Matheson Legislation



THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF BLACK RIVER-MATHESON
ANIMAL CONTROL
BY-LAW NO. 2001-95




BEING A BY-LAW to provide for the licensing, regulation and registration of dogs.

WHEREAS The Dog Owner's liability Act, The Animals for Research Act, The Pounds Act and The Municipal Act, contain certain provisions relating to dogs, including provisions enabling municipalities to pass by-laws relating to dogs;

AND WHEREAS It is considered desirable to pass a by-law, to provide for the licensing, regulation, and registration of dogs within the limits of the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson;

NOW THEREFORE The Council of Black River-Matheson Enacts as follows:


TITLE:

1. This By-law may be referred to as "The Dog Control By-Law".

DEFINITIONS:

2.
  1. ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER: shall mean the person or persons, appointed by the Council of the Corporation of The Township of Black River-Matheson.


  2. Dog: means any member of the species Canis familiaris.


  3. Guide Dog: means a dog that is trained to aid the blind and actively in use for such purposes.


  4. Kennel: means:


    1. A place or confine where purebred dogs are bred and raised and registered In the Register for the Canadian Kennel Club Incorporated, or,


    2. A place or confine where dogs are bred or raised a a recognized class, or as a class designated as "purebred" in the regulations of the aforesaid Club.


  5. License: for the purpose of this by-law shall be deemed to be the receipt issued by the Treasurer of the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson or his authorized agent, upon payment of the appropriate tax or licence fee.

  6. Owner: shall include any person who possesses or harbors animals, and owns or owned shall have a corresponding meaning and shall Include a person or persons who are temporarily the keeper of animals.


  7. Person: shall mean any Individual, firm, incorporated group, business entity or club to whom the context can apply.


  8. Police Work Dog: shall mean a dog trained to aid law enforcement officers and is actually being used for police work purposes for the protection of the public, including the investigation of crime and the apprehension of law violators.


  9. Pound: shall mean such premises and facilities designated by the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson.


  10. POUNDKEEPER: shall mean a person or persons appointed by the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson.


  11. Purebred: shall mean bred from stock having no admixture as certified by a competent authority.


  12. Regulations: means the regulations made under The MunicipalAct R,S.O., 1990, Chapter H.45, Animals for Research Act, R*S.O., 1990, Chapter A22, Dog Owners Liability Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter D16 and The Pounds Act, R.S.O., 1990, Chapter P17 and The Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter H7.


  13. Society or Humane Society: means the branch of the Ontario Humane Society, (Ontario Society for the prevention of cruelty to animals).


  14. Supply Facility: means premises, other than a research facility, that are used for the breeding and rearing of animals pursuant to a contract between the operator thereof and the operator of a research facility.


DOG LICENSING, REGULATION AND REGISTRATION

3.
  1. Every person and resident in the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson who is the owner of a dog, shall register said dog and procure a licence from the Corporation annually on or before the 31st day of December in each of every year and pay to the Corporation the licence fee calculated in accordance with Schedule "A" attached to this By-law.


  2. On payment of the licence fee in accordance with subsection(A) of this section, the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson or its authorized agent, shall Issue for each dog so registered, a serial numbered licence tag and shall cause the name of the owner, his or her address, and the number of his or her permit, to be entered in a book to be kept for that purpose.


  3. Every owner shall affix to his or her dog the licence tag issued in accordance with subsection (B) of this section and shall keep such tag affixed on the dog at all times until a tag for the next year is purchased and so affixed.


  4. No licence tag or registration under this section shall be transferable and the licence tag shall expire and become void upon the sale, death, or other disposal of the dog.


  5. Every licence under this section shall expire on the 31st day of December next following the date of issue.


  6. No person other than the owner or his agent shall remove the licence tag from the dog,


  7. Every applicant for a licence tag for a spayed female dog or a neutered male dog, shall produce to the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson, or its authorized agent, at the time of making application, a certificate of a veterinary surgeon that such female dog has been spayed, or that such male dog has been neutered.


