This title shall be known as the animal care and control ordinance of the town and shall be referred to elsewhere herein as “this title”.
(Ordinance 11-19 adopted 2011)
This title is created pursuant to the enabling authority set forth in New Mexico Statutes Annotated (1978) sections 3-18-3, 77-1-15.1 and 77-1-20.
(Ordinance 11-19 adopted 2011)
It is the intent of the council that enactment of this title will:
A.
Protect residents from immediate threat to health or safety;
B.
Regulate, restrain, and prohibit the running at large of animals within the boundary of the town;
C.
Provide for the impounding and disposition of animals found running at large;
D.
Prohibit cruelty to animals;
E.
Promote a rural and animal friendly character within the town; and
F.
Reduce the number of unplanned or unwanted litters of puppies and kittens so as to reduce the large numbers of dogs and cats within the town that are neglected, mistreated, abandoned, or relinquished to shelters.
(Ordinance 11-19 adopted 2011)
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this title is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this title, it being the intent of the council to enact each section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this title separately and independently of each other section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase.
(Ordinance 11-19 adopted 2011)
The council may amend or modify this title in accordance with state statutes, and following a public hearing, due notice of which shall be given by the town.
(Ordinance 11-19 adopted 2011)
Any person who violates a provision of this title shall be deemed guilty of a petty misdemeanor, unless otherwise provided for by state or federal law, and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to the penalty provisions set forth in this title. Each day this title is violated shall be considered a separate offense. When the defendant has been convicted of a crime constituting a petty misdemeanor, the judge shall sentence the person to be imprisoned in the county jail for a definite term not to exceed ninety (90) days or to the payment of a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or to both such imprisonment and fine in the discretion of the judge. The court may exercise discretion to suspend a sentence in whole or in part and place the convicted person on probation for a term that the judge may find just and proper not to exceed one year, conditioned upon the satisfaction of lawful conditions imposed by the court.
(Ordinance 11-19 adopted 2011)