[R.O. 1988 § 5-1; Ord. No. 2203 § 1, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 2247 § 1, 1-5-1981; Ord. No. 2970 § 1, 1-3-1994; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998; Ord. No. 3812 § 1, 7-16-2007]
The following terms as used in this Chapter shall be deemed to have the following meanings:
ANIMAL
Any live vertebrate creature, domestic or wild other than humans.
ANIMAL SHELTER or POUND or DOG POUND
A facility operated by the City for the purpose of impounding or harboring seized, stray, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted animals.
AT LARGE
Any animal shall be deemed to be at large when it is off the property of its owner and not under the control of a responsible person.
CONFINEMENT
"Confinement" or "confined," as used in this Chapter, shall mean constant and continuous, sole and segregated, physical enclosure of the animal.
CONTROL
Under immediate and effective restraint of a responsible person, to include leashes and voice control.
DOG
Any member of the canine family more than six (6) months of age.
EXOTIC OR WILD ANIMAL
Any animal which, when in its wild state, is capable, while at large, of inflicting serious physical harm upon human beings, including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) 
Apes, monkeys and related forms;
(b) 
Poisonous reptiles, amphibians and other poisonous animals, including poisonous spiders and insects;
(c) 
Any deadly or dangerous snake or reptile over eight (8) feet in length;
(d) 
Cats from the wild family, including, but not limited to, bobcats, cheetahs, cougars, jaguars, leopards, lions, lynxes, mountain lions, panthers, pumas, tigers;
(e) 
Non-domesticated, carnivorous animals, including hybrid crosses of non-domesticated carnivorous animals, including, but not limited to, raccoons, opossums, skunks, foxes, coyotes, wolfs, etc.
(f) 
Crocodylia, including, but not limited to, crocodiles and alligators;
(g) 
Piranha fish over four (4) inches in length;
(h) 
Chondrichthyes, including, but not limited to, sharks over twelve (12) inches in length;
(i) 
Struthio, including, but not limited to, ostriches;
(j) 
Proboscidea, including, but not limited to, elephants;
(k) 
Perissodactyla, including, but not limited to, rhinoceros and other animals with an odd number of toes (not horses or donkeys or mules);
(l) 
Artiodactyls, including, but not limited to, camels and other hoofed mammals with an even number of toes (not cattle or swine or sheep or goat);
(m) 
Birds of prey, including, but not limited to, eagles, hawks, falcons, buzzard;
(n) 
Ursidae, all bears;
(o) 
Edentata, including, but not limited to, anteaters, sloths, armadillos;
(p) 
Viverridae, including, but not limited to, mongoose, civets, and genets.
EXPOSED TO RABIES
Any animal whether licensed or vaccinated for rabies or not, which has been bitten by, or fought with, or has come in close contact with an animal showing symptoms of rabies.
KENNEL, COMMERCIAL
Any persons, group of persons or corporations engaged in the commercial business of breeding, buying or selling or boarding dogs and pets.
PUPPY
Any member of the canine family less than six (6) months of age.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-2; Ord. No. 2203 § 2, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998]
It shall be unlawful for any person possessing, owning or otherwise having under their custody or control any domestic or fowl of any kind to permit the same to run at large in or upon any of the streets and public places or upon the land of any person in the City or tether the same in such a way that such animals or fowl may go across or upon any of such places. This Section and Sections 5-3 through 5-6 shall not apply to dogs, cats, or ferrets.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-3; Ord. No. 2203 § 2, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998]
Any domestic animals or fowl found running at large or tied, staked, or pastured in, on or along any street, alley, railroad right-of-way, unenclosed land or public place in the City shall forthwith be taken up by the City and impounded in some secure place to be provided by the City.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-4; Ord. No. 2203 § 2, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998]
It shall be the duty of the City to make diligent search for the owner of any animal or fowl impounded and, when found, to notify them of such impounding; and thereupon such owner may appear at any time before such animal or fowl is sold as provided in the following Section and reclaim such animal or fowl upon payment to the City of the expense and penalties fixed and prescribed.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-5; Ord. No. 2203 § 2, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998]
