by the Borough of Hanover Code Enforcement
Officer to be offensive or dangerous to the public health, safety,
or welfare.
B.
It shall be unlawful for a person other than the owner to intentionally
provide food, water, or other forms of sustenance or care to a nuisance
cat, stray cat or feral cat without assuming full responsibility for
the cat by providing the cat with continued humane treatment, which
shall include proper food, water, shelter, veterinarian care, rabies
vaccination, and alteration of the cat.
D.
It shall be unlawful for any person to create conditions that are
attractive to wild animals such as skunks, rats, rodents, raccoons,
opossums, or similar animals.
A.
Upon receipt of a complaint by one or more persons alleging the presence
of a possible nuisance, stray or feral cat, the Borough of Hanover
Code Enforcement Officer may investigate the complaint to determine
if in fact the animal is a nuisance, stray or feral cat.
B.
Upon determination by the Borough of Hanover Code Enforcement Officer
that the cat is a nuisance, stray or feral cat, the following action
may be taken:
(1)
The Borough of Hanover Code Enforcement Officer may order the owner
of a nuisance cat to have the animal altered at the owner's expense.
(2)
A citation or order may be issued to the owner of the nuisance cat
for failure to comply with any applicable provision of this article.
(3)
The cat in question may be impounded. All costs associated with impounding, to include boarding fees, shall be the responsibility of the owner. Such costs shall be paid in full prior to the owner reclaiming the cat. If the owner fails to reclaim the cat, the owner shall still be responsible for such costs. Notice shall be provided to the owner and the procedure outlined in §§ 126-4 and 126-5 above shall be followed.
A.
Whenever a person (including a Borough police officer or official)
shall complain to the Borough of Hanover or Code Enforcement Officer
concerning a violation of any provision hereof, the Code Enforcement
Officer shall determine if the complaint is accurate and, if so, shall
notify the owner of the domestic pet that a complaint has been received
and that the owner must immediately take whatever steps are necessary
to terminate the offensive conduct (the "notice").
B.
In the event that the offensive conduct continues after the Code Enforcement Officer gives the notice as set forth in Subsection A, then, upon the filing of a written complaint by a resident, or the Code Enforcement Officer concerning the continued violation of this chapter, then the Code Enforcement Officer shall, upon verification of the facts that form the basis of the complaint, issue to the owner a citation in accordance with Article IV, Enforcement, of this chapter.
