When used in this chapter, the following words and terms, unless
the context indicates a different meaning, shall be interpreted as
follows:
means to cease to support, care for or look after an animal
without making reasonable arrangements for assumption of custody and
care by another person.
means a dog that, while at large:
means any nonhuman vertebrate.
means any spectacle, display, act or event in which animals
are used.
means equipment, products, implements, or materials of any
kind that are used, intended for use, or designed for use in the training,
preparation, conditioning, or furtherance of animal fighting. This
includes, but is not limited to, cat mills, fighting pits, sparring
muffs, springpoles, flirt poles and tables, and mounting blocks; unprescribed
veterinary medicines and treatment supplies; descriptive materials
and instructions for conditioning and use of implements; and gaffs,
slashers, heels, and any other sharp implement designed to be attached
in place of the natural spur of a cock or game fowl.
means a minimum of two (2) separate recorded noise events
within a period of twenty-four (24) hours where the animal can be
heard continuously for a twenty-minute period of time, at least one
hundred (100) yards away or behind the wall of a structure used for
human habitation.
means the city-operated division for the purpose of animal
care, control, and enforcement of this chapter.
means the manager of animal services or his/her designated
representative.
means an employee of animal services, who meets all of the
requirements to be an animal control officer, as defined and described
in the Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 829, to act as the animal
control authority under state law and to help carry out and enforce
the provisions of this chapter.
means any animal not confined by some physical means of sufficient
height, strength, length, and/or manner of construction to preclude
the animal from leaving the premises of the owner; or any animal which
is not physically and continually restrained by some person, by means
of a leash or chain of proper strength and length to preclude the
animal from making unsolicited contact with any person, their clothing,
their property, and/or their premises.
means all life stages of the common domestic honeybee, Apis
mellifera species.
means a person who owns, maintains or possesses one (1) or
more colonies of bees.
means a cut, wound or tear caused by contact with teeth which
breaks the skin.
means any damage to the physical condition of an animal or
person, including but not limited to physical harm, illness or injury.
means the mating of animals and production of offspring.
means the only domesticated species of the family Felidae,
Felis catus, and which is not a hybrid of Felis catus and another
feline species.
means all breeds of Gallus gallus domesticus, a common domesticated
fowl widely kept for meat and eggs.
means the City of Irving, Texas.
means the Irving Animal Care Campus, a city-owned and operated
facility established for the impoundment, quarantine, care, adoption,
euthanasia, and other disposition of animals.
means an aggregate of bees consisting principally of workers
with one (1) queen and many drones, including brood, combs, honey
and the receptacle inhabited by the bees.
means any pet shop, animal auction, riding school or stable,
zoological park, circus, recurring animal exhibition or commercial
kennel.
means an animal kept for pleasure rather than utility, of
a species that has been bred and raised to live in or about the habitation
of humans, and is dependent on people for food and shelter. The term
specifically includes, but is not limited to, dogs, cats, canaries,
parakeets, parrots, cockatiels and other birds commonly maintained
in households in cages, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, rabbits and
ferrets. For purposes of this chapter, neither "livestock," "domestic
fowl," "chickens," nor "wild animal" as defined herein shall be considered
a companion animal.
means to restrict an animal to an area, effectively preventing
the animal from being free to roam or run at large.
means causing or permitting unjustified or unwarranted pain
or suffering.
means vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian,
with a rabies vaccine licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
for that species, at or after the minimum age requirement and using
the recommended route of administration for the vaccine, and:
At least thirty (30) days have elapsed since the initial vaccination;
and
Not more than twelve (12) months have elapsed since the animal's
most recent vaccination date, if the most recent vaccination was with
a one-year rabies vaccine or was the animal's initial vaccination;
or
Not more than thirty-six (36) months have elapsed since the
animal's most recent vaccination date, if the most recent vaccination
was with a three-year rabies vaccine and the animal is a dog or cat
that has received at least two (2) vaccinations.
means responsibility for the health, safety, and welfare
of an animal subject to the person's care and control, regardless
of ownership of the animal.
means a dog that:
Makes an unprovoked attack on a person that causes bodily injury
and occurs in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was
being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from
leaving the enclosure on its own; or
Commits unprovoked acts in a place other than an enclosure in
which the dog was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent
the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own and those acts cause
a person to reasonably believe that the dog will attack and cause
bodily injury to that person; or
Has previously been declared a dangerous dog, as defined by
Texas Health and Safety Code, Title 10, § 822.041(2), by
an animal control authority, municipal court, justice court or county
court.
means the animal services division.
means the provisional assumption of ownership for the purposes
of administering preventative immunizations and treatment including
emergency euthanasia in the event of suffering during an animal's
stray hold period at an impound facility.
means near enough to the animal to exercise physical control
over the animal in the event it should become necessary to do so to
protect the animal, a human, or another animal from harm.
means the only domesticated species of the family Canidae,
Canis familiaris, and which is not a hybrid of Canis familiaris and
another canine species.
means the Irving Dog Park, or a public park designed for
dogs to exercise and play off leash in a controlled environment under
the supervision of their owners or keepers, which is enclosed to prevent
the dogs from running at large.
means any animal normally adapted to live in intimate association
with humans, or for the advantage of humans, which is commonly and
universally accepted as being domesticated, including companion animals
and livestock.
means birds kept for the purpose of meat production, egg
laying or purely for ornament or show, including but not limited to
peacocks, guineafowl, ducks, geese, turkeys, partridges and pigeons,
and excludes chickens for the purposes of this chapter.
means to cause the death of an animal implementing a technique
that is in accordance with the methods, recommendations, and procedures
prepared by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and
set forth in the latest edition of the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia
of Animals.