The City may sell for cash at public sale to the highest bidder all impounded animals not reclaimed by the owner after having first given four (4) days' notice of the time and place of sale and the property to be sold and the cause of sale by printed or written handbills posted at five (5) public places in the City, two (2) of which places shall be the City Hall and county courthouse. Every such sale shall pass title to the purchaser of the animal or fowl sold. The purchaser shall be entitled to receive a certificate of purchase from the Chief of Police.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-9; Ord. No. 2203 § 2; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998]
No person shall keep a cow, bull, mare, horse, goat, or sheep in any residential structure or in an outdoor enclosure or pasture, the exterior boundary of which is within one hundred (100) feet of any residence, business or other such structure intended for human habitation on a permanent or temporary basis. The pen, pasture or enclosure in which such animals are kept shall provide an area of at least nine hundred (900) square feet for each such animal. This Section shall not apply to animals kept in the conduct of commercial enterprise or business at locations where such enterprise or business is permitted. Any such animals kept within the City prior to the effective date of this Chapter shall be permitted to remain in similar number and kind. No hogs, swine, or pigs shall be kept within the City under any conditions.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-11; Ord. No. 2203 § 2, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998]
Every person owning land within the City upon which livestock are kept or permitted to be kept by the landowner or otherwise shall confine or restrict such livestock, fowl, or small animals at all times to such property. Failure to so confine or restrict livestock, fowl, or small animals kept or permitted to be kept in the City shall be an ordinance violation.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-12; Ord. No. 2203 § 2, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998]
Every person keeping or maintaining animals or domestic fowl shall keep the barn, shed, hutch, pen, or yard in which such animals or fowl are kept or maintained in a clean and sanitary condition so that the same will not emit foul or disagreeable odors and shall not permit any concentration of manure.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-13; Ord. No. 2203 § 2, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998]
No person shall, within the City, load, unload or transfer from one (1) vehicle to another vehicle any hogs, sheep, cattle or other livestock or fowl in any public place, street or thoroughfare. No person shall park or stand any vehicle in which hogs, sheep, cattle or other livestock are loaded on any public place, street or thoroughfare or any unenclosed private premises for a longer period than one (1) hour. Nothing continued in this Section shall prohibit loading, unloading or transferring of hogs, sheep, cattle or livestock or fowl at any established and maintained stockyard, slaughterhouse, or sale barn or in any unenclosed building.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-14; Ord. No. 2203 § 2, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998; Ord. No. 3812 § 2, 7-16-2007]
(a) 
No person or corporation shall possess, house, shelter, pen, sell or offer for sale within the limits of the City of Rolla, any exotic animal as follows:
(1) 
Artiodactyls, including, but not limited to, camels and other hoofed mammals with an even number of toes (not cattle or swine or sheep or goat).
(2) 
Birds of prey, including, but not limited to, eagles, hawks, falcons, buzzard.
(3) 
Cats from the wild family, including, but not limited to, bobcats, cheetahs, cougars, jaguars, leopards, lions, lynxes, mountain lions, panthers, pumas, tigers.
(4) 
Chondrichthyes, including, but not limited to, sharks over twelve (12) inches in length.
(5) 
Crocodylia, including, but not limited to, crocodiles and alligators.
(6) 
Edentata, including, but not limited to, anteaters, sloths, armadillos.
(7) 
Hyenas, jaguarundis, margays, ocelots.
(8) 
Non-domesticated, carnivorous animals, including hybrid crosses of non-domesticated carnivorous animals, including, but not limited to, raccoons, opossums, skunks, foxes, coyotes, wolfs, etc.
(9) 
Non-human primates such as apes, monkeys and related forms.
(10) 
Perissodactyla, including, but not limited to, rhinoceros and other animals with an odd number of toes (not horses or donkeys or mules).
(11) 
Piranha fish over four (4) inches in length.
(12) 
Any deadly or dangerous snake or reptile over eight (8) feet long.
(13) 
Poisonous reptiles, amphibians and other poisonous animals, including poisonous spiders and insects.
(14) 
Proboscidea, including, but not limited to, elephants.
(15) 
Struthio, including, but not limited to, ostriches.
(16) 
Ursidae, all bears.
(17) 
Viverridae, including, but not limited to, mongoose, civets, and genets.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for the owner, possessor, or any other person in control of a lot, tract, or parcel of land within City limits or any residence or business premises situated thereon to knowingly permit any other person to be in possession of an exotic animal upon the property, residence or premises.
