CHAPTER XII ANIMALS 1.0 PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to promote a harmonious relationship between man and animal through established conduct and procedures when man and animals interact so as to provide reasonable security of residents from annoyance, intimidation, injury and rabies caused by animals, and to insure reasonable protection and humane treatment of animals. 2.0 DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the terms specified in Sections 2.1 through 2.18 shall have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections..1 ADMINISTRATOR. Administrator means a veterinarian licensed by the State of Illinois and appointed pursuant to this chapter or in the event a veterinarian cannot be found and appointed pursuant to this chapter, a nonveterinarian may serve as Administrator under this chapter. In the event the Administrator is not a veterinarian, the Administrator shall defer to the veterinarian regarding all medical decisions. The Mayor shall serve as Administrator, if a non-veterinarian is necessary or the Mayor may appoint the Administrator with the advice and consent of the Village Board of Trustees..2 ANIMAL. Animal means every living creature, other than man, which may be affected by rabies..3 ANIMAL CONTROL ACT. Animal Control Act shall mean Chapter 510 Illinois Revised Statutes, Sections 5/1, et seq., as now or hereafter amended..4 BOARD. Board or Board of Trustees, shall mean the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orion, Henry County, Illinois..5 CAT. Cat means Felis catus..6 COUNTY OR HENRY COUNTY. County or Henry County shall mean the County of Henry in the State of Illinois..7 DANGEROUS DOG. Dangerous Dog means (i) any individual dog anywhere other than upon the property of the owner or custodian of the dog and un-muzzled, unleashed, or unattended by its owner or custodian that 1201
behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would believe poses a serious and unjustified imminent threat of serious physical injury or death to a person or a companion animal or (ii) a dog that, without provocation or justification, bites a person and does not cause serious physical injury..8 DOG. Dog means all members of the family Canidae..9 KENNEL. Kennel shall include all of the animal facilities alluded to under section 602/2 of Chapter 225 Illinois Compiled Statutes and for which a license is required pursuant to Section 605/3 of the said statute, as now existing or as hereafter amended..10 LEASH. Leash means a cord, rope, strap, or chain which shall be securely fastened to the collar or harness of a dog or other animal and shall be of sufficient strength to keep such dog or other animal under control..11 MAYOR. Mayor or President shall mean the President of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orion, Henry County, Illinois..12 OWNER. Owner means any person having a right of property in an animal, or who keeps or harbors an animal, or who has it in his care, or acts as its custodian, or who knowingly permits a dog to remain on any premises occupied by such person..13 PERSON. Person means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, society, association or other legal entity, any public or private institution, the State of Illinois, municipal corporation or political subdivision of the State, or any other business unit..14 PHYSICAL INJURY. Physical injury means the impairment of physical condition..15 SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY. Serious physical injury means a physical injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or that causes death, serious disfigurement, protracted impairment of health, impairment of the function of any bodily organ, or plastic surgery..16 VICIOUS DOG. Vicious dog means a dog that, without justification, attacks a person and causes serious physical injury or death or any individual dog that has been found to be a dangerous dog upon 3 separate occasions. 1202
.17 VILLAGE. Village shall mean the Village of Orion, in the County of Henry and State of Illinois..18 VILLAGE AUTHORITIES. Village Authorities for the purposes of this ordinance shall include the Mayor, all Village Board Members, the Village or County Police Officers, the Village Clerk and the Administrator. 3.0 CRUELTY. No person shall cruelly treat any animal in the Village in any way; any person who inhumanely beats, underfeeds, overloads, or abandons any animal shall be deemed guilty of a violation of this section. 4.0 NOISES. It shall be unlawful to harbor or keep any animal which disturbs the peace by noises at any time of the day or night. 5.0 STRAYS; RUNNING AT LARGE. It shall be unlawful to permit any cats, dogs, cattle, horses, swine, sheep, goats, bees, or poultry to run at large within the Village of Orion. Any such animal running at large in any public place in the Village may be impounded in the manner provided in this chapter. It shall be unlawful to abandon any such animal within the village limits. 