A.
Every animal which bites a person or animal shall be promptly reported
to the Animal Control Warden, shall thereupon be securely quarantined
at the direction of the Animal Control Warden as set forth in the
State of Rhode Island Manual for Rabies Management and Protocols,
and shall not be released from such quarantine except by written permission
of the Animal Control Warden. At the discretion of the Animal Control
Warden, such quarantine may be on the premises of the owner, at the
Town animal shelter (at the owner's expense) with the sum of
$50 for impoundment, and $15 per day the animal is secured at the
animal shelter, or (at the owner's option and expense) in an
approved veterinary hospital of choice. In the case of stray animals,
or in the case of animals whose ownership is not known, such quarantine
shall be at a shelter designated by the Animal Control Officer.
B.
The animal owner, upon demand by the Animal Control Officer, shall forthwith surrender any animal which has bitten a human, or which is suspected as having been exposed to rabies, for supervised quarantine, the expense of which shall be borne by the owner. Said animal may be reclaimed by the owner if it is adjudged free of rabies, and upon payment of fees set forth in § 126-30.
C.
When rabies has been diagnosed in an animal under quarantine, or
rabies suspected by a licensed veterinarian, and the animal dies while
under such observation, the Animal Control Warden shall immediately
send the head of such animal to the State Health Department for a
pathological examination and shall notify the proper public Health
Officer of reports of human contacts and the diagnosis.
D.
When one or both reports indicate a positive diagnosis of rabies,
the Animal Control Warden shall recommend an area-wide quarantine
for a period of 90 days, and upon invoking of such emergency quarantine,
no animal shall be taken into the streets, or permitted to be in the
streets, during such period of quarantine. During such quarantine,
no animal may be taken or shipped from the Town without written permission
of the Animal Control Warden. During this quarantine period, and as
long afterward as necessary to prevent the spread of rabies, the Health
Officer shall require all dogs three months of age and older to be
vaccinated against rabies with a canine rabies vaccine approved by
the Biologics Control Section of U.S. Department of Agriculture. The
types of approved canine anti-rabies vaccine to be used and the recognized
duration of immunity for each shall be established by the Health Officer.
All vaccinated dogs shall be restricted (leashing or confinement on
enclosed premises) for 30 days after vaccination. During the quarantine
period, the Health Officer shall be empowered to provide for a program
of mass immunization by the establishment of temporary emergency canine
rabies vaccination clinics strategically located throughout the Town.
Any animal which has been impounded by reason of its being a stray,
unclaimed by its owner, is allowed to be claimed during the period
of the rabies emergency quarantine, by special authorization of the
Health Officer and the Animal Control Warden.
E.
Dogs or cats exposed to wildlife shall be immediately destroyed,
or, if the owner is unwilling to destroy the exposed animal, shall
be quarantined or strictly confined as set forth in the State of Rhode
Island Manual for Rabies Management and Protocols to include the above-mentioned
fees for quarantine at the animal shelter.
F.
In the event there are additional positive cases of rabies occurring
during the period of the quarantine, such period of quarantine may
be extended for an additional six months.
G.
No person shall kill, or cause to be killed, any rabid animal, any
animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies, or any animal biting
a human, except as herein provided; nor remove any such animal from
the Town limits without written permission from the Animal Control
Warden.
H.
The carcass of any dead animal exposed to rabies shall, upon demand,
be surrendered to the Animal Control Warden.
I.
The Animal Control Warden shall direct the disposition of any animal
found to be infected with rabies.
J.
No person shall fail or refuse to surrender any animal for quarantine
or destruction as required herein when demand is made therefor by
the Animal Control Warden.
It shall be the duty of every physician or other medical practitioner
to report to the Animal Control Warden the names and addresses of
persons treated for bites inflicted by animals, together with such
other information as will be helpful in rabies control.
It shall be the duty of every licensed veterinarian to report
to the Animal Control Warden any animal considered to be a rabies
suspect.
No dog or cat over four months old shall be permitted within
the Town limits unless such dog or cat shall have been vaccinated
or immunized in the manner set forth in this article within a period
of 12 months, if such dog or cat shall have been vaccinated or immunized
with the one-year vaccine; or within a period of 36 months, if such
dog or cat shall have been vaccinated or immunized by the three-year
vaccine.
The vaccination or immunization referred to in § 126-39 shall be a vaccine approved by the State Department of Health and shall be certified to by a licensed veterinarian. Such certificate shall be dated as of the date of inoculation or vaccination, shall show the rabies tag number, the sex and breed of dog and the owner thereof, and whether the vaccine given is the one-year vaccine or the three-year vaccine, together with such other information as may reasonably be required by the Health Officer or the veterinarian administering the same.
No license shall be issued for any dog required to be licensed
in the Town unless the person making application therefor shall first
present the person duly authorized to issue such license a current
certificate of vaccination or inoculation, as provided in this article,
for the dog for which the license is requested. Such certificate shall
certify that the dog for which the license is to be issued has been
properly vaccinated or inoculated in accordance with the provisions
of this article.
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep or harbor any
dog over six months old within the Town, unless such dog shall have
been vaccinated or inoculated in accordance with the provisions of
this article.
A.
Any dog over six months old found within the limits of the Town without evidence that such dog has been vaccinated or inoculated in accordance with the provisions of this article shall be impounded by any police officer of the Town or other authorized person for a period not exceeding seven days, during which time such dog may be returned to its owner upon proof of ownership, vaccination of the dog and payment by such owner of the fees provided in § 126-30 hereof.
