It is unlawful for any person to leave standing any livestock on a public street or alley within the city.
(Ordinance 996 adopted 5/2/07; 2004 Code, sec. 2.401; Ordinance 1243 adopted 2/6/18)
(a) 
No person shall keep a horse on any premises if:
(1) 
The overall area within which the horse is kept is less than one acre for each horse kept;
(2) 
The premises are unsanitary; or
(3) 
The premises where the horses are kept are a public nuisance as determined by a proceeding in municipal court initiated by the issuance of a citation or summons.
(b) 
The manure and debris incident to the maintenance and care of horses shall be scraped from the floor and raked from pens or areas with such frequency as to prevent the same from serving as breeding places for insects and from emitting noxious odors. The manure and debris scraped or raked, as provided above, shall immediately be collected and either placed and kept in a waterproof and insect proof container until removed from the premises. The inside walls, ceilings, roosts, and floors of the structure in which the horses are housed shall be treated and kept treated with effective material manufactured and sold for the control of flies, mites, and lice and applied according to the manufacturer’s directions.
(c) 
Horses on less than one acre for each horse as of January 1, 2018, may receive a grandfathered status on the license with the city by March 1, 2018. No additional horses shall be allowed on less than one acre for each horse.
(Ordinance 996 adopted 5/2/07; 2004 Code, sec. 2.403; Ordinance 1194 adopted 5/3/16; Ordinance 1243 adopted 2/6/18)
No person shall keep goats or sheep on any premises if:
(1) 
The overall area within which the goat or sheep is kept is less than one acre for each goat or sheep kept;
(2) 
The premises are unsanitary; or
(3) 
The premises where the goats or sheep are kept are a public nuisance as determined by a proceeding in municipal court initiated by the issuance of a citation or summons.
(Ordinance 1243 adopted 2/6/18)
No person shall keep more than six (6) female fowl on a property up to one acre:
(1) 
Fowl shall be kept in a coop behind a solid fenced backyard;
(2) 
The premises where the fowl are kept shall not be unsanitary; and
(3) 
The premises where the fowl are kept shall not be a public nuisance as determined by a proceeding in municipal court initiated by the issuance of a citation or summons.
(Ordinance 1243 adopted 2/6/18)
No person shall keep within the city any male chickens/roosters. Male chickens/roosters existing as of January 1, 2018 are grandfathered. No additional male chickens/roosters are allowed to remain within the city.
(Ordinance 1243 adopted 2/6/18)
(a) 
Permit required.
No person shall keep within the city, any wild animal, exotic animal, or exotic bird, warm-or-cold-blooded (not including caged pet rodents, caged pet birds and animals in aquariums) unless a permit is obtained from the animal control officer in accordance with the provisions in this chapter.
(b) 
Application to keep exotic animals fee.
Application for any permit required in subsection (a) shall be made in writing to the animal control officer, accompanied by payment determined by city council, to pay part of the cost of executing this article and is not to be prorated or refunded. The application shall state the name and residence of the applicant, the location of the premises where the animal or bird is to be kept, the number and kind of such animals or birds, and the kind of enclosure within which they are to be kept.
(c) 
Renewal, amendment of permit to keep exotic animals.
The permit required by subsection (a) shall be renewed annually by October 31st each year, accompanied by payment of a fee established by city council. If ownership of the place in which the animal is kept is changed, the permit may be changed accordingly upon written verified application and payment of a fee established by city council for amending the permit.
(d) 
Findings prerequisite to permit for exotic animals.
(1) 
The animal control officer shall determine, by inspection or otherwise, whether the keeping of exotic animals as proposed is in violation of any law or ordinance, and whether the keeping of exotic animals will constitute a public nuisance. In making this determination, the animal control officer shall consider the following factors and be guided by the following standards:
(A) 
The area of the premises on which the animals are to be kept;
(B) 
Whether the keeping of animals will endanger the public health or cause odors or noises offensive to persons of ordinary sensibilities residing in the vicinity; and
(C) 
Whether the keeping of such animals considering all the circumstances, is likely to endanger persons or property.
