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Home My WebLink AboutORD792k ORDINANCE NO.792 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION,ARIZONA,AMENDING THE APACHE JUNCTION CITY CODE,CHAPTER 6 ANIMALS,SECTION 6-1-4,SWINE PROHIBITED AND ADDING A NEW ARTICLE 6-8 POT-BELLIED PIGS,ESTABLISHING REQUIREMENTS AND REGULATIONS FOR THE KEEPING OF POT-BELLIED PIGS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS;REPEALING ANY CONFLICTING PROVISIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION,ARIZONA,AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I IN GENERAL That the Apache Junction City Code,Chapter 6 Animals,Section 6-1-4 Swine Prohibited,shall be amended as follows: Section 6-1-4 Swine Prohibited I t is unlawful to keep any live swine or pigs within the corporate limits of the city except registered purebred miniature Vietnamese potbellied pigs or other similar registered purebred miniature potbellied pigs.Such miniature pigs shall not exceed one -hundred pounds in weight.Any such miniature pigs shall be subject to all other conditions and requirements as set forth in Article 6-8 of this Code. That the Apache Junction City Code,Chapter 6 Animals,shall be amended by adding a new Article 6-8 Pot -Bellied Pigs,to read as follows: Article 6-8 Pot -Bellied Pigs Section 6-8-1 Definitions Section 6-8-2 Licenses and Tags Section 6-8-3 Running At Large Section 6-8-4 Impoundment Section 6-8-5 Biting Pigs Section 6-8-6 Owner Liability Section 6-8-7 Citation of Owners Section 6-8-8 Keeping of Pot -Bellied Pigs Section 6-8-9 Number Permitted Section 6-8-10 Commercial Breeding Prohibited Section 6-8-1 Definitions 1."Pot -Bellied Pig"shall mean only registered purebred miniature Vietnamese potbellied pigs or other similar registered purebred miniature potbellied pigs which shall not exceed one -hundred pounds in weight. ORDINANCE NO.792 PAGE 1 OF 5 2."Registered"shall mean registration by the North American Pot -Bellied Pig Association. Section 6-8-2 Licenses and Tags A.A license fee of five dollars shall be paid for each pot-bellied pig four months of age or over that is kept,harbored or maintained within the boundaries of the city for at least thirty consecutive days of each calendar year.License fees shall become due on January 1st of each year,and shall be delinquent i f not paid by January 31st of each year.A penalty not to exceed three dollars shall be added to the license fee in the event that the application is made subsequent to the date on which the pot-bellied pig is required to be licensed under the provisions of this ordinance. This penalty shall not be assessed against applicants who furnish adequate proof that the pot-bellied pig to be licensed has been in their possession less than thirty consecutive days or who have resided in the city less than thirty days subsequent to January 31st of each year. B.Durable license tags shall be provided.Each pot-bellied pig licensed under the terms of this article shall receive,at the time of licensing,such a tag on which shall be inscribed the name of the city,the number of the license,and the year of issue.All license tags shall expire on December 31st of each year.The tag shall be attached to a collar or harness which shall be worn by the pot-bellied pig at all times except as may be otherwise provided in this article.Whenever a license tag is lost,a duplicate tag shall be issued upon application by the owner. C.I t is unlawful for any person to counterfeit or attempt to counterfeit an official license tag or remove such tag from any pot-bellied pig for the purpose of willful and malicious mischief or place a license tag upon a pot- bellied pig unless the tag was issued to that pot-bellied pig. D.Whenever the ownership of a pot-bellied pig has changed,the new owner must secure a transfer of license to such owner.A fee shall be charged to transfer any license. E.The enforcement agent shall apprehend and impound any pot-bellied pig found without a current valid license tag. Section 6-8-3 Running At Large A.No person owning,keeping,possessing,harboring or maintaining any pot- bellied pig shall allow such pot-bellied pig to be at large. B.The enforcement agent shall apprehend and impound any pot-bellied pig running at large. Section 6-8-4 Impoundment A.Each unlicensed pot-bellied pig impounded shall be kept and maintained at the pound for a minimum of three days.At the expiration of the impoundment period,anyone may claim the pot-bellied pig;provided,that