HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 6409 r
ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 7 OF THE FORT
WORTH CITY CODE (1964) WHICH CHAPTER REGU-
LATES ANIMALS AND FOWL IN THE CITY OF FORT
WORTH BY DEFINING TERMS; PRESCRIBING MINI-
MUM AREAS FOR DOGS KEPT IN ENCLOSURES; MAK-
ING IT UNLAWFUL TO KEEP WILD ANIMALS IN THE
CITY EXCEPT IN PROPER CAGES; INCREASING
POUNDAGE FEES; MAKING THIS ORDINANCE CU-
MULATIT..'F OF PRIOR ORDINANCES; REPEALING
ALL ORDINANCES AND PROVISIONS OF THE CITY
CODE IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING A
SEVERABILTTY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY
AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
WORTH, TEXAS:
SECTION 1<
That Section 7-1 of Chapter 7 of the Fort Worth City
Code (1964) as amended is hereby further amended and, after
having been so further amended, shall hereafter read as
follows:
"Section 7-1. Definitions.
"The following words, when used in this
Chapter; except where otherwise provided, shall
have the meanings respectively ascribed to them
in this Section.
"The term 'wild animals' shall mean animals
which are usually not domestic animals and shall
include but not be limited to lions, tigers,
leopards, panthers, bears, wolves, alligators,
crocodiles, apes, foxes, elephants, rhinoceroses,
buffalo, poisonous reptiles and other like animals.
"The term 'domesticated animals' shall mean
dogs, cats horses, cows sheep, goats, mules,
jacks 3ennets and bmall birds if same have been
reclaimed from the wild state and if the growth
and propogation thereof have been brought under
the control of man and if the products or serv-
ices thereof have been converted to the advantage
and purposes of man,
"The term 'mistreat' shall mear, and include
every act or omission whereby unjustifiable pain,
suffering or death is caused or permitted.
f
"The terms 'Director of Public Health' and
'Health Officer' shall be synonomous with 'Direc-
tor of the Department of Public Health' and shall
mean the individual appointed to such office under
the City Charter."
SECTION 2.
That Section 7-2 of Chapter 7 of the Fort Worth City
Code (1964) as amended is hereby further amended and, after
having been so further amended, shall hereafter read as
follows:
"Sec. 7-2. Cruelty to animals, sale of baby
chicks, etc.
" (a) Generally. It shall be unlawful for
any person willfully or wantonly to kill, maim,
wound, disfigure, poison, or cruelly and unmer-
cifully beat or abuse any animal, or to override,
overdrive, overload or in any other manner mis-
treat such animal or to fail to provide the same
with proper food, drink or shelter, or to drive
or work or otherwise use any such animal when the
same is maimed wounded, sick or otherwise unfit
for work or to willfully abandon any such animal
to die, or to leave the same tied up or confined
without proper food and care. When fenced yards
or enclosed pens are provided for the keeping of
dogs, an area of at least 100 square feet of en-
closed pen or yard shall be provided for each dog.
"This section is not to be construed to pre-
vent police officers, the poundmaster or his as-
sistants from killing dogs when entitled so to do
by the statutes of the state or by any ordinance
of the city.
" (b) Sale of baby chicks, etc., as pets or
novelties prohibited. It shall be unlawful for
any person to sell, offer for sale, barter or give
away baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl, rabbits
or hamsters as novelties, whether or not dyed,
colored or otherwise artificially treated; pro-
vided, however, that this section shall. not be
construed to prohibit the display or sale of
natural chicks, ducklings or other fowl in prop-
er brooder facilities for hatcheries or stores
engaged in the business of selling the same to
be raised for commercial purposes, or the sale
of rabbits or hamsters as pets."
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SECTION 3.
That Section 7-8 of Chapter 7 of the Fort Worth City
Code (1964) as amended is hereby further amended and, after
having been so further amended, shall hereafter read as
follows:
"Sec. 7-8. Keeping of Wild Animals and Reptiles;
Regulations.
"It shall be unlawful for any person to keep
or harbor any wild animal or reptile within the
city limits of the city unless the same is kept
in a cage sufficient to contain such animal or
reptile at all times. If such wild animal or
reptile be permitted or allowed to escape, the
person who was keeping or harboring same immedi-
ately prior to its escape shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor."
SECTION 4.
That Section 7-11 of Chapter 7 of the Fort Worth City
Code (1964) as amended is hereby further amended and, after
having been so further amended, shall hereafter read as
follows:
"The Director of the Department of Public
Health is authorized to enforce all of the pro-
visions of this Chapter."
SECTION 5.
That Section 7-17 of Chapter 7 of the Fort Worth City
Code (1964) as amended is hereby further amended and, after
having been so further amended, shall hereafter read as
follows:
"Sec. 7-17. Poundage fees.
"The following shall be the fees charged for
poundage:
For taking up and impounding per head..... ..... ..$15.00
For taking care of animals per day, per head... .. 2.00
For selling animals, per head. ..... ....... ....... 2.00
For preparing and posting advertisement of sale.. 2.00
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For newspaper advertisement. The actual cost as
determined from time to time; and in the event
more than one animal is advertised in the same
advertisement, the cost per head shall be di-
vided equally among the animals sold or redeemed."
SECTION 6.
