[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Springdale 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. 1275. Amendments noted where applicable.]
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:
ANIMAL
Any dog, cat, domesticated animal or nondomesticated animal.
BOROUGH
The Borough of Springdale, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
CAREGIVER
Any person who provides care, including food, water, shelter and, in some cases, medical care to feral cats, and, in accordance with a program approved by the Borough, to trap, neuter, vaccinate, ear-tip, and return feral cats to the location at which they are trapped.
FERAL CAT
An unowned, free-roaming cat that is partially socialized or unsocialized to humans and tends to resist contact with humans; also known as a "stray cat."
HOARDING
The keeping or owning of more than five pets in one residence without proper care, nutrition or supervision.
KEEPER
Any person to intentionally provide food, water, or other forms of sustenance or care to alley stray, feral, free-roaming, or homeless cat, dog, other stray animal, or to allow other persons to engage in such activities on his/her property for a period in excess of three days.
MOTOR VEHICLE
A vehicle which is self-propelled except one which is propelled solely by human power or electric power obtained by overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails.
NUISANCE
An animal shall be considered a nuisance if it habitually trespasses upon or damages either private or public property or annoys or harms lawful users or occupants thereof.
OWNER
Any person having a right of property in, having custody of or who harbors or permits a dog, cat, domestic animal or any nondomesticated animal to remain on or around his or her property, excluding feral cat caregivers as defined herein.
PERSON
A natural person, firm, partnership, association or corporation.
POLICE OFFICER
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.
RUNNING AT LARGE
Being upon any public highway, street, alley, park or any other public land or upon property of another person other than the owner and not being firmly secured by means of a collar and chain or other device so that it cannot stray or not being accompanied by or under the reasonable contact of some person.
SPONSOR
An eligible animal welfare organization appointed by Borough of Springdale to run a TNR program in the Borough.
STRAY CAT
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.
TRAP, NEUTER AND RETURN (TNR)
A nonlethal approach to feral cat population control where feral cats are humanely trapped, sterilized, vaccinated, ear-tipped and then returned to the location where they were originally trapped.
VEHICLE
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or driven upon any highway, street, road or alley except devices used exclusively upon rails or tracks.
No person shall allow any animal confined on that person's premises to make any loud or harsh noise or disturbance which shall interfere with or deprive the peace, quiet, rest or sleep of any person within the Borough.
No person shall allow any animal owned by him or under his control to defecate on any sidewalk, walkway or the property of another without immediately cleaning it up. Any vision- or mobility-impaired person who relies upon a dog specifically trained for such purposes shall be exempt from compliance with this section.
A. 
No person shall permit any animal 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 animal or to a person under whose supervision or control of such animal is being kept. An animal must be firmly secured by means of a collar and 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 or law enforcement officer or duly appointed animal control officer is hereby authorized and empowered to seize and detain any animal which is found running at large in the Borough, or upon any property other than the property of the owner of such animal, and unaccompanied by the owner when such police officer or law enforcement office is in immediate pursuit of such animal.
C. 
The provisions of this section shall apply to all animals found running at large in violation of this section, irrespective of payment for or issuance of any license in respect to the animal involved. 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 or law enforcement officer or duly appointed animal control officer of the Borough is hereby authorized to seize and detain any animal running at large in violation of § 175-23 or any animal concerning which information has been received that such animal has been running at large. Any animal so seized shall be held by the Borough for 48 hours. Immediate notice of such seizure, either personally or by certified mail or e-mail, with return receipt requested, shall be given to the person in whose name the license, if any, was issued, or his agent, to claim such animal within 48 hours after receipt hereof. In the event that the animal does not bear a proper license tag, immediate notice, either personally or by certified mail or e-mail, return receipt requested, shall be given to the person, or his agent, known to be the owner of such animal. The owner or claimant of an animal so detained shall pay a penalty of $50 to the Borough, together with a charge as set forth from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council per day for room and board or 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 penalty and expense or charges shall be paid.
