Agenda - 10-01-2013 - 7a - Laserfiche WebLink

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14 Below are the specific changes of note in the Unified Animal Control Ordinance: 1. Changes associated with the creation in 2005 of Animal Services as a free standing county department. (Update). Changes of this kind include reference to the Animal Services Director (as opposed to the Animal Control Manager); the existence of Animal Services as a county department; and recognition that animal sheltering, animal control, and animal protection functions are all now the responsibility of Animal Services. These changes are too numerous to specifically identify without creating confusion as to other changes in the document. 2. Keeping and Display of Wild Animals. (Sec. 4 -132. Display of wild or exotic animals prohibited; Sec. 4- 182.- Keeping of wild and dangerous animals prohibited). (Integration) These sections of the Ordinances were originally written when Animal Control was a part of the Health Department and authority was vested in the Health Director (or designee). This section was updated to vest regulatory authority in Animal Services and the Animal Services Director. In addition, the definitions for the terms "wild animals ", "exotic animals" and "display" were incorporated into the Unified Ordinance from the existing language in the town ordinances. 3. Creating an appeal process for violations and administrative orders. (Sec.4- 54.- Appeals; passim). (Deficiency) The current county Ordinance provides no appeals process either for civil citations issued for infractions or administrative orders. As a result, a person receiving a citation or an administrative order has no redress other than to appeal the decision in civil court; either for the collection of monetary penalties or for injunctive relief from an administrative order. 2 4. Designating only animal control staff as cruelty investigators pursuant to North Carolina General — Statute. (Sec 4- 33.- Animal control officers. (a); p. 1). (Update) North Carolina General Statute §19A -45 grants the Board of County Commissioners the authority to appoint Animal Cruelty Officers. Staff is recommending that the Board limit that authority of animal control investigation to professionally trained staff. Doing so assures that the powers and duties of an animal cruelty investigator vest in Animal Services, thereby streamlining Animal Services use of civil processes to take effective custody and /or real possession of animals suffering from neglect or cruelty in its different forms. This designation reflects the expansion of the responsibilities of Animal Control Officers under Animal Services to include animal protection, which includes investigating and remedying of assorted forms of animal cruelty and neglect. The restriction of this designation to Animal Control staff reflects several considerations: 1) the professional ization of the function of animal protection with the creation of Animal Services; 2) the availability of an Animal Control Officer around the clock, year round to respond to urgent or exigent circumstances; 3) the interdependence of sheltering and animal protective functions recognizing there may be intensive and costly large -scale seizures as a result of animal cruelty investigation; and 4) the overall advantages of organizational integration and alignment. 5. Authority for assuring humane treatment of animals and humane euthanasia when warranted. (Sec. 4 -43.- Impoundment of animals. (c) (d); p.21). (Deficiency) Absent from the existing Ordinance is the express authority to humanely euthanize an animal suffering in exigent circumstances and to hold an animal if there is no reasonable assurance of proper care 6. Differentiation of public nuisances created by cats. (Sec. 4- 45.(7) - Public nuisance. (Deficiency and Integration) Generally, cats are covered by the public nuisance provisions of the existing County 2