1976-036 ~0 i ~ ~--i ~ ~ i
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 4 "ANIMALS AND FOWL", ARTICLE I,
SECTIONS 4-5 AND 4-6, AND ARTICLE III, SECTIONS 4-40, 4-41,
4-43,4-44, 4-48 AND 4-49, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY
OF DENTON, TEXAS, PROVIDING A PENALTY, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS
PART I
That Chapter 4 "Animals and Fow~ Article I, Sections 4-5
and 4-6 and Chapter 4, Article III, Sections 4-40, 4-41, 4-43,
4-44, 4-48 and 4-49 are hereby amended as follows
ARTICLE I IN GENERAL
SECTION 4-5 KEEPING OF CERTAIN STOCK IN THE CITY
HOGS It shall be unlawful for any person to feed, breed
or keep any hog or hogs, pig or pigs, in any lot, pen, bulld~ng,
stable or other enclosures in the city, any part of which lot,
pen, bulld~ng, stable or other enclosure ls nearer than one thou-
sand (1,000) feet to any occupled building
OTHER ANIMAL It shall be unlawful for any person to feed,
breed, stable, pasture or keep any cow(s), goat(s), horse(s),
mule(s), donkey(s), or sheep in any lot, pen, bu~ldlng, stable or
other enclosure in the o~ty, any part of which lot, pen, building,
stable or other enclosure is within two hundred (200) feet of any
occupied building
SECTION 4-6 ENCLOSURE REQUIRED IN KEEPING CERTAIN ANIMALS
SIZE OF LOTS It shall hereafter be unlawful for any person
to stable, pasture, feed, breed or keep any hog(s), pig(s), cow(s),
goat(s), horse(s), mule(s), donkey(s), or sheep in any lot, pen,
building, stable or other enclosure in the clty, smaller in s~ze,
and d~menslons than is required by the following specifications
For one cow, sheep, goat, horse, mule, donkey, hog or pig, a
lot, pen, building or other enclosure of not less than four hun-
dred (400) square feet shall be requlred For each addlt~onal
cow, sheep, goat, mule, donkey, hog, or pig in any such lot, pen,
building or other enclosure, an addltaonal four hundred (400)
square feet shall be requared
MANURE BOXES Each and every lot, pen, bualdang, stable, or
other enclosure an the caty an which any of the above named anzmals,
or other specaes are kept, fed, bred, stabled, pastured or housed
shall have a manure box not less than four (4) feet square and not
less than three (3) feet deep an whach all manure and droppangs
shall be placed each day Each such box shall be securely screened
or otherwase protected from flaes, verman and rodents and shall be
thoroughly cleaned out and das~nfected at least once each week It
shall hereafter be unlawful to pale or stack manure an open stacks
in the caty
ARTICLE III DOGS AND CATS
SECTION 4-40 VACCINATION REQUIRED
It shall be the duty of the owner or keeper of each and every
anlmal whach as a member of the cat famaly or the canane family,
herean referred to as dog, owned, kept, possessed, harbored or
allowed upon the premises of any such person and under has control
an the caty, to have suoh dog or oat vaccanated agaanst rabaes by a
legally lloensed veterlnarzan at least once each year Vaccanatzon
as defaned as a protectave anoculataon agaznst rabies by anoculatlon
wath antarablc vaccane recognized and approved by the U S Depart-
ment of Agraoulture gaven in an amount sufflczent to provade an
~mmunaty
SECTION 4-41 DOGS NOT PERMITTED AT LARGE
It shall be unlawful for any dog owned, possessed, kept, or
harbored by any person to be at large on any street, sadewalk, alley
or other publac place or on pravate premises, lncludzng the pre-
m~ses of the owner except when confzned wzthln a fenced area, w~thzn
the lamats of the Caty of Denton, Texas, except whale such dog ~s
under the lmmedaate and physacal control of the owner or custodzan,
such as by leash or chaan adequate to control and hold at Dogs
goang at large are declared to be a nuasance and dangerous to the
publac health and safety
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SECTION 4-43 - SUMMARY DESTRUCTION OF VICIOUS DOGS OR CATS
If any dangerous, fierce, or vicious dog or cat is found at
large and cannot be safely taken up and impounded, such dog or
cat may be slain by any officer or agent of the city Proof of
the fact that such dog or cat has attacked or bitten any person
or anlma~ at any place where such person or animal is legally en-
titled to be shall be prima facle evidence that such dog or cat
is vicious, fierce and dangerous within the meaning of this
article
SECTION 4-44 - DEFINITION OF "AT LARGE"
"At large" shall mean not under the immediate physical con-
trol of the owner or custodian by leash or chain adequate to con-
trol and hold it or not confined w~thln an area properly fenced in
order to assure that such animal will remain in the fenced area
SECTION 4-48 - DOGS OR CATS WHICH HAVE BITTEN PERSONS
If any person shall make written complaint before the city
manager, city attorney or judge of the municipal court that any
dog or cat has bitten any person w~thln the llmlts of the city,
it shall be the duty of the chief of police to direct the owner
or keeper of such dog or cat to keep such dog or cat securely
confined so as to absolutely prevent such dog or cat from being
in contact with person or animal for not less than ten (10) con-
secutlve days and to release such dog or cat only upon written
permission of the city health officer, or to keep such dog or cat
confined at a veterinary hospital for the same period of time at
the expense of the owner or keeper
SECTION 4-49 - DISPOSITION OF RABID DOGS OR CATS
Any dog or cat suffering a b~te from a rabid dog or cat or
which dlsplays symptoms of rabies shall be quarantined ~n a
veterinary establishment at the owner's expense for a period of
at least slx (6) months thereafter or shall be confined for such
period in such other place and manner as may be approved by the
city health officer in writing, provided, that if the owner or
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keeper of any such dog or cat cannot be readily identified or
located after reasonable dll~gence, upon wrltten direction of the
city health offlcer, such dog or cat shall be destroyed humanely
by or under the d~rectlon of the chief of police
PART II
Any person who v~olates any provision of th~s ordinance shall
be deemed guilty of a m~sdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be
punished by f~ne not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200 00) Each
day such a v~olatlon shall continue or be permitted, shall be
treated as a separate offense
PART III
That ~f any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause,
phrase or word ~n th~s ordlnance, or application thereof to any
person or c~rcumstances is held lnvalld by any court of competent
jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of thls ordinance, and the C~ty Council of the
City of Denton, Texas, hereby declares it would have enacted such
remaining portions desplte any such lnvalldlty
PART IV
That th~s ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14) days
from the date of lts passage, and the City Secretary is hereby
d~rected to cause the caption of th~s ordinance to be published
twice ~n the Denton Record-Chronlcle, the official newspaper of the
City of Denton, Texas, wlth~n ten (10) days of the date of its
pas s age
PASSED AND APPROVED Thls the ~ day of August, A D 1976
ELINOR HUGHES , MAWR
CITY OF DENTONv TEXAS
ATTEST ~ ~
O~/KS~ SE CRETAR~
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
VE~AS TO LEGAL FORM
PAUL C ISHAM, CITY ATTORNEY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
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