If, after 48 hours of such notice as set forth in § 175-24, such animal has not been claimed, the police officer or law enforcement officer or other duly appointed animal control officer may convey the animal to a shelter, animal rescue, or foster care. No licensed animal shall be adopted, sold or otherwise disposed of unless such licensed animal remains unclaimed five days after notification, evidenced by obtaining a return receipt if notified by certified mail or e-mail. Where the owner or agent of an unlicensed animal is not known, the police officer or law enforcement officer or other duly appointed animal control officer 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. The Borough reserves the right to contract with a reputable animal control service with terms mutually agreeable to the parties. To the extent that the terms of any contract are inconsistent with the terms set forth herein, the terms of the written contract shall prevail.
No person other than a person actually working a dog or other animal for agricultural purposes shall transport or carry on any public highway, street, road or alley such dog or other animal, unless such dog or animal is safely enclosed within the motor vehicle or protected by a container, cage, cross tether or other device to prevent the dog or animal from falling from, being thrown from or out of or jumping from said motor vehicle.
No person shall leave a dog or other animal in any unattended motor vehicle without adequate ventilation, sanitary conditions or in such a manner as to subject dog or other animal to extreme temperature which adversely affects the health or safety of the dog or animal.
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 such cat has been:
A. 
Neutered or spayed to prevent procreating;
B. 
Immunized against rabies in compliance with Pennsylvania law; and
C. 
Appropriately "tipped" on the left ear to signify that it has been neutered/spayed and immunized.
It is hereby declared to be a nuisance, is/shall be unlawful, for any person to intentionally provide food, water, or other forms of sustenance or care to alley stray, feral, free-roaming, or homeless cat, dog, other stray animal, or to allow other persons to engage in such activities on his/her property. Any person providing such care for three continuous days shall be deemed a keeper of the animal and shall be treated as an owner. Keepers shall be required to comply with the provisions of § 175-28 of this article; provided, however, that nothing herein shall prohibit the Borough from issuing, upon request, a special permit to allow authorized persons or groups to engage in such activities as part of a trap, neuter and return program managed by the Borough or sponsor of the Borough.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in hoarding of animals. Evidence of hoarding shall include but not be limited to lack of nutrition and supervision, offensive odor emanating from a person's residence, unsanitary conditions, insufficient litter boxes or other necessary accoutrements. Violations and penalties for hoarding under this article shall be in addition to any charges that could be filed under the Pennsylvania Animal Cruelty Act, also known as "Libre's Law."[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5531 et seq.
Animal welfare organizations may make application to the Borough to serve as a sponsor of a TNR program. Sponsors appointed by the Borough shall have the following responsibilities:
A. 
Register each feral cat colony they are managing with the Borough. Information submitted to the Borough 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 Borough, on an annual basis, the intake and disposition of each feral cat brought to their facility.
C. 
Record and report to the Borough, on an annual basis, the total number of members and the number of sterilized members of each feral cat colony within the Borough for which they have implemented a TNR program.
D. 
Record and report to the Borough, on an annual basis, the number of kittens born into each feral cat colony within the Borough for which they have implemented a TNR program. Address complaints received by the Borough 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 Borough resources when necessary.
[Added 9-21-2021 by Ord. No. 1288[1]]
The keeping of chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese or other poultry, cattle, pigs, goats or horses, donkeys or similar animals, regardless of whether such animals are considered to be pets, or the maintenance of chicken coops, pig pens, stables, or other such facilities within the Borough of Springdale is strictly prohibited.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also renumbered former §§ 175-13 and 175-14 as §§ 175-14 and 175-15, respectively.
A. 
Any person who violates any provision of this article, in addition to any other penalty under state law, shall be charged with a summary offense and shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1000, and all costs of prosecution, for the first offense, or be imprisoned for not more than 90 days, or both.
B. 
For any subsequent offense that occurs within one year of sentencing for the prior violation, a person shall be charged with a misdemeanor of the third degree and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution, or to imprisonment of not more than one year, or both. Each day there is a violation may count as a separate violation.
It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Council of the Borough of Springdale that several provisions of this article are separable. If any court of competent jurisdiction shall declare any words, sentences, sections or provisions of this article to be invalid, such a ruling shall not affect any other words, sentences, sections or provisions of this article not specifically included in said ruling.