(c) 
Any animal that is determined by an Animal Control Officer or Police Officer to be an exotic and/or wild animal and is found inside of the City limits of Rolla shall be immediately impounded at the shelter until arrangements can be made to remove the animal from City limits. The owner shall pay a boarding fee as determined by the City Administrator taking into consideration local facilities or transportation to alternative sanctuaries or shelters plus any additional cost incurred by the City in feeding and caring for the animal.
(d) 
Section 5-14 shall not apply to the following:
(1) 
What is commonly known as a "pocket pet," including, but is not limited to, ferrets, guinea pigs, gerbils, mice, hamsters, chinchillas, rabbits, sugar glider, domestic rats and hedgehogs;
(2) 
Non-poisonous reptiles and amphibians, which are commonly considered pets, including, but not limited to green iguanas, chameleons, turtles, frogs, bearded dragons and small snakes, kept in a secure enclosure;
(3) 
Small to large caged birds, including but not limited to parrots, cockatoos, cockatiels;
(4) 
The animal shelter or any agent or official thereof, acting in an official capacity;
(5) 
Any agency or official of the federal, state, or local government, acting in an official capacity;
(6) 
Circuses and performing animal exhibitions with current City exhibitors permit;
(7) 
State universities, other state agencies, medical research facilities, and local schools working with wild or exotic animals for teaching or research purposes only;
(8) 
Licensed veterinarians tending to injured or sick wild and/or exotic animals;
(9) 
Zoological parks and aquariums that are accredited by the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums;
(10) 
Wildlife rehabilitations who are in compliance with City Zoning Code[1] and possess a valid City and State and Federal permit for capture and possession of injured, infirm, orphaned wild animals for the purpose of treatment and release.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 42, Planning and Zoning.
(e) 
The Animal Control Supervisor or Police Chief's designee is authorized to release any endogenous wild and/or exotic animal which has been deemed capable of survival in the wild and approved by an official of the Missouri Department of Conservation.
(f) 
A wild and/or exotic animal possessed or maintained in violation of this Chapter may be subject to euthanasia if any of the following exigent circumstances are deemed to exist by the Animal Control Supervisor or Police Chief's designee and/or any Police Officer:
(1) 
The wild and/or exotic animal presents an imminent likelihood of serious physical harm to the public and there is no other reasonably available means of abatement; or
(2) 
There is no reasonable basis to believe that the violation can be or in good faith will be corrected and after reasonable search or inquiry by the animal control authority no facility as authorized by local, State or Federal law is available to house the exotic animal; or
(3) 
The wild and/or exotic animal suffers from a communicable disease injurious to other animals or human beings; provided that this Section shall not apply if the animal is under treatment by a licensed veterinarian and may reasonably be expected to recover without infecting other animals or human beings.
(g) 
Any wild and/or exotic animal impounded under the provisions of this Article and not reclaimed by the owner within five (5) days may be humanely destroyed by a veterinarian or a qualified person designated by the City by injection of a substance that is considered to be humane, or released to a zoological park or to any other person or agency deemed appropriate.
(h) 
Any person desiring to possess a wild or exotic animal within City limits may apply in writing for an exception to the Animal Control Supervisor or Police Chief's designee. The Animal Control Supervisor or Police Chief's designee will research the possibility of an exception and then forward the request to the Chief of Police and the City Administrator within ten (10) working days. The Chief of Police and the City Administrator shall then be responsible to review the application and within ten (10) working days approve or decline the application. A person desiring to possess a wild or exotic animal which, in the opinion of the Chief of Police and the City Administrator, is prohibited under this Section shall have the right to request a hearing before the City Council. The hearing shall take place at the City Council's next regularly scheduled meeting. The decision of City Council shall be the final decision.
(i) 
In the event a wild or exotic animal escapes from the custody or the owner and/or possessor, the owner and/or possessor shall, upon conviction by a court of the City of Rolla, be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation and shall be fined and/or imprisoned according to the provisions of the General Penalty Code of the City of Rolla (Section 1-7).
(j) 
Conduct made unlawful by this Section of the Code of the City of Rolla constitutes an offense punishable as set forth in Section 1-7 of this Code.
