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1
MUNICIPALITY OF THE COUNTY OF PICTOU
ANIMALS AT LARGE BY-LAW
1.
This By-law may be cited as the "Animals at Large By-Law".
PART I
GENERAL
2.
In this By-law,
(a)
"animal" includes cattle, horses, ponies, mules, sheep, swine,
goats, geese, chickens, turkeys, and livestock;
(b)
"at large" means off the property of the owner or owners and not
under the care of the owner or some person acting on the owner's
account;
(c)
"By-Law Enforcement Officer" means a By-Law Enforcement
Officer appointed pursuant to the Police Act, R.S.N.S., 1989, c.
348;
(d)
"CAO" means the Municipal Clerk/Chief Administrative Officer of
the Municipality, or any person acting in that capacity or designated
by the CAO to administer this by-law;
(e)
"impound" means to seize and place in a pound and includes all
activities incidental thereto;
(f)
"impoundment fees and expenses" means all costs and expenses
incurred for the transport and seizure of any impounded animal and
the keeping of any such animal in a pound and includes:
( i) all impounding fees, all pound fees, penalties and any other
fees and expenses set by the pound keeper or by the policy of
the Municipality, and includes, whether included in the policy or
not, any veterinary fees expended by the pound keeper under
section 11(3) of this by-law, payable in relation to the
impoundment of animals; and
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( ii) all costs of seizing, rounding up, corralling or pursuing any
animals; and
(iii) all costs of transport of any animal and engagement of
personnel required therefore from time to time of engagement of
transport and related personnel until the animal is returned to
the owner or destroyed or sold under this by-law, as the case
may be.
(g)
"livestock" has the same meaning as in the Fences and Detention
of Stray Livestock Act, R.S.N.S., 1989, c 166;
(h)
"Municipality" means the Municipality of the County of Pictou;
(i)
"owner" includes:
( i)
as it refers to the owner of any animal, any person who
possesses, has the care of, has the control of, or
harbours an animal and, where the person is a minor,
includes a person responsible for the custody of the
minor,
(ii)
as it refers to the owner of property,
(A)
part owner, joint owner, tenant in common or
joint tenant of the whole or any part of land or a
building,
(B)
in the case of the absence or incapacity of the
person having title to the land or building, a
trustee, an executor, a guardian, an agent, a
mortgagee in possession or a person having the
care or control of the land or building,
(C)
a person who occupies shores, beaches or
shoals,
and
(D)
in the absence of proof to the contrary, the
person assessed for the property.
(j)
"pound" means a pound or pounds set up by the Municipality, or if
no pound is set up, any place designated by the Municipality or by
the CAO for the impounding of animals;
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(k)
"pound keeper" means a person or persons appointed by resolution
of Council as a keeper of animals under this by-law, or, in the
absence of any such resolution, means the CAO, or any person or
persons designated by the CAO as the pound keeper;
3.
No owner shall allow his animals to be at large, either on private or public
property, within the limits of the Municipality.
4.
Livestock are not allowed to run at large on any public street, square or common,
or other public ground in the Municipality.
5.
No owner of an animal suffering from any infection or contagious disease shall
cause or permit the animal to leave the owner's premises except under effective
control or permit the animal to herd with non-diseased animals.
6.
No person shall break any pound, or, by direct or indirect means, deliver any
animals there from.
PART II
POUNDS AND POUND KEEPERS
7.
Any animal which has gone at large may be impounded by the Municipality,
whether or not the animal is at large at the time of impoundment.
8.
The Municipality, for the safekeeping of such animals as are impounded, may
establish a pound or pounds for animals and may appoint a pound keeper or
pound keepers in respect thereof.
9.
(1) A pound keeper shall keep all animals delivered to him in accordance with
this by-law and shall
(a) collect all impoundment fees and expenses and forward such funds to the
finance office of the Municipality;
(b) be responsible for the operation of the pound;
(c) provide adequate food and water to impounded animals;
(d) keep the pound in a reasonable state of cleanliness;
(e) keep the pound premises neat and tidy in appearance.
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10.
No pound keeper nor the Municipality or its employees, servants, agents or
officers shall be responsible for any injury to or for the death of any animal while
impounded.
11.
(1) The owner of impounded livestock shall pay to the pound keeper all
outstanding impoundment fees and expenses.