6.0 KILLING DANGEROUS ANIMALS. The members of the Village and County police department, are authorized to kill any animal of any kind when it is necessary for the immediate protection of any person. 7.0 DISEASED ANIMALS. No domestic animal afflicted with a contagious disease or an infectious disease shall be allowed to run at large, or to be exposed in any public place where the health of man or beast may be affected; nor shall such diseased animal be shipped or removed from the premises of the owner thereof, except under the supervision of the Administrator..1 DISPOSITION. It is hereby made the duty of said Administrator to secure such disposition of any diseased animal and such treatment of affected premises as to prevent the communication and spread of contagion or infection, except in cases where the state veterinarian is empowered to act. 8.0 HOUSING. No person shall cause or allow any place where any animal is or may be kept to become unclean or unwholesome. Any such complaints for violation will be investigated by the Orion Police or the Administrator for necessary action. 9.0 DOMESTIC ANIMALS AND FOWL. It shall be unlawful to harbor or keep any cattle, horses, mules, swine, sheep, goats, poultry or bees within 1203
the village, except in connection with the operation of veterinarian facilities legally established within the Village of Orion. 10.0 SHOOTING OR MOLESTING BIRDS. It shall be unlawful to shoot or in any manner molest any bird, or to rob any bird s nest. 11.0 KENNELED ANIMALS. It shall be unlawful to keep or harbor more than three (3) dogs or three (3) cats over the age of six months on any premises in the Village, except in a licensed kennel, or at a veterinarian clinic..1 KENNELS. It shall be unlawful to operate a kennel or place of raising, training or boarding dogs or cats for hire or profit, or without charge or profit, in the Village without first securing a license therefore, except that a veterinarian clinic shall not be required to obtain a license..2 LICENSE. An appropriate facility license shall be issued to such person or party for any period for which such person or party holds a state license issued per the requirements of Section 605/3 of the Animal Control Act, as now existing or as hereafter amended, PROVIDED, such license shall be issued for a specific facility and location which must be in compliance with zoning, nuisance, building and all other ordinances of the Village..3 FEE. The fee for such license shall be Fifteen ($15.00) Dollars per year, and must be renewed annually. 12.0 LEASH LAW. It shall be unlawful for the owner, possessor, or keeper of any dog to permit such animal to be off the owner s premises unless the animal is under restraint at all times, or was under restraint immediately prior to the animal leaving the said premises. Under restraint shall mean:.1 Kenneled or fenced in within a minimum six foot high fence with locked gates, or on a tether of adequate size and material to confine the dog to the property;.2 Kept within a closed house or building not open to the public, or within a secured vehicle, with doors and windows closed;.3 Handled on an appropriate leash by a competent person who has the ability to reasonably control such animal and uses reasonable means to do so; 1204
.4 It shall be unlawful for any person or party to take or permit an animal to enter or remain in a public park, sidewalk or any public area within the Village of Orion unless the animal is handled on a leash by a competent person who has reasonable control at all times or is otherwise under restraint;.5 Any person having control of any animal outside of premises owned or possessed by such person, shall at all times have in their possession an appropriate container or other reasonable means to retrieve and remove potential defecation by the animal. Such defecation must be removed and disposed of by such person in a sanitary manner, or deposited in a trash container in the area if provided. 13.0 MUZZLES. It shall be unlawful to permit any dog to be upon any public place or on any public street or any private premises not enclosed by an adequate fence or wall unless such dog is securely muzzled at any time when an emergency exists because of the prevalence of rabies or any other cause. 14.0 ANIMAL BITES. Whenever an unprovoked or unjustified animal bite occurs, the animal owner or possessor or keeper is required to, within 24 hours of the incident, notify the Village Police to document the incident..1 The owner shall be ordered by the police to hold the animal on their premises or placed in an approved pound for a minimum of two weeks at the owner s expense..2 The animal must be examined immediately by a licensed veterinary doctor and again after the two week quarantine at the owner s expense..3 Written reports for both examinations must be provided to the Village of Orion..4 If at the end of the two week quarantine, if the veterinarian is convinced that the animal is free of rabies, the animal can be released. If the animal dies in the meanwhile, its head shall be sent to the State Department of Health for examination for rabies, and the cost shall be the responsibility of the owner..5 All reports of animal bites shall be reviewed by the Administrator and the Administrator shall make a written determination if such bite was provoked or justified and the basis for such determination, sign and date same and append it to the bite report. 1205