(a) 
A person commits the offense of animal neglect if such person:
(1) 
Have custody or ownership of an animal and fail to provide adequate care; or
(2) 
Knowingly abandons an animal in any place without making provisions for its adequate care.
(b) 
All fines and penalties for a first finding of guilt under this Section may be waived by the court if the person found guilty of animal neglect shows that adequate, permanent remedies for the neglect have been made. Reasonable costs incurred for the care and maintenance of neglected animals may not be waived. This Section shall not apply to the provisions of Section 578.007, RSMo., or Chapter 272, RSMo.
(c) 
In addition to any other penalty imposed by Section 578.009, RSMo., the court may order a person found guilty of animal neglect to pay all reasonable costs and expenses necessary for:
(1) 
The care and maintenance of neglected animals within the person's custody or ownership;
(2) 
The disposal of any dead or diseased animals within the person's custody or ownership;
(3) 
The reduction of resulting organic debris affecting the immediate area of the neglect; and
(4) 
The avoidance or minimization of any public health risks created by the neglect of the animals.
(a) 
A person is guilty of animal trespass if a person having ownership or custody of an animal knowingly fails to provide adequate control for a period equal to or exceeding twelve (12) hours.
(b) 
For a first conviction of animal trespass, each offense shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00). The second and all subsequent convictions shall be punishable by imprisonment or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), or both such fine and imprisonment. All fines for a first conviction of animal trespass may be waived by the court, provided that the person found guilty of animal trespass shows that adequate, permanent remedies for trespass have been made. Reasonable costs incurred for the care and maintenance of trespassing animals may not be waived. This Section shall not apply to the provisions of Section 578.007, RSMo., or Sections 272.010 to 272.370, RSMo.
A person commits the offense of animal abuse if such person:
(a) 
Intentionally or purposely kills an animal in any manner not allowed by or expressly exempted from the provisions of Sections 578.005 to 578.023 and 273.030, RSMo.;
(b) 
Purposely or intentionally causes injury or suffering to an animal; or
(c) 
Having ownership or custody of an animal knowingly fails to provide adequate care which results in substantial harm to the animal.
[1]
Editor's Note: Under certain circumstances this offense can be a felony under state law.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-16; Ord. No. 2203 § 2, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998]
No person shall collect, purchase or solicit dogs, cats, or other domestic animals for resale to serum plants, laboratory supply houses, or for other experimental, research teaching purposes. The provisions of this Section shall not be applicable to pet shops or commercial kennels.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-17; Ord. No. 2203 § 2, 6-10-1980; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998]
No person shall, within the City, kill, wound, injure or capture or attempt to kill, wound, injure or capture any animal or bird; provided, that the owner, tenant or authorized agent of real estate in the City frequented by animals or birds which would deprive the owner of full enjoyment of such property or real estate, may by humane methods, trap such animals or birds. No traps shall be set in any manner that could in any way unreasonably jeopardize the life or health of any person.
[R.O. 1988 § 5-18; Ord. No. 3264 § 2, 9-8-1998; Ord. No. 3448 § 1, 6-4-2001; Ord. No. 4096, 5-20-2013]
Any person wishing to turn in or relinquish unwanted animal(s) may do so by delivering the animal(s) to the Rolla Animal Shelter. An impound fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be assessed per animal to residents residing within the Rolla City limits. An impound fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be assessed per animal to residents of Phelps County, and who do not reside within the Rolla City limits. If the citizen wishes to relinquish a mother and puppies, the puppies must be older than eight (8) weeks of age and a fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) will be assessed. No animals will be accepted outside of Phelps County. In accordance with the Code of State Regulations Title 2, Division 30, any citizen who is the legal owner of an animal or has harbored an animal for three (3) or more consecutive days must have the animal vaccinated by a licensed veterinarian with the anti-rabies serum prior to relinquishing the animal to the Rolla Animal Shelter. A current metallic rabies tag and supporting documentation (proof) must accompany the animal.
Any person in physical possession and control of any animal shall remove excreta or other solid waste deposited by the animal in any public or private area not designated to receive such wastes, including, but not limited to, streets, sidewalks, parking lots, public parks or recreation areas and private property. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to a guide dog accompanying any blind person.