  8. The replacement fee for a lost licence tag is set out in Schedule "A" to this by-law.


SUPERVISION

4. Any person who is so required by the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson, or its authorized agent, shall forthwith deliver to the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson, or its authorized agent, a statement in writing showing the number of male dogs owned by such person or which such person is assessed as owner otherwise.

5.
  1. No person shall keep more than a total of three dogs in any residential, commercial or industrial zone within the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson.
  2. This section does not apply to :
    1. The operation of a kennel for the purpose of breeding or boarding animals,
    2. An animal hospital owned and operated by a veterinarian,
    3. A pet store,
    4. An Ontario Humane Society shelter, or the Pound, which complies with the Black River-Matheson By-law,
    5. Registered sled dog owners located in rural area and registered with the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson.

KENNEL

6. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3, Subsection (A) of this By-law, the owner of a kennel of purebred dogs duly registered in the Register of the Canadian Kennel Club Incorporated may pay a total annual licence fee of ($25.00) in liew of the licence fee imposed by Section 3 aforesaid if he produces to the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson, or its authorized agent, a certificate of such registration extract from such kennel are so registered, and provided further that the owner of such kennel holds a current kennel licence issued by the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson.

7. Any new applicant for a kennel licence for a kennel not previously licensed must first obtain clarification that the property location of such kennel complies with the requirements of the Township of Black River-Matheson Zoning By-law.

CONTROL OF DOGS

8.
  1. Within the urban area of the municipality the owner of a dog is to keep the dog leashed and under the control of some person when the dog is on land in the municipality other than that of the owner unless prior consent is given by the person owning the land on which the dog is found.
  2. No person who owns, harbors or possesses any dog shall allow the dog to run at large, or trepass on private property even when on a leash.
  3. For the purpose of this by-law a dog shall be deemed to be running at large if found in any place other than the premises of the owner of the dog.
  4. A dog shall not be considered to be running at large if it is a guide dog or a police work dog, or if it is a hunting dog accompanied by the harborer or other responsible adult and is actively engaged in hunting or training for hunting, on unposted land, or on posted land with the permission of the owner.
  5. Any dog running at large contrary to the provisions of this by-law may be captured by the Animal Control Officer and impounded.
  6. Any person may capture any dog running at large and trespassing on his property and deliver same to the Animal Control Officer who shall impound the said dog.
  7. An Animal Control Officer or other duly appointed officer, may enter on any public property, or on private property with the consent of the owner or tenant of the property, for the purpose of catching any dog running at large contrary to the provisions of this by-law.
  8. For the impounding of all dogs under the provisions of this by-law, a Pound shall be established which complies with the regulations made pursuant to the Animals for Research Act and under the care and control of the poundkeeper, whose duty it shall be to impound all dogs brought to him or her or found by him or her to be running at large.
  9. It shall be the duty of the person appointed for that purpose, to capture all dogs running at large contrary to this by-law and to impound same, where they shall be confined, subject to the right of the owner to redeem the dog in seventy-two (72) hours from the time of imponding, exclusive of holidays and the day of impoundment, by paying to the poundkeeper the poundage prescribed in Section 9 of this by-law and in the event the same are not redeemed within seventy-two (72) hours as aforesaid, the dog shall become the property of the Township of Black River-Matheson who may dispose of it as he deems fit. Compensation or damages for its killing may be obtained by the municipality.
  10. Where a dog captured under this section is injured or should be destroyed without delay for humane reasons or for reasons of safety to persons or animals, the Animal Control Officer or other duly appointed officer can kill the dog in a humane manner as soon after capture as he or she thinks fit without permitting any person to reclaim the dog and in that event no damages or compensation shall be recovered on the account of its killing.
  11. In addition to any other fees or penalties which may be imposed under this by-law, if a person within a period of six (6) months is convicted on more than three (3) seperate occasions of a breach of this by-law, the Convicting Authority may cancel all licenses held by such person, under the provisions of the by-law, and on cancellation of a licence, such person shall not be issued a further licence for a ra period of twelve (12) months from the date of such cancellation.
  12. It shall and may be lawful for the Reeve at any time in his or her discretion with the assent of Council of the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson, and witht the direction of the Midical Officer of Health whenever claims are being made upon the Town Treasurer for damages from loss of sheep killed by dogs or whenever the disease of rabies is prevalent, to issue a proclamation directing all dogs to be confined, tied up or muzzled for a limited period of time so named in such proclamation it shall and may be lawful for an Animal Control Officer to kill or tranquilize any dog which may be at large or is suspected of being rabid during such period.
  13. Any dog which has a propensity to bite any person, dog or any other domestic anmal, such dog may be impounded on the order of the Animal Control Officer and held by the Poundkeeper until the proceedings referred to in the Dog Owners Liability Act, R.S.O. 1990, and the Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, and The Municipal Act, R.S.O. 1990.
  14. Any person who owns, harbors or possesses any dog shall not allow the dog to defecate anywhere on property other than that of the owner unless the owner ensures that the excrement is removed and disposed of in a sanitary manner.
  15. When a dog is known to have bitten a person, the Medical Officer of Health may order the agent for the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson to confine the dogs under supervised quarantine for a period not to exceed ten days, pursuant to the Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter H.7.
  16. Any dog known to be rabid or suspected of being rabid shall be placed in quarantine, or it shall be killed in such a manner that the brain is not damaged and the head shall be submitted to a laboratory for diagnosis.
  17. It shall be the duty of the Poundkeeper to care for all animals after they have been impounded in accordance with the regulations made pursuant to the Animals for Research Act.
PENALTIES

