Poth passes animal-control ordinance (Texas)

[Rene Allegrini]

Do people really "stake animals along streets or alleyways for purpose of grazing or feeding?"


Poth passes animal-control ordinance
Gabriel Valdez 29.AUG.07

POTH - After several drafts of an animal-control ordinance were considered and rejected, the city council adopted an ordinance on the keeping of animals at its Aug. 20 meeting.

As has become customary at recent Poth City Council meetings, residents expressed their concerns regarding animal control during the time given for citizens input, complaining of animals urinating on their cars and saying they couldn't walk down their own streets for the loose animals in the city.

Mayor Chrystal Eckel discussed the proposed ordinance with the city council before councilmen Darren Dylla, Steven Martinez, Travis Pruski, Rita Serna, and Patrick Skloss approved it by a 5-0 vote. It contains very specific rules by which domestic animals and livestock may be kept.

Cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and poultry may not be kept on a resident's property unless the property is two acres or larger. Meeting this requirement, a minimum of one acre is required for every horse, cow, mule, jack, or jenny, the ordinance states. Four sheep, goats, or laying hens may be kept per acre. Furthermore, no animals may be staked along a street or alleyway for purposes of grazing or feeding.
Roosters, swine, pigs, exotic animals, and wild animals domesticated or otherwise are not to be kept within the city limits.

Acreage and pens must be kept clean and sanitary, the ordinance states.

The ordinance also carries strict language on the inhumane treatment of animals. Cruelty to animals includes beating, underfeeding, overloading, poisoning, and abandonment, among other actions.

Participating or betting in dog fighting, owning property on which dog fighting takes place, attending a dog fight, or in any way causing one dog to fight another is against the ordinance.

Such actions warrant third-degree felony and Class A misdemeanor charges. Attending a fight is a Class C misdemeanor. The only defense the ordinance allows is if the actor caused a dog to fight with another dog to protect livestock, other property, or a person from the other dog, and for no other purpose.

Owners are asked to exercise care with their animals. Sections of the ordinance require control of nuisance animals, the proper retraining of animals, and the confinement of female dogs or cats in heat. This last detail concerns unplanned breeding that has increased the number of free-roaming cats and dogs in Poth.

Any owner who knowingly owns a dog that he knows has engaged in vicious conduct must restrain the dog in a secure kennel or enclosure and have insurance coverage of $100,000 covering bodily injury to an individual caused by the dog.

The ordinance also contains precautions for reporting rabies and quarantining diseased animals and strict guidelines for impoundment. All dogs and cats older than 3 months are to be vaccinated for rabies and wear a tag confirming their vaccination.

Violations of the ordinance will be punished with fines up to $300 for the first offense, $400 for the second, and $1,000 for the third unless otherwise specified in the ordinance. A violation that continues across two days will count as two violations, and a new violation will be counted on each successive day.

Questions about the ordinance should be directed to the Poth City Hall at 830-484-2111.

gvaldez@wcn-online.com
- Wilson County News

http://www.wilsoncountynews.com/defa...tynews&he=.com