§ 4-5. Cruelty to animals.

(a)

It shall be unlawful to commit any of the acts of cruel treatment as described in subsection 4-1(e).

(b)

It shall be unlawful for any person willfully or through neglect to overdrive, overload, wound, injure, torment, torture, deprive of adequate food, adequate water or adequate shelter, cruelly beat, choke, needlessly mutilate or kill any animal or cause any of the aforesaid things to be done.

(c)

It shall be unlawful to allow animals to live in crowded conditions (less than one hundred (100) square feet of unobstructed area per each animal weighing twenty (20) pounds or under, less than two hundred (200) square feet of unobstructed area per each animal weighing greater than twenty (20) pounds).

(d)

It shall be unlawful to tether a dog except under the following circumstances:

(1)

Tethering for a period not to exceed seven (7) consecutive days while actively engaged in:

(i)

Shepherding or herding livestock.

(ii)

Lawful dog activities such as hunting training and hunting sporting events, field and obedience training, field or water training, law enforcement training, veterinary treatment and/or the pursuit of working or competing in these legal endeavors.

(iii)

Meeting the requirements of a camping or recreational area.

(2)

When participating in recognized exempt activities or when a dog is on an attended leash, tethered dogs shall be attended by a responsible person and shall be tethered in a manner that does not cause unjustifiable pain, suffering, or risk of death. Tethers must be made of rope, twine, cord, or similar material with a swivel on one end or must be made of a chain that is at least ten (10) feet in length with swivels on both ends and which does not exceed ten (10) percent of the dog's body weight. All collars or harnesses used for the purpose of tethering a dog must be made of nylon or leather.

(Ord. No. 88-10-10/O-1, § 1; Ord. No. 2009-03-23/O-7b, § 2)