WHERE DOG NOT IMPOUNDED

9.
  1. Where an Animal Control Officer is unable to seize any dog found to be running at large contrary to this by-law and the owner of such dog is known to the Animal Cotrol Officer, a Violation Notice of $30.00 may be served by the Animal Control Officer on such owner who may pay such violation directly to the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson or its authorized agent within seven days of notification by the Animal Control Officer of the days of notification by the animal Control Officer of the occurrence committed under the by-lay as aforesaid.
  2. The payment of a Violation Notice as set out in this section is a voluntary out of court settlement and if payment is not made in accordance with this section a fine imposed pursuant to this by-law is recoverable under the Provincial Offences Act.
DOGS SEIZED AND IMPOUNDED

  1. Subject to 9 (A) of the section, an Animal Control Officer of a Peace Officer may :
    1. Seize and impound any dog found running at large;
    2. Restore possession of the dog to the owner thereof where;
      1. The owner clains possession of the dog within three (3) days (exclusive of statutory holidays and sundays) after the date of seizer; and
      2. The oner pays to the Treasurer of the Corporation of the Township of Black River-Matheson, a pound fee of $25.00 dollars plus a fine of $30.00 plus costs if paid out of court, plus a maintenance sum of five ($5.00) dollars for each day subsequent to the day of seizure that the dog remains imponded.
      3. Where a dog seized and impound is injured or should be destroyed without delay for humane reasons or for reasons of safety to persons or animals, the Animal Control Officer or the Peace Officer may kill the dog in a humane manner as soon after seizure as he or she thinks fit without permitting any person to reclaim the dog, and then in that event no damages or compensation shall be recovered on account of its killing.
10. Any person who contravenes any provision of this by-law hereof is, upon conviction, liable to a fine not exceeding $5,000.00 exclusive of coats for each offence, and every such fine is recoverable under the Provincial Offences Act.

11. Each day a violation continues shall be deemed to be a separate offence.

12. That by-law 298-78, 716-85, 405-80 and 1107-93 be and is hereby repealed.

13. This by-law comes into force and effect after the final passing thereof.

14. READ A FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD TIME AND FINALLY PASSED THIS 15TH DAY OF JANUARY, 1996.