Town of Huntington, NY Article V Prohibited Animals

[Added 4-24-2007 by L.L. No. 12-2007; amended 12-14-2010 by L.L. No. 30-2010]

§ 78-30 Prohibition and Exemptions

(A) No person shall knowingly own, possess, harbor or maintain a wild or dangerous animal as set forth in § 11-0103(6)(e) of the Environmental Conservation Law, and any amendment or successor law.

(B) The provisions of this Article shall not apply to any duly-licensed and established research facility; animal or veterinary health care facility; zoo; circus; wildlife exhibit; animal show or other amusement or event for which a valid permit has been obtained; or for the transportation of such animals to or through the Town for participation in the activities delineated under this section.

§ 78-31 through § 78-32. (Reserved)

§ 78-33 Seizure of Animals.

Any police officer, peace officer or animal control officer is authorized to seize any animal owned, possessed, harbored, maintained or running at large in violation of this Article. Every animal seized shall be properly fed and cared for.

§ 78-34 Penalties for Violations.

[Amended 8-12-2016 by L.L. No. 36-2016; 11-6-2019 by L.L. No. 56-2019]

(A) Any person found guilty of an offense against any provision of this article shall be subject to a fine of not less than five hundred ($500.) dollars for each animal nor more than five thousand ($5,000.) dollars for a conviction of a first offense; upon conviction of a second offense committed within five years of the first offense, a total fine of not less than one thousand ($1,000.) dollars nor more than ten thousand ($10,000.) dollars; and upon conviction of a third or subsequent offense committed within five (5) years of the first offense, said offense shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than one thousand five hundred ($1,500.) dollars nor more than fifteen thousand ($15,000.) dollars, or imprisonment not to exceed six (6) months or both. Any person found by the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication to have violated this article shall likewise be subject to a monetary penalty in an amount within the range of fines authorized herein for a first offense and subsequent offenses, respectively.

[Amended 9-14-2021 by L.L. No. 50-2021]

(B) In addition to the criminal and civil penalties set forth herein or in other applicable law, rule or regulation, the Town Attorney is authorized to pursue civil and equitable relief in the name of the Town in a court of competent jurisdiction, including but not limited to compensatory actions; civil penalties in the amount of up to five hundred ($500.) dollars per day, or part thereof; an action to compel compliance with or to restrain by injunction the violation of this article; and other remedies which in the opinion of the Town Attorney may seem necessary and proper. Any civil monetary penalty awarded may be added to the tax bill of the property where the violation has occurred and shall be collected in the same manner.