[Adopted 9-19-1978 by Res. No. 318-78]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any cat of any sex and of any age, unless otherwise indicated
herein.
Any one or more persons, corporations, partnerships or associations,
or any entity capable of being sued or prosecuted, who or which owns
any animal or has custody of a minor owning any animal.
The unincorporated area of the Town of Cortlandt.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of every
owner of any cat to exercise and maintain such care and control over
it that it does not become a nuisance, as set forth in this article,
within the confines of the Town.
A cat shall become a nuisance whenever it shall
engage in or commit any of the following actions within the confines
of the Town:
A.
Injure or threaten injury to persons or other domestic
animals or birds.
B.
Injure property, including lawns, flowers, shrubs
and trees.
C.
Upset or otherwise interfere with garbage receptacles.
D.
Be found in any commercial establishment without the
consent or permission of the owner thereof.
E.
Be kept or placed by its owner under cruel, unsanitary
or otherwise inhumane conditions, or be abandoned by its owner.
F.
Defecate, urinate, dig or otherwise damage property
other than the property of the owner.
G.
Engage in loud or habitual crying or whining or conduct
itself in such a manner as to unreasonably and habitually disturb
the comfort or repose of any person other than the owner of such cat.
A.
Any person who observes or has knowledge of a cat
violating any provision of this article may file a signed complaint,
under oath, with the Dog Warden of the Town specifying the objectionable
conduct of the cat and the name and address, if known, of the owner
or other person harboring said cat.
B.
Upon receipt by the Dog Warden of any such complaint,
or in the event that any cat is found by the Dog Warden to be in violation
of any provision of this article, the Dog Warden shall, if possible,
seize and take into custody said cat and, in any event, issue or deliver
to the owner of said cat an appearance ticket detailing the violations
and instructing the owner to appear before the Town Court of the Town
of Cortlandt or to answer such appearance ticket by registered or
certified mail, return receipt requested, within five days of the
date of such violation. If said appearance ticket is disregarded by
such person, the Dog Warden or complainant may file an information
with said Court, which Court may then issue a warrant for the arrest
of such person.
C.
Any person thereafter convicted of a violation of
this article shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $250 or up
to 15 days in jail or by a civil penalty not exceeding $1,000.
[Amended 8-17-1993 by L.L. No. 2-1993]
Any cat found in violation of this article will
be seized by the Dog Warden of the Town of Cortlandt, and the owner,
in order to obtain possession of the cat, must pay a fine and per
diem expenses incurred in the keeping of said cat. The expense shall
be in such amounts as follows:
A.
On the first pickup of any cat, a fine of $25 for
the release of said cat, if said cat is released at the Town's holding
area at Arlo, said fine to be paid to the Town Clerk of the Town of
Cortlandt; or, if released at the Society of the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals (SPCA), a fine of $25 plus per diem expenses shall be paid
to the SPCA, which shall reimburse the Town of Cortlandt on a monthly
basis for the fines so collected. The per diem expenses shall be retained
by the SPCA.
B.
On the second pickup of the cat, a fine of $50 for
the release of said cat, if said cat is released at the Town's holding
area of Arlo, said fine to be paid to the Town Clerk of the Town of
Cortlandt; or, if released at the SPCA, a fine of $50 shall be paid,
plus existing per diem expenses. In turn, the SPCA shall reimburse
the Town of Cortlandt on a monthly basis for the fines so collected,
but shall retain the per diem expenses.