That Section 7-25 of Chapter 7 of the Fort Worth City
Code (1964) as amended is hereby further amended and, after
having been so further amended, shall hereafter read as
follows-.
"Sec. 7-25. Appointment of Poundmaster.
"The Director of the Department of Public
Health, with the approval of the City Manager,
shall appoint a qualified person as Poundmaster."
SECTION 7.
That Section 7-27 of Chapter 7 of the Fort Worth City
Code (1964) as amended is hereby further amended and, after
having been so further amended, shall hereafter read as
follows:
"Sec. 7-27. Impounding dogs running at large;
redemption; receipts.
"It shall be the duty of the poundmaster or
any police officer of the city to take up any dog
found running at large and confine such dog in
the city pound for seventy-two hours, during which
time the owner, upon satisfactory proof to the
poundmaster of ownership, may redeem his dog upon
payment of a fee of five dollars, and all other
fees provided by this article. For taking up and
impounding a female dog in season, there will be
a fee of $25 for owner to reclaim this animal.
Upon payment of such fees, the poundmaster shall
issue an official receipt for the amount paid.
Such fees shall be delivered to the city treas-
urer and credited to the general fund of the city.
The poundmaster shall provide, at the cost of the
city, suitable and necessary sustenance for all
dogs so impounded."
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SECTION B.
That this ordinance shall repeal every prior ordinance
and provision of the Fort Worth City Code in conflict here-
with but only insofar as the portion of such prior ordinance
or provision shall be in conflict, and as to all other or-
dinances or provisions of the Fort Worth City Code not in
direct conflict herewith, this ordinance shall be and is
hereby made cumulative.
SECTION 9.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City
Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses
and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any
phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this or-
dinance shall be declared unconstitutional by the valid
judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction,
such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the re-
maining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections
of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by
the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance
of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, para-
graph or section.
SECTION 10.
That the violation of any provision of this ordinance
or of the Fort Worth City Code relating to animals and fowl
in the City shall be deemed an offense and punishable by a
fine not exceeding Two Hundred Dollars ($200) , and each
violation thereof, and each day on which there is a failure
to comply with the terms of this ordinance shall be and is
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hereby declared to be a distinct and separate offense and
punishable as such.
SECTION 11.
That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect
from and after A, z 9 1970, and it is so
ordained.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
City Attorney Adopted by the City Council pPC ¢1'hLe - Z1,./g7d
6 -
* r City of Fort Worth, Texas
DINE Mayor and Council Communication
DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT: Ordinances Amending Chapters PAGE
3tit+ NUMNER
G-1677 7 and 19 of the Fort Worth
BUILDING 12/21/70 CityCode 1 °� 2
ew'osttAw n November 30, 1970, proposed ordinances amending Chapters 7 and 19 of
the Fort Worth City Code were submitted to the City Council. The proposed
amendments to Chapter 7 concerned the regulation of animals and fowl in
the Fort Worth city limits and recommended adjustments in pound fees at
the Animal Control Center. Proposed amendments to Chapter 19 concerned
health and sanitation regulations in connection with the keeping of dogs ,
swine, cattle, horses , sheep, goats, fowl and other animals in the city
limits.
During the City Council meeting on November 30, several citizens and re-
presentatives of organizations questioned some of the provisions of the
ordinance amending Chapter 19. As a result of the objections expressed,
the staff was instructed to meet with the concerned citizens to see if
amendments could be agreed upon and to revise the proposed ordinance
accordingly.
A meeting was held on December 11 with City staff members, representatives
of the Sheriff's Posse and Riding Club, the Fort Worth Bantam Club and
the Tarrant County Racing Pigeon Combine, and several individuals who
were present at the City Council meeting on November 30. A general agree-
ment was reached at the meeting concerning those provisions which had been
previously questioned, and the proposed ordinance was revised accordingly.
Copies of the ordinances, including the revised version of the ordinance
amending Chapter 19, are attached for the City Council's consideration.
Revisions made in the ordinance originally submitted to the Council on
November 30 include the following:
1) The provision establishing a'maximum number of rabbits ,
guinea pigs, pigeons, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks,
pea-fowl, or other fowl that can be kept within the
corporate limits of the City has been deleted from the
proposed ordinance amending Chapter 19.
2) The provision requiring a minimum distance of 100 feet
from such fowl or animals to the nearest building, and a
minimum distance of 200 feet to the nearest building if
more than 30 such fowl or animals are kept, has been
deleted from the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 19.
The requirement that such animals be kept at least 50
feet from the nearest building other than that of the
keeper, possessor or owner of the animals, is retained
as it now exists in the City Code.
SATE REFERENCE SUBJECT: Ordinances Amending Chapters PAGE
NUMBER
7 and 19 of the Fort.Worth 2 of 2
12/21/70 G-1677 City Code
3) The minimum area requirect for keeping horses, cattle, mules,
donkeys, goats or sheep has been reduced from 10,000 square
feet per animal as originally proposed to 7,500 square feet
per animal.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinances
amending Chapters 7 and 19 of the Fort Worth City Code.
HDM:ms
Attachments
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SUBMITTED BY: DISPOSITIO COUNCIL: PROCESSED BY
APPROV '❑ OTHER (DESCRIBE)
CITY SECRETARY
/ % DATE
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CITY MANAGER