[Adopted as § 3.808 of the 2000 Code; amended in
its entirety 5-7-2019 by Ord. No.
2019-07]
A. All incidents occurring in the Village where any animal bites a person
or is suspected of biting a person shall be reported immediately to
the Brown County Health Department or to the police department by
any person having knowledge of such incident.
B. Any animal which bites a person in the Village, if it can be found,
shall be quarantined for 10 days from the date of the bite for the
purpose of observation for the possibility of infection with the virus
of rabies.
C. Such quarantine shall be effected as directed by the County Health
Commissioner or his representative and may be:
(1) Confinement of the animal to a structure or enclosure which is adequate
to restrain the animal on the premises of the owner or his agent;
or
(2) Confinement of the animal at the Village-designated pound; or
(3) Confinement of the animal with a licensed veterinarian; or
(4) Confinement of the animal at an animal hospital or boarding facility
approved by the County Health Commissioner.
D. No animal which is known or suspected to have bitten a person in the Village shall be destroyed until after the ten-day quarantine period required in Subsection
B above has elapsed, unless it cannot be apprehended safely, in which case destruction shall be accomplished without damage to the head of the animal if at all possible. The County Health Commissioner shall be immediately notified of such destruction of an animal and the dead animal shall not be disposed of until such specimens as the County Health Commissioner shall direct have been obtained and permission is given to dispose of the dead animal.
E. If an animal which has been quarantined in accordance with this section
dies during the quarantine period, the person having custody of the
animal shall immediately notify the County Health Commissioner and
shall not destroy or dispose of the dead animal until after such specimens
as the County Health Commissioner shall direct have been obtained
and permission is given to dispose of the dead animal.
A. Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to the section
only:
DANGEROUS ANIMALS
Shall be defined as any animal which:
(1)
Without provocation, while not under the control of its owner,
chases, confronts, or approaches a person in a menacing fashion while
off its owner's property and it is clear that the animal is not merely
being protective in a particular set of circumstances.
(2)
When unprovoked and while off its owner's property, approaches
a domestic animal in a menacing fashion or injures/kills another domestic
animal.
(3)
When unprovoked and while off its owner's property, causes a
nonsevere, nonbite injury in a menacing fashion to any person or domestic
animal.
(4)
Has been declared dangerous by at least one other municipality.
DOMESTIC ANIMAL
Shall be defined as any livestock, domesticated dogs and
domesticated cats.
MENACING FASHION
Shall be defined as demonstrating an intent or desire to
cause injury by one or more of the following actions:
(1)
An attempt to bite a person or another animal in such a fashion
to show plainly to a reasonable person an unfriendly intent and put
a person in fear of attack.
(2)
Growling or barking, etc. in an unfriendly manner while approaching
or chasing a person or another animal.
(3)
Growling or barking in an unfriendly manner while making physical
contact with a person or another animal.
OFFICER
Shall be defined as any peace officer or a Brown County or
Village of Hobart humane animal control officer.
OWNER
Shall be defined as any person, firm, corporation or other
organization owning, keeping, possessing, harboring, controlling,
or having the care or custody, whether temporarily or permanently,
of a dog, dogs, cat, or other animal.
PROVOKED
Shall be defined as any attack by an animal or physical injury
caused by an animal shall be considered provoked if at the time that
the attack occurred or the injury is inflicted:
(1)
The person who was attacked or injured was teasing, tormenting,
abusing, or assaulting the animal; or
(2)
The animal was protecting a person, itself, its young or another
domestic animal from an attack by a human being or another animal;
or
(3)
The person who was attacked or injured was committing a crime
on the property of the animal's owner.
B. Dangerous animals prohibited.
(1) Possession of a dangerous animal prohibited. No person shall own,
keep, possess or return to, or harbor a dangerous animal within the
Village. Any animal considered or deemed dangerous or vicious by any
other community is considered vicious and dangerous in this community
and is therefore prohibited.
(2) If a business exists within the Village for the purpose of training
or rehabilitating animals deemed to be dangerous by the Village or
any other municipality, this business may possess such animal for
the purpose of rehabilitation and training but said animal must be
removed from the community immediately upon the completion of the
training or rehabilitation.
(3) Penalty. Any person who owns, keeps, possesses, harbors, or returns
any dangerous animal to the Village after it has been declared to
be dangerous by owner's omission, quasi-judicial hearing, another
community, or appeal, shall be subject to a forfeiture of not less
than $500 nor more than $1,000.
C. Procedure for declaring an animal as dangerous.
(1) A humane officer or police officer may determine an animal to be "dangerous" whenever, upon investigation, that officer finds that the animal meets the definition of dangerous as delineated in Subsection
A above.
(2) The humane officer or the police officer, upon making the determination
that an animal is dangerous, shall issue a written order declaring
the animal to be dangerous and demanding that the owner remove it
from the Village within five days.
(3) If the owner objects to the declaration of dangerousness, they may
file a written objection contesting the declaration with the Village
Clerk within five days of receiving the written declaration.
(4) Upon receipt of the owner's written objection within the prescribed
five days, the matter shall be placed on the next practiable Village
Board meeting agenda for review.
(5) The Village Board shall act as a quasi-judicial body allowing the
animal's owner an opportunity to present evidence as to why the animal
should not be declared a prohibited dangerous animal.
(6) Pending the outcome of the hearing or any subsequent appeal, the
animal may be confined subject to § 173.21, Wis. Stats.,
or held at a location outside the Village limits at the owner's expense.
(7) After the hearing, and after the Village Board has made a decision
and its report has been approved, the owner shall be immediately notified
of the decision in writing by certified mail. If a decision is made
that the animal is a prohibited dangerous animal, the owner shall
comply with the order to remove the animal from the Village within
five days after receiving the written decision, if not already removed.
(8) If the owner further contests the decision, he or she may, within
five days of receiving the written decision, seek review of the decision
by the Circuit Court.
(9) If the declared dangerous animal is not removed from the Village within 10 days of it being declared dangerous by owner's omission, quasi-judicial hearing, or appeal, it may be seized and ordered destroyed pursuant to § 174.02(3), Wis. Stats., and in the manner prescribed in Subsection
D below of this chapter.
D. Manner and procedure for destruction of dangerous dogs/other animals.
Whenever an officer or veterinarian is required to destroy a dangerous
animal, the animal shall be destroyed in a humane manner which avoids
damage to the animal's head.
E. Exemption for police dogs. The provisions of this section regarding
dangerous dogs shall not apply to dogs owned by law enforcement agencies
and used for law enforcement purposes.
No person owning, harboring or keeping any animal or fowl shall allow the same to run at large within the Village. See also §
102-13 for dogs.
[Amended 3-2-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-01]
A. The definition of "fowl" shall include pigeons. However, the species
known as homing, carrier or racing pigeons shall be exempt from the
confinement regulations to the extent that such birds may be permitted
to fly for training purposes and races.
B. All coops and pens shall be constructed so as to be easily cleaned
and kept in good repair. The inside and outside of such structures
shall be whitewashed or painted as often as necessary to keep them
clean or finished with such material as can be easily cleaned. All
such structures shall be kept clean and sanitary and shall not cause
any objectionable odor. Accumulations of cleanings or excrement of
more than one day's operation in any such structure shall be deemed
a violation of this section. The harboring of pigeons other than in
a pen or coop so described in this section shall be declared a public
nuisance.
A. Livestock. No person shall keep or maintain any livestock such as
horses, cattle, sheep or goats in any zoning district except as a
permitted or conditional use.