means living in a wild state but descended from a domesticated
animal.
means the only domesticated species of the family Mustelidae,
Mustela putorius furo.
means to provide care for, sustenance, shelter, refuge, or
to exercise custody or control over a domestic animal. Harbor does
not include providing assistance in an emergency to an injured or
ill animal.
means a female chicken.
means an animal which has a high probability of transmitting
rabies. Such animals include skunks, bats, foxes, coyotes, and raccoons.
means an animal trap designed to capture animals without
a holding mechanism, to capture the animals alive without causing
trauma, injury or death.
means the collecting and confining of an animal by a government
entity or government contractor pursuant to a state or local ordinance.
means any person holding, caring for, having an interest
in, or having control or custody of an animal.
means a veterinarian licensed by the Texas Board of Veterinary
Medical Examiners.
means any farm animal regarded as an asset, including cattle,
horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, hinnies, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas,
swine, and exotic livestock as defined by Agriculture Code Section
142.001, as amended.
means an animal which has a low probability of transmitting
rabies. Such animals include all animals of the orders Didelphimorphia,
Insectivora, Rodentia, Lagomorpha, and Xenarthra.
means a passive electronic device that is injected into an
animal which contains a unique number. The microchip can be read by
an electronic scanning device for purposes of animal identification.
means a domesticated pot-bellied pig, not exceeding one hundred
fifty (150) pounds in weight and twenty (20) inches in height measured
at the highest point of the front shoulder when fully grown, which
includes several subspecies of the family Suidae, Sus scrofa.
means the city municipal court(s) of record.
means the time following a potential rabies exposure during
which the health status of the animal responsible for the potential
exposure must be monitored. The observation period for dogs, cats,
and domestic ferrets is ten (10) days (two hundred forty (240) hours);
the observation period for other animals, not including those defined
as high risk, unless otherwise specified in the Texas Administrative
Code, Title 25, §169.27, or a low-risk animal, is thirty (30)
days. All observation periods are calculated from the time of the
potential exposure. A potential exposure is an incident in which an
animal has bitten a human or in which there is probable cause to believe
that an animal has otherwise exposed a human to rabies.
means a person who owns, harbors, keeps, shelters, maintains
or has permanent or temporary custody or control of an animal.
means an individual or group of individuals acting in concert,
partnership, corporation, trust, estate, firm, foundation, or other
legal entity.
means a business establishment where animals including dogs,
cats, fish, birds, reptiles, or rodents are kept for sale or commercial
barter.
means a substance that is capable of causing illness or death
of a living organism if introduced or absorbed.
means a sworn employee of the Irving Police Department.
means an animal used by a trained law enforcement handler
that is specifically trained for law enforcement, corrections, prison
or jail security, or investigative purposes.
means a collar or harness that:
means the impoundment of an animal:
means a strict isolation and physical confinement imposed
to prevent the spread of disease.
means any ostrich, rhea, emu, cassowary, or kiwi.
means the act of recording or entering information on an
official list.
means a male chicken.
means contact with claws or nails that breaks the skin.
means a fenced area or structure that is:
Locked; and
Capable of preventing the entry of the general public, including
children; and
Capable of preventing the escape or release of a dog; and
Clearly marked as containing a dangerous or aggressive dog as
applicable; and
Enclosed by a secure top and sides with a solid bottom or, constructed
in such a manner which would prevent the animal from tunneling under
the enclosure and escaping; and
In conformance with the requirements for enclosures established
by the animal services manager or by this chapter.
means an injury characterized by severe bite wounds or severe
ripping and tearing of muscle that would cause a reasonably prudent
person to seek treatment from a medical professional and would require
hospitalization without regard to whether the person actually sought
medical treatment.
means a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform
tasks directly related to a disability for a person with disabilities,
as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C.
§12101, as amended. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort
or emotional support are not considered service animals under the
ADA.
means rendered permanently incapable of reproduction by means
approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
means a domestic animal which is found to be at large within
the city.
means any of various stout-bodied, short-legged omnivorous
artiodactyl mammals of the Suborder Suina, including pigs, hogs and
boars.
means any act that causes unjustifiable pain or suffering.
means a device consisting of a horizontal cable, line, rope
or chain attached to two (2) or more stationary objects, and designed
or adapted for use with a tether that attaches to a dog's collar or
harness.
means any animal for which an owner has not been identified.
means an act of physical force by an animal resulting in
bodily injury that is not:
means inoculated with a substance used to stimulate the production
of antibodies and provide immunity against one (1) or several diseases.
means capable of injecting venom by means of a bite or sting.
means all species of animals that have not been domesticated
and usually live in a natural environment, regardless of state or
duration of captivity. The term includes, but is not limited to:
A "dangerous wild animal" as that term is defined in Texas Health
and Safety Code, Title 10, § 822.101, as amended; and
A margay, badger, elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, non-human
primate, crocodile, alligator, caiman, gavial, raptor, marsupial;
and
Any venomous animal; and
Any non-venomous snake longer than six (6) feet; and
Any member of the genus Canis including wolf, hybrid wolf, coyote,
jackal or fox, and similar species except Canis familiaris; and
Any member of the genus Felis including leopard, lion, panther,
tiger, lynx, bobcat, cheetah, ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, and any
similar species except Felis domesticus; and
Any mustelid other than the domestic ferret (Mustela putorius
furo); and
Any skunk, raccoon, opossum, armadillo or squirrel; and
Any hybrid of a wild animal.
means any facility, other than a pet shop or commercial boarding
kennel, displaying or exhibiting one (1) or more species of non-domesticated
animals, operated by a person, partnership, corporation or government
agency.
(Ordinance 2021-10468, § 2,
adopted 7/22/2021)