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)
