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Editor’s note–Former chapter pertaining to animals, was amended in its entirety by Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024. Prior to the amendment, this chapter derived from the following: Ordinance 1076 adopted 2/4/2020 and Ordinance 1253 adopted 2/7/2023.
The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this chapter except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Abuse
means to mistreat through intent to abuse or reckless neglect of any animal in a manner that causes or is likely to cause stress or physical injury or as otherwise stated in this chapter.
Animal
means any living, vertebrate creature, domestic or wild, other than homo sapiens.
Animal control division, animal control authority, or animal control officer
means the animal control division of the city's police department, the department's animal control officers, and police officers. The terms also include code enforcement officers designated by the city to perform animal control enforcement and duties.
Animal shelter
means a public or private facility designated by the city council for the purpose of impounding, quarantining, safekeeping, or controlling and caring for animals held under the authority of this chapter.
Animal welfare group
means an association or nonprofit corporation who has as one of its purposes providing for the welfare and/or protection of animals of any kind.
Cat
means the male and the female of any domesticated member of the feline species of animal.
Chapter or this chapter
means chapter 5 of the city, code.
Chief of police
means the chief of police or the chief of police's designee responsible for the administration of this chapter.
City
means the City of Kyle, Texas.
Code
means the Kyle, Texas, Code of Ordinances.
Day
means a workday including Saturday and excluding Sunday and city holidays.
Distance between structures
where a minimum setback or distance between any enclosures for an animal from a residence is required, means the most direct line distance between the two structures unless otherwise provided.
Dog
means the male and the female of any domesticated member of the canine species of animal.
Domestic animal
means any animal whose physiology has been determined or manipulated through selective breeding and does not occur naturally in the wild; any animal which can be vaccinated against rabies with approved rabies vaccine; and any animal which has an established rabies quarantine observation period.
Exotic species
means any animal or reptile, fish, or bird, born or whose natural habitat is considered to be outside the continental United States, including nonvenomous reptiles and fish.
Fish
means any of the cold-blooded animals that extract oxygen from water through the use of gills.
Governmental entity
means an agency or political subdivision of the state or an agency or department of the federal government.
Harbor
means to possess while in the act of keeping and caring for an animal; or of providing a location to which the animal returns for food, shelter, or care for a period of three days or longer.
Keep, keeping, or kept
means the care and control of animals for a period of longer than five days.
Livestock
means cattle, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, miniature livestock, exotic livestock, including elk and elk hybrids, and hogs, unless otherwise defined.
Local rabies control authority or authority
means the person designated by the city council to carry out the duties of the appointment per V.T.C.A., Texas Health and Safety Code ch. 826, as amended.
Microchip
means a small, electronic chip enclosed in a glass cylinder that is about the same size as a grain of rice. It is activated by a scanner that is passed over the area, the chip then transmits the identification number to the scanner, and the number is then displayed on the screen of the scanner. The device is implanted by a licensed veterinarian, by a person duly authorized and supervised by a licensed veterinarian, or by a person duly and professionally trained in the procedure.
Neutered
means any animal, male or female rendered incapable of breeding or being bred, through for example, castration or orchiectomy in the male and spaying or ovariohysterectomy in the female.
Owner or presumed owner
means any person who has purchased, adopted, or who owns, keeps, maintains harbors or has care, custody or control of one or more animals. Ownership may be determined by identifying an adult resident of the premises upon which the animal is kept, maintained, harbored, or otherwise resides and such adult shall constitute the owner of the animal upon such premises. Each actual adult resident of the premises shall be the owner or presumed owner and charged with responsibility for the animals thereon maintained or harbored.
Person
means and includes an individual human, partnership, co partnership firm, company, limited liability partnership or other such company, joint venture, joint stock company, trust, estate, government entity, association or corporation or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where indicated by context.
Poison
means a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy animal life or impair animal health.
Policy
means the policies and procedures adopted consistent with this chapter and applicable to the animal control division of the city's police department.
