It is unlawful for the owners or persons having custody of any animal to permit, either willfully or through failure to exercise due care or control, any cruel acts upon said animal. Cruel acts are defined as follows:
A. 
To place, leave or expose, making accessible to animals, any poisonous substance.
B. 
To have, keep, or harbor any animal which is infected with any dangerous or incurable or painfully crippling condition, except as hereinafter provided. All such diseased or crippled animals with an incurable ailment taken into custody by the city shall be transferred to the animal shelter for impoundment. This section shall not apply to animals within veterinary hospitals or under the care of a veterinarian, or having been diagnosed with any common, incurable disease where impoundment or quarantine is not recommended by a doctor of veterinary medicine.
C. 
To fail, refuse or neglect to provide any animal in their charge or custody, as owner or otherwise, with food, drink, and shade or weatherproof housing facilities, or to carry or restrain any animal in or upon any vehicle in a cruel or inhumane manner.
D. 
To willfully or maliciously kill, maim, disfigure, tease, torture, beat with a stick, chain, club or other object, mutilate, burn, scald with any substance, over-drive or otherwise cruelly set upon any animal, except that a reasonable force may be employed to drive off vicious or trespassing animals.
E. 
To promote, stage, hold, manage, conduct, carry on or attend any game, exhibition, contest, or fight in which one or more animals are engaged for the purpose of injuring, killing, maiming or destroying themselves or any other animal or person.
F. 
No person or business shall give away any live vertebrate animal as a prize for, or as an inducement to enter, any contest, game or other competition, or as an inducement to enter a place of amusement or offer such vertebrate animal as an incentive to enter into any business agreement whereby the offer was for the purpose of attracting trade.
G. 
No person shall keep upon any premises any animals including, without limitation, any fowl or household pets in a foul, offensive, obnoxious, filthy or unsanitary condition.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
A. 
Any person owning or having charge, custody, care or control of any animal (except cats) kept or harbored in the city shall confine such animal exclusively upon such owner's premises, except when otherwise properly restrained as hereinafter provided.
B. 
No person shall allow or permit any animal (except cats) to run at large or be pastured, herded, staked, or tied in or on any public alley, street, sidewalk, vacant lot, school grounds, or other public place belonging to or under the control of the city or in such a way as to trespass in any manner upon any of the aforesaid public places.
C. 
No person shall permit any animal (except cats) to be at large or to go or be upon the premises owned or occupied by any other person in the city without said person's consent.
D. 
All dogs shall be kept under restraint at all times. All unrestrained dogs will be considered running at large, except:
1. 
Assistance dogs while performing their duties;
2. 
Dogs participating in field or obedience trials or exhibitions;
3. 
Dogs assisting a security or police officer engaged in law enforcement activities;
4. 
Dogs being trained on private land with permission of the landowner, so long as the dogs are under the direct control of such individuals to assure they do not violate any other provision or law;
5. 
At designated areas of designated parks within the city that contain a "dog park."
E. 
Any animal (except cats) permitted to be at large or trespassing upon private premises or public property in violation of this section shall be deemed prima facie to be under the control of the owner and declared to be a nuisance and menace to public health and safety, and shall be seized and impounded as provided in this title.
F. 
Owners shall exercise proper care and control of their animals (except cats) and will prevent them from becoming a public nuisance, molesting passersby, chasing vehicles, repeatedly attacking other domestic animals, and trespassing upon private property in such manner as to damage property. Failure to comply shall be deemed a nuisance.
G. 
A nuisance will exist as a result of the keeping or maintaining, or permitting to be kept or maintained, upon any premises owned, occupied, or controlled by any person of any animal or animals, which by any frequent or long continued noise shall cause annoyance or discomfort to two or more reasonable persons of normal sensitiveness who reside in separate residences (including apartments and condominiums). However, an animal control officer may proceed on the basis of a complaint of only one person, if circumstances are determined to exist whereby a noise disturbance caused by an animal affects only one individual. Any noise caused by an animal which is audible continuously for 10 minutes, or intermittently for 30 minutes, shall be prima facie evidence of such annoyance or discomfort. Factors which can be used to evaluate excessive animal noise include, but are not limited to: (1) pitch; (2) pattern; (3) frequency of occurrence; and (4) loudness.
H. 
Every female dog or cat in heat shall be confined in a building or secure enclosure in such manner that such female dog or cat cannot come into contact with another animal, except for planned breeding purposes.
I. 
No person shall keep or permit to be kept on their premises any wild, exotic, or vicious animal for display or for exhibition purposes, whether gratuitously or for a fee. This section shall not be construed so as to apply to a zoological garden, commercial animal establishment, theatrical exhibit or circus as defined in Section 6.04.010, except that no theatrical exhibit or act shall be held in which animals are encouraged to perform through the use of chemical, electrical, or mechanical devices.
J. 
No person shall keep or permit to be kept any wild animal as a pet.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
A. 