(2) 
The animal control officer shall verify the information in the application and shall issue or refuse the permit accordingly. The permit may include reasonable conditions determined by the animal control officer to be necessary to prevent a public nuisance, such as the number and kind of animals to be kept thereon. All conditions of a permit are subject to review and revision by the animal control officer.
(e) 
Suspension, revocation, alteration of permit.
After reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard, the animal control officer may suspend or revoke any permit issued under subsection (a) for violation of this chapter by the permittee. After issuing a permit, the animal control officer may add conditions or restrictions to the permit if investigation indicates any changes since the original permit was issued.
(Ordinance 996 adopted 5/2/07; 2004 Code, secs. 2.405–2.409; Ordinance 1243 adopted 2/6/18)
(a) 
All animals and birds (except dogs, cats, caged pet rodents, caged pet birds, fowl and rabbits the keeping of which is otherwise regulated herein) shall be kept in a secure pen or enclosure which shall not be less than one hundred (100) feet from any inhabited dwelling (except that of the owner or person keeping such animals or birds) or any hotel, apartment house, tenement house, hospital, church or school.
(b) 
Fowl and rabbits shall be kept in a secure pen or enclosure that is at least 30 feet from any inhabited dwelling that is not the owner’s dwelling, or any hotel, apartment houses, tenement houses, hospital, church or school; provided, the pen or enclosure may be within 20 feet of such buildings if separated therefrom by a public alley and by a solid fence or wall at least six feet high between the pen or enclosure and the alley; and provided, further, homing pigeons may be released from the pen or enclosure for the purpose of supervised flights.
(c) 
The word “kept” as used in this section does not prevent the temporary removal of the animal or bird from the pen for any normal use or purpose. In the case of animals for which a permit is issued, the animal control officer may waive the requirements as to distance from dwellings or other buildings if keeping the animal in a dwelling or close by will not endanger the public health or create a public nuisance.
(d) 
The owner or person in possession of the pen or enclosure must keep it in such a manner as not to give off odors offensive to persons residing in the vicinity, or to breed or attract flies, mosquitoes, or other noxious insects, or in any manner to endanger the public health or create a public nuisance.
(e) 
All persons keeping such animals and birds must comply with the following regulations.
(1) 
Manure and droppings must be removed from pens, stables, yards, cages and other enclosures at least twice weekly and handled or disposed of in such a manner as to keep the premises free of any nuisance.
(2) 
Mound storage of droppings or manure between such removals will only be permitted under such conditions as to protect against the breeding of flies and to prevent migration of fly larvae (maggots) into the surrounding soil.
(3) 
Feed troughs may be provided for the feeding of vegetables, meat scraps, or garbage and such feeding must be done only in containers or on an impervious platform.
(4) 
Watering troughs or tanks may be provided that will be equipped with adequate facilities for draining the overflow, as to prevent the breeding of flies, mosquitoes, or other insects.
(5) 
No rancid material may be allowed to accumulate on the premises, and all such material used as feed that is unconsumed must be removed daily and disposed of by burial or other means approved by the animal control officer.
(f) 
For the purpose of enforcing this article, the animal control officer must make inspections of all places where animals or birds are kept; and the making of an application for or the issuing of any permit under this article constitutes consent for entry and inspection of the officer or his or her appointed agent(s) at all reasonable times.
(Ordinance 996 adopted 5/2/07; 2004 Code, sec. 2.410; Ordinance 1243 adopted 2/6/18)
The permit requirements of this article do not apply to animals kept for scientific purposes by any educational or scientific institution, nor to animals belonging to a licensed circus or animal shows exhibited in the city temporarily, nor to animals or birds kept by the city for exhibition in a public park or zoo, nor to the animals kept at the G. Rollie White Complex or veterinary clinics, nor to animals kept for the purpose of 4-H/FFA youth programs. Such animals or birds, however, shall be kept as not to constitute a public nuisance or a danger to the public health or safety of any person, or group of persons within the city.
(Ordinance 996 adopted 5/2/07; 2004 Code, sec. 2.411; Ordinance 1243 adopted 2/6/18)