Premises
mean a definite portion of a legal lot of real estate or land, together with any appurtenances or buildings.
Public place
means any places open to the public and to which the public has access. It shall include, but is not limited to, shops, stores, outdoor locations, markets, and flea markets. A commercial animal enterprise open to the public or to which the public has access is a public place under this definition.
Residence
means any place of human habitation at any time, day, or night, including, but not limited to, any single-family or multifamily dwelling, church, school, convalescent center, or nursing home.
Stray animal (including estray)
means any animal, of which there is no identifiable owner or presumed owner, which is found to be at-large within the city limits.
Tag
means a vaccination tag attached to a collar as required by this chapter or some other permanent identifying device attached to a collar or an animal for purposes of identification of an animal.
Tattoo
means a permanent mark which is made on the skin of an animal by puncturing the skin and inserting indelible color, and which is used to show ownership. Tattoo also means a permanent mark used by a licensed veterinarian to identify that an animal has been neutered.
Undeveloped property
means any property that is not improved or under improvement for human use or occupancy, including property developed as a street or highway, or used for a commercial or agricultural purpose.
Vaccination or rabies vaccination
means the inoculation of an animal with a rabies vaccination that is licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture for use in that species and which is administered according to the label's directions by a licensed veterinarian for the purpose of immunizing the animal against rabies.
Veterinarian
means any person duly licensed to practice veterinary medicine by the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners or successor authority, or who is exempt from such licensing.
Zoning ordinance
means this city code, chapter 53.
Zoological park or zoo
means any facility, other than a pet shop or kennel, displaying or exhibiting one or more species of animals, operated by a person or under the auspices of a governmental entity.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
(a) 
It is the intent and purpose of this chapter to:
(1) 
Protect the public health, safety, and welfare within the city for both animals and people;
(2) 
To provide regulations by which the transmission of rabies to human beings and domestic animals can be prevented and controlled;
(3) 
Affirm that while a person may own and keep animals within the city, the conduct of those animals and the conditions that the animals are kept in should be safe and healthy and should not infringe on the surrounding homes and their inhabitants; and
(4) 
To encourage responsible animal ownership.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
(a) 
A person who violates or fails to comply with any requirement or provision of this chapter within the city limits shall be deemed guilty of an offense and may be assessed a fine not to exceed $500.00. Such penalty shall be in addition to all the other remedies provided in this chapter. Each day the violation exists constitutes a separate offense.
(b) 
A person commits an offense if, with intent to deceive, he knowingly makes a false report or statement, either verbal or written, that is material to an investigation of an alleged violation of this chapter to an animal control officer, police officer, or other person authorized to enforce provisions of this chapter.
(c) 
A person commits an offense if the person reports to a person authorized to enforce provisions of this chapter an offense or incident within that person's concern knowing that the offense or incident did not occur.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
(a) 
The provisions of this chapter may be enforced by animal control officers, police officers, and such other persons designated by the city. Nothing herein is intended to or shall preempt any statutory duty or authority of any federal, state, or local entity or official charged with animal control, estray, control or impoundment, or other animal related matters.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to:
(1) 
Interfere with, obstruct, resist or oppose any animal control officer or other person authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter while such person is apprehending an animal or performing any other duties or investigation;
(2) 
Take or attempt to take an animal from an animal control officer or from a vehicle used by the officer to transport an animal;
(3) 
Take or attempt to take an animal from the animal shelter or other kennel or confinement area used to impound an animal.
(4) 
Remove, alter, damage or otherwise tamper with a trap or equipment belonging to or set out by the animal control division.
(5) 
Break into, open, pull down the enclosure of or make any opening into the animal shelter or any enclosure belonging to or used by the city to impound or keep animals.
(6) 
Turn out or release, cause to be turned out or released, or aid and abet the turning out or release of any animal from the animal shelter, from an impoundment vehicle or from an enclosure used by the city for the impoundment of animals.
