[Amended 8-23-1993 by Ord. No. 4-93-0189]
A. No dog, cat or ferret over three months old shall
be permitted within the Town limits unless such animal has been vaccinated
or immunized against rabies. Any animal vaccinated prior to one year
of age or receiving the primary vaccination at any age shall be given
a booster rabies vaccination one year after, then at intervals not
to exceed every two years thereafter. All ferrets shall be vaccinated
against rabies at yearly intervals.
B. The vaccination or immunization required by this section
shall be by a vaccine approved by the State Department of Health and
shall be certified by a licensed veterinarian. Such certificate shall
be dated as of the date of inoculation or vaccination and shall show
the rabies tag number, the sex and breed of the dog, cat and ferret
and the owner thereof, and whether the vaccine given is the one-year
vaccine or the two-year vaccine, together with such other information
as may reasonably be required by the State Director of Health or the
Veterinarian administering the vaccine.
C. It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep or
harbor any dog, cat or ferret over three months old within the Town
unless such animal has been vaccinated or inoculated in accordance
with the provisions of this section.
It shall be the duty of every physician or other
medical practitioner to report to the Animal Control Officer, at the
Police Department, 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 the Animal Control Officer
to keep or cause to be kept accurate and detailed records of all bite
cases reported to him and his investigation of such cases.
It shall be the duty of every licensed veterinarian
to report to the Animal Control Officer any animal considered by him
to be a rabies suspect.
Any dog that is bitten by a known rabid animal
shall be immediately destroyed or, if the owner is unwilling to destroy
the dog, it shall be strictly isolated in a kennel for six months.
If such dog has been previously vaccinated within the time limits
established by the State Director of Health based on the kind of vaccine
used, revaccination, and restraint by leashing and confinement for
30 days shall be carried out in lieu of the six months' isolation.
The Animal Control Officer shall direct the
disposition of any animal found to be infected with rabies.
No person shall fail or refuse to surrender
any animal for quarantine or destruction as required in this article
when demand is made therefor by the Animal Control Officer.
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 provided in this article,
nor remove such an animal from the Town limits without written permission
from the Animal Control Officer.
The carcass of any dead animal exposed to rabies
shall, upon demand, be surrendered to the Animal Control Officer.
When rabies has been diagnosed in an animal
under quarantine, or when rabies is suspected in such an animal by
a licensed veterinarian, and the animal dies while under such observation,
the Animal Control Officer shall immediately send the head of such
animal to the state department of health for pathological examination,
and shall notify the proper public health officials or officer of
reports of human contacts and the diagnosis.