Wherever any animal control officer or peace officer finds a public nuisance to exist within the meaning of this chapter, they shall notify the owner of the animal by registered mail or in person that the owner shall either abate said nuisance within 10 days or show cause why said nuisance should not be summarily abated.
B. 
If said nuisance is not abated and no show of cause is made, the animal control officer may then issue a citation to the owner of the animal or may impound the animal which is creating the nuisance. Any animal so impounded shall be taken to the animal shelter designated by the city.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
It is unlawful for the owner of a dog to allow or permit the dog to habitually or repeatedly attack pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles or other users of the public highways.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
In addition to household pets, no person shall allow or permit any other animals or fowl, except cats, to run at large upon any public street or place, or to trespass upon the property of another. This provision shall not be construed as permitting the running at large of any household pets who are restricted by the provisions of this title, or by any law applicable thereto.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
Ducks and pigeons are considered migratory animals and shall not, except as otherwise allowed by this municipal code, be fed on private or public property. No habitat designed to attract ducks and/or pigeons onto private or public property are to be placed on private or public property in any zone in the city, without a permit for the erection of the habitat.
Ducks may be fed at city parks that have a pond or similar water feature used by fowl.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
It is unlawful for any person to suffer or permit any dog, cat or other animal owned, harbored or controlled by him or her, to inflict upon any human being a bite that penetrates the skin while the person bitten is on any public place, or legally upon any private property. The person bitten may request the animal control officer to initiate criminal proceedings against such other person by submitting a signed, written complaint.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
It shall be unlawful for any individual or entity to bring, have, keep, or maintain, within the city, at any time, any swarm or swarms, colony or colonies of bees, llamas, roosters, pigeons, turkeys, peafowl, waterfowl, ostriches and other ratitae birds, or livestock on any premises within the city that have not been zoned for agricultural use; provided however, the keeping of livestock shall be allowed at special events approved by the city, including, without limitation, the Kings County Fair and parades. The term "swine" as used in this section does not include pot-bellied pigs harbored in accordance with restrictions related to noise or sanitation as provided under this chapter.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
Any bees, llamas, swine, roosters, peafowl, ostriches and other ratitae birds and livestock so brought, had, kept or maintained, within the city, shall be and constitute a public nuisance; and it is made the duty of animal control officers and their designees to abate any such nuisance by removing or causing the same to be removed from the city; provided, however, if the public's safety is endangered, in the reasonable judgment of an animal control officer, and removal from the city is not feasible, animal control officers and their designees will possess the authority to have destroyed any bees, llamas, swine, chickens, roosters, peafowl, ostriches and other ratitae birds or livestock had, kept or maintained within the city. The term "swine" as used in this section does not include pot-bellied pigs harbored in accordance with restrictions related to noise or sanitation as provided under this chapter.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
A. 
Except as provided in subsection B of this section, removal and disposal of dead animals from public property will be done by the animal control officer.
B. 
Removal and disposal of dead animals from private property within the city will be done upon request of the owner, occupant or resident of the property. The fee for this service shall be set by resolution of the city council. The owner or person in charge of any dead animal shall pay the fee. The animal control officer shall not be required to remove and dispose of dead dogs from state highways or from state property or federal property within the city.
C. 
Upon learning that the body of a dead animal has not been disposed of in a safe and sanitary manner, the animal control officer shall remove and dispose of said carcass immediately.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
The owners of any animal shall be responsible for the removal of any excreta deposited by their animal(s) on public walks, recreation areas, or private property.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no guide dog trained to aid the blind, deaf or disabled shall be confined, impounded, or destroyed in the absence of evidence that such dog has been exposed to rabies unless the master of such dog:
A. 
Fails to keep the dog safely confined to the premises of the master; or
B. 
Fails to keep the dog available for examination at all reasonable times; or
C. 
Fails to keep the dog vaccinated against rabies; or
D. 
Fails to keep the dog licensed.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
It is unlawful for any person to abandon any animal within the city. In addition to any fines imposed by law, any person violating this section shall bear the full costs and expenses incurred by the city in the care of said abandoned animal and shall reimburse to the city all said costs and expenses as determined by the city's department of finance.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
It is unlawful for any person to willfully or maliciously torture, tease, torment, beat, kick, strike, mutilate, injure, disable or kill any dog used by the city, or any other law enforcement agency engaged in mutual aid assistance to the city, or the designated handlers of such animals, while any such dog is in the performance of the functions or duties of the police department or other law enforcement agency, or to willfully interfere with or obstruct any such dog while it is being used in the performance of any of the duties or functions of the police department or other law enforcement agency.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
No provisions of this chapter shall be construed to allow any act made unlawful by any general law of the state of California, but said chapter is intended to be supplemental thereto.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)
The city council may, by resolution or order, establish rates or charges for services provided or licenses issued under the provisions of this title.
(Ord. 20-05 § 1, 2020)