(2)
Notwithstanding anything in this by-law, no owner shall be allowed to
claim any animal, which, while owned by him, has been impounded for running at
large unless he first pays all outstanding impoundment fees and expenses.
(3)
Where a pound keeper believes that an animal impounded may suffer
from an infection or contagious disease, he may cause the animal to be
examined by a veterinarian for the purpose of determining whether the animal
does or does not suffer from any infection or contagious disease.
(4)
Notwithstanding anything in this by-law, the pound keeper shall not allow
to be claimed, by any owner or any person, any animal which is or appears to the
pound keeper to be suffering from an infection or contagious disease and the
pound keeper may destroy the animal in a humane manner.
(5)
Where any animal is impounded and impoundment fees are outstanding
and where the owner of any impounded animal is unknown, or cannot be
located, or does not pay any outstanding impoundment fees and expenses after
having been given notice to do so, the pound keeper may sell the animal for the
best price which can be obtained for it, and, after deducting from the sale price
all of the expenses of the sale, shall apply the balance to pay any outstanding
impoundment fees and expenses.
(6)
Any balance remaining after the payment referred to in subsection (5) of
this section shall be returned to the owner, or if the owner is unknown or cannot
be located, shall be remitted by the pound keeper to the finance office of the
Municipality and shall form part of the general revenues of the Municipality.
PART III
OFFENCES, ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES
12.
Any person,
(a)
who, being an owner of any animal, whose animal is at large within the
Municipality whether on public or on private property;
(b)
who, being the owner of any animal suffering from an infection or
contagious disease and who
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( i)
does not prevent it from leaving his premises under effective
control; or
(ii)
does not prevent it from herding with non-diseased animals;
(c)
who breaks any pound;
(d)
who, by direct or indirect means, delivers any animal from any pound;
(e)
who does anything prohibited by this by-law or who fails to do anything
required by this by-law to be done;
is guilty of any offence against this by-law.
13.
Any person found guilty of an offence against this by-law is liable on summary
conviction to a penalty of not less than Two Hundred and Fifty ($250.00) Dollars,
and not exceeding Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars, and in default of
payment to imprisonment for a period not exceeding forty-five (45) days.
14.
(1) The CAO, and every By-Law Enforcement Officer, when engaged in
determining whether this by-law is being complied with, together with such
assistants as they may deem necessary, may enter upon and pass over any land
and may enter upon or into private property, and there inspect any apparatus,
enclosure, or thing necessary for the purposes of any inspection to determine if
this by-law is being complied with, and for its maintenance and enforcement.
(2) Neither the CAO, nor By-Law Enforcement Officer, nor any assistant, nor the
Municipality, commits an offence by reason only of his entry onto or into private
property pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, and neither the CAO, nor the
By-Law Enforcement Officer, nor any assistant, nor the Municipality, shall have
or suffer any criminal or civil liability for any act done or omitted to be done under
subsection (1) of this section.
15.
Where any person is found guilty of an offence, under this by-law, whether a
conviction is entered or not, the Court, in addition to any other punishment that
may be imposed, may make an order:
(a)
directing that offender to do any or all acts necessary to remedy
any contravention of this by-law;
(b)
directing the apprehension, removal, impounding, veterinarian
examination, disposal of, sale, or destruction of any animal by
means of which a contravention of this by-law was committed;
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(c)
charging or collecting the costs of any order made under this
section, including the power to order those costs to be a first lien on
the property affected;
(d)
imposing a penalty for an offence that is in addition to a fine or
imprisonment where the penalty relates to a fee, cost, rate, toll or
charge that is associated with the conduct that gave rise to the
offence.
16.
A person who has contravened any part of this by-law may offer to pay to the
Municipality, the sum of Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars to avoid prosecution
and, if the Municipality agrees to accept that payment, and the payment is made,
that person will not be prosecuted for the contravention.
17.
The Animals Running at Large By-Law of the Municipality, approved by the
Municipal Council on March 6, 2006 is repealed on and not before this by-law
becomes effective.
THIS IS TO CERTIFY that the foregoing is a
true copy of a By-Law duly adopted by the
Municipal Council for the Municipality of the
County of Pictou at a duly called meeting of
the Council held on the 7th day of March,
2011.
GIVEN under the hands of the Municipal
Clerk and under the corporate seal of the
Municipality this 9th day of March, 2011.
BRIAN CULLEN, MUNICIPAL CLERK
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