(c) 
In all instances of a violation of any provision of this chapter, whether the animal is impounded or not, the owner or person keeping the animal may be cited by an officer who has the authority to enforce this chapter for any violation of this chapter. The animal control division may adopt a policy establishing a conditional written warning procedure relating to registrations, displaying of tags, and general "at-large" violations. The receipt of such written warnings does not preclude the animal control division from citing the recipient if the conditions of the written warning are not met in a timely fashion.
(d) 
In the enforcement of this chapter, properly trained or licensed representatives of the animal control division shall have the authority to utilize firearms to kill or otherwise disable an animal to protect the animal from enduring further pain or suffering as a result of disease or injury. The authorized representatives shall also have the authority to tranquilize or trap any animal, fowl, livestock, or wildlife consistent with humane policies adopted by the animal control division.
(e) 
Unless specifically provided in this chapter, an offense under this chapter shall not require a culpable mental state. It is the intent of this chapter to impose strict liability for violation of the requirements of this chapter.
(f) 
To aid in the administration of this chapter, the animal control division shall by policy making authority of the chief of police, adopt administrative policies and operational procedures consistent with the purpose and intent of this chapter. The form of notices required in this chapter shall be provided for by policy.
(g) 
In the event that a violation of this chapter is occurring and is not observed by an animal control officer, police officer, or designee, a person may report the violation by completing a citizen complaint form. By completing the form, a complainant represents the following:
(1) 
The complaint form is completed voluntarily, truthfully, and accurately by the complainant, signed and then submitted to municipal court.
(2) 
The complainant agrees to testify if the case proceeds to trial with municipal court.
(3) 
The complainant agrees to provide evidence of the violation, such as photographs, audio or video recordings, or supporting documents, to municipal court along with the complaint form.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
(a) 
Any person who finds an animal running at-large on the person's own property, property over which the person exercises control, or on public property may take control of the animal (as provided in section 5-103) and may deliver the animal to an animal control officer, the animal shelter, or an animal emergency medical facility, the person must report the action taken to an animal control officer or the animal shelter within 24 hours.
(b) 
The animal shall be surrendered to the animal control division or animal shelter if the person feels the animal has been neglected or cruelly treated and the animal's condition may require enforcement for violations of this chapter. The person shall advertise the found animal in the local newspaper lost and found section and with the lost and found page for the animal shelter. If the animal is wearing a tag of any kind or has a tattoo, brand, or other identifying mark, that information shall be included in the report to the animal control officer or animal shelter. If the owner of the animal is located, the owner shall report to the animal control division or the animal shelter that the animal has been returned. If there is a disagreement as to the validity of any claim of ownership regarding a found animal, the animal must be taken to an animal control officer or the animal shelter. The animal control officer or the animal shelter will hold the animal until ownership can be determined, at which point the animal will be returned to the owner or to the person who found the animal in the discretion of the animal control officer or the animal shelter.
(c) 
The cost associated with the animal's care shall be the responsibility of the person that found the animal while under their care.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
In a prosecution charging a violation of this chapter proof the particular property described in the complaint was the premises upon which the animal resided, was harbored or maintained proof the defendant named in the complaint was at the time of alleged violation the registered owner of the animal or proof the person with legal rights to reside on premises was the owner or presumed owner of the animal, is admissible and shall constitute prima facie evidence that the person failed to comply with this chapter.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
Whenever any premises where animals are kept in unsanitary conditions, or the facilities are not in keeping with provisions of this chapter or any other regulations herein, the animal control division, by written notice clearly stating the intent of this section, to the person responsible for the condition of the premises, may order the abatement of the conditions which are not in accordance with the ordinance or other regulations, or conditions which constitute a nuisance by police department policy. Failure to comply with such order shall, in addition to any criminal or administrative proceedings, be grounds for and entitle the city to obtain relief by injunction, nothing herein precludes the city's use of any public health ordinance or law in lieu of nuisance abatement or injunctive relief herein provided.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)