[Approved 1-12-2006 by Ch. No. 2796; amended in its entirety 10-26-2006 by Ch. No. 2831]
A.
No person shall own or harbor, within the City of
Pawtucket, any cat over the age of six months which has not been spayed
or neutered, unless such person obtains an "intact" permit issued
by the Animal Control Officer to an individual upon request. Intact
permits shall be issued only for:
B.
An annual fee for an intact permit shall be $100 per
cat and shall be deposited in the City's spay/neuter accounts.
C.
Cats exempted because of medical/health reasons are
not required to pay the intact permit fee.
A.
Any permit issued may be revoked if the Animal Control
Officer has reasonable cause to believe any of the following to be
true:
(1)
The permittee has failed to comply with any condition
or requirement of the permit or has failed to pay any fee imposed
under this article;
(2)
The permittee refuses to allow inspection, upon 48
hours' written notice, of any cat covered by the permit or the premises
on which the animal is kept;
(3)
The permittee has transferred, sold or otherwise disposed
of the cat for which the permit was issued;
(4)
The permittee is in violation of any state health
or safety law or regulation regarding animal care or control;
(5)
The permittee has violated the provisions of Chapter
4-19 of the General Laws of the State of Rhode Island entitled "Animal
Care" or any other state or local ordinances relating to the keeping,
care or use of any animal.
B.
If, after investigation, the Animal Control Officer
concludes that it is probable that one or more of the above grounds
for revocation has occurred, he/she shall cause written notice thereof
to be transmitted by mail to the address of the permittee. Said notice
shall specify the grounds of possible revocation of the permit and
shall specify a date and time for an informal hearing to be held before
an Animal Control Officer. Said date shall be not less than five days
subsequent to the date the notice is mailed. After the informal hearing,
the Animal Control Officer may modify the terns of the permit or revoke
the permit; provided, further, that if the health or well-being of
the animal is in danger, the Animal Control Officer of the City may
take custody and control of the animal until time that a hearing is
conducted pursuant to this section.
A.
The Pawtucket Animal Shelter shall not release, adopt
out, or otherwise transfer with or without a fee any cat that has
not been spayed or neutered unless the adopting party executes a written
agreement with the Pawtucket Animal Shelter to have the cat spayed
or neutered within 30 days of the adoption date or within 30 days
from the date that the cat reaches sexual maturity, with the cost
of such spaying or neutering to be the responsibility of the adopting
party. The written agreement must include the cat's age, sex, and
general description; the date of adoption and the date by which the
cat must be spayed or neutered; the adopting party's name, address,
phone number; and the dollar amount of the deposit remitted. In addition
to executing the written agreement, the adopting party must leave
with the Pawtucket Animal Shelter a deposit to be determined by the
Animal Control Officer, part of which is to be refunded by the Pawtucket
Animal Shelter to the adopting party upon presentation of a written
statement or receipt from a licensed veterinarian of the adopting
party's choice where the cat was spayed or neutered, providing that
the spaying or neutering was performed within the thirty-day period.
Alternatively, the Pawtucket Animal Shelter shall make appropriate
arrangements for the spaying or neutering of the cat by a licensed
veterinarian and have the surgery completed before releasing the cat
to the adopting party.
B.
The following are exemptions from the provision of § 116-49A.
(1)
The Pawtucket Animal Shelter receives a written report
from a licensed veterinarian stating that the life of the cat would
be jeopardized by the surgery and that such health condition is likely
to be permanent.
(2)
The Pawtucket Animal Shelter receives a written report
from a follow-up program to ensure that cats adopted from the Pawtucket
Animal Shelter are spayed or neutered and a licensed veterinarian
stating that there is a temporary health condition, including sexual
immaturity, which would make surgery life-threatening to the cat or
impracticable, in which instance the Pawtucket Animal Shelter shall
grant the adopting party an appropriate extension of time in which
to have the cat spayed or neutered based on the veterinarian's report.
C.
The exemptions provided in Subsection B of this section shall be applicable only if the Pawtucket Animal Shelter receives said written report from a licensed veterinarian within the thirty-day period during which the spaying or neutering would otherwise be required.
D.
If requested to do so, the Pawtucket Animal Shelter
shall refund deposited funds to the adopting party upon reasonable
proof being presented to the Pawtucket Animal Shelter by the adopting
party that the cat died before the expiration of the period during
which the spaying or neutering was required to be completed or if
the animal is returned to the shelter within 30 days of adoption.
A.
Any person or licensed business who provides or offers
to the public, whether or not for compensation, any pet or pet-related
goods, where they are the primary products, or pet services, shall
provide to its clients, at no charge, information relating to pet
care and ownership, including information on City laws pertaining
to animal control.
B.
Any person offering cats for sale or adoption shall
disclose to any purchaser or adoptive owner information regarding
the licensing or permit requirements of the City.
[Amended 5-24-2018 by Ch. No. 3160]
If any cat is abandoned by its owner or any
person having charge or custody of that cat, that person shall, for
each offense, be fined not less than $50 nor exceeding $500.
Any person who violates the permit provisions of this article shall have no more than 30 days to have his/her cat spayed or neutered or provide proof from a licensed veterinarian indicating that arrangements have been made to spay or neuter his/her cat(s). The Animal Control Officer shall inform persons subject to this article of the availability of reduced-cost or free spay/neuter programs available for low-income persons and any programs sponsored by local humane organizations offering low-cost spaying or neutering. If an animal is not spayed or neutered within 30 days of the notice, he or she shall be subject to a fine of $75 for each 30 days the animal is not spayed or neutered. Funds generated pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the spay/neuter accounts of the City to be used to fund low-cost spay/neuter programs in accordance with § 116-53.
A.
All fines collected under § 116-47 and § 116-52 of this article shall be deposited in the City's spay/neuter accounts. Said funds shall be divided equally, with 50% of which to be reserved for the exclusive use of funding a low-cost spay/neuter program for the animals of persons who qualify for one of the following public assistance programs or any other public assistance program as determined by the City's animal control officer:
(1)
Any program that qualifies as public assistance pursuant
to Chapter 40-6 of the General Laws of the State of Rhode Island;
(2)
The food stamp program authorized by Title XIII of
the federal Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, 7 U.S.C. § 2011
et seq.;
(3)
The supplemental security income program authorized
by Title XVI of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381
et seq.;
(4)
The federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Act authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.; or
(5)
The Medicaid program authorized by Title IX of the
federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381.
B.
Persons who are eligible for any of the aforementioned
programs must provide proof that he or she is an eligible person to
the Animal Control Officer of the City to qualify for the low-cost
spay/neuter provisions of this section.
C.
All remaining funds shall be deposited in the City's
spay/neuter account to fund the spaying end neutering of animals currently
residing in the City's animal shelter and to fund low-cost spay/neuter
programs.