.6 A copy of such report and determination shall be forthwith mailed to or served upon the owner of the animal..7 The owner or the village may appeal such determination by mailing or delivering a notice of appeal to the Village Clerk within thirty (30) days after mailing or service of such determination on the owner..8 In the event of an appeal, the matter shall be referred to Orion Veterinary Clinic, Inc. for review and affirmation or reversal, and a copy served upon or mailed to the owner and to the Village..9 If the Village or the owner is not satisfied with the result of such review, an objection shall be filed by either within ten (10) days after a copy of the review decision is served upon such party by mail or delivery..10 Upon the filing of an objection by the Village or the owner, a public hearing shall be held before the Village Board, which shall then render a final decision. 15.0 ENFORCEMENT. The primary responsibility for enforcement of this ordinance shall be with the Village; the Village may enter into cooperative agreements with the County or others for assistance in such enforcement, the investigation of complaints and incidents and impoundment of animals..1 It is the policy of the Village, in the interests of order, clarity and economy that, in so far as practicable, all investigations and enforcement measures under this ordinance be carried out by the Village police and other Village personnel, specifically excepting impoundment..2 The public should be encouraged to lodge complaints on animals initially with the Village police. 16.0 INVESTIGATION, IMPOUNDMENT AND COSTS. When dangerous or offensive incidents with animals occur within the Village or when dogs are apprehended and impoundment thereof appears to be reasonable, the Owner of any animal involved in such investigation or impoundment shall be responsible for, and shall reimburse the Village for any costs incurred in connection with such investigation or impoundment or both. In the event the Village incurs veterinarian, transportation or other expenses when dangerous or offensive animal incidents or animal bites occur within the Village, the owner of the animal involved shall be responsible for, and shall reimburse the Village for all such expenses. 1206
17.0 DETERMINATION OF DANGEROUS OR VICIOUS STATUS. Determination of the status of an animal as dangerous or vicious shall be made in accordance with the procedures provided by the Animal Control Act, as now or hereafter amended. 18.0 PENALTY. Penalties for violation of this chapter shall be as follows:.1 The penalty for violation of Section 12.4 or Section 12.5 shall be a fine not to exceed $5.00 on a first offense and a fine of not less than $10.00 on a subsequent offense, nor more than $750.00..2 Except as otherwise provided in Section.1 and.3 of this Section 18.0, the penalty for violation of any section of this chapter shall be a fine of not less than $25.00 for a first offense, and not less than $50.00 nor more than $750.00 for a second or subsequent offense..3 If an unprovoked bite shall occur during a violation of Section 12.0 of this chapter, the fine shall be not less than $150.00 for a first offense and not less than $300.00 for any second or any subsequent offense. 19.0 REMOVAL AND BAR OF ANIMAL FROM VILLAGE. By order of the President and Village Board an animal may be removed from the Village and shall thereafter be permanently barred from re-entry if any of the following conditions are met:.1 The animal has been declared dangerous as defined in this chapter on two (2) occasions;.2 The animal has been declared vicious as defined in this chapter on any one occasion; or.3 The animal has been found guilty of two (2) or more unprovoked and unjustified bites on two (2) occasions, pursuant to the procedures provided in section 14.0 and subsections thereof, or this chapter. 20.0 NO RETURN. It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly keep, harbor or return to premises within the Village any animal which has been ordered removed pursuant to section 19.0 of this chapter. 21.0 WILD ANIMALS. This ordinance shall apply to domestic animals only, and shall not apply to wild animals. 1207