such person ORDINANCE NO.792 PAGE 2 OF 5 pays all established pound fees and complies with the licensing provisions of this article.I f no person claims the pot-bellied pig,the enforcement agent may dispose of the pot-bellied pig in a humane manner. B.Impoundment costs shall be $10.00 assesses for each time a pot-bellied pig is impounded and $3.00 for each day the enforcement agent cares for and feeds the pot-bellied pig. C.All additional impoundment regulations as contained in Article 6-2 of this chapter shall be applicable. Section 6-8-5 Biting Pigs A.Whenever a pot-bellied pig bites any person,the incident shall immediately be reported to the enforcement agent by any person having direct knowledge of the incident. B.Any unlicensed pot-bellied pig that bites any person shall be quarantined and impounded or,at the request of an at the expense of the owner,placed in a veterinary hospital for a period of not less than fourteen days. The owner of an unlicensed pot-bellied pig that has bitten a person may voluntarily deliver the pot-bellied pig to the enforcement agent at the pound;otherwise,there shall be an assessment against the owner i f the enforcement agent must pick up the pot-bellied pig.I f the pot-bellied pig is impounded in the pound for observation as a result of a pot-bellied pig bite incident,there shall be a per day charge for board,and no other impoundment fees shall be charged under these circumstances. C.Any pot-bellied pig properly licensed pursuant to this chapter that bites any person may be confined and quarantined at the home of the owner or wherever the pot-bellied pig is harbored and maintained with the written consent of and in a manner prescribed by the enforcement officer.The pot- bellied pig shall not be moved or relocated unless the enforcement agent is so notified.The time for quarantine under this subsection shall be fourteen days. D.At the completion of the quarantine or impoundment period as set forth in subsections B and C of this section and,prior to the release of the pot- bellied pig,the pot-bellied pig shall be examined by a licensed veterinarian and released only i f the veterinarian determines that the pot- bellied pig does not exhibit signs of rabies infection or any other dangerous,contagious and infectious disease. E.I f i t is determined that the pot-bellied pig is infected with rabies or other dangerous,contagious and infectious disease,i t shall be the duty of the enforcement agent to destroy such pot-bellied pig in as humane a manner as reasonably possible.Following such action or i f the pot-bellied pig dies during the period of quarantine or impoundment,its head shall be sent to the state department of health services or appropriate diagnostic laboratory for examination. ORDINANCE NO.792 PAGE 3 OF 5 Section 6-8-6 Owner Liability A.Injury to any person or animal or damage to any property by an animal while at large or under the owner's control,shall be the full responsibility of the animal owner or person responsible for the animal when such damages were inflicted. B.The owner of an animal which bites a person who is in or on a public place or lawfully in or on a private place,including the property of the owner of the animal,is liable for damages suffered by the person bitten,regardless of the former viciousness of the animal or the owner's previous knowledge of its viciousness. C.I t shall be unlawful for an owner to keep or harbor,within the city,any pot-bellied pig which squeals or makes other aggravating noises which unreasonably disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood. Section 6-8-7 Citation of Owners A.Whenever any person is in violation of the provisions of this article,the enforcement agent,his duly authorized representative or any police officer may hand deliver or mail to the last known mailing address of such person a violation citation.Such citation shall be approved as to form by the city attorney and the magistrate court.The citation shall advise the person of the specific violation with which he is charged and of the time and place of such violation.A copy of such notice shall be sent to the court clerk by the enforcement agent. B.Payment of citation may be made,within ten days of the issuance of the citation,by mailing or by presenting to the office of the court clerk a copy of the citation and the amount of the fine for such violation. C.Any person charged with a violation of this article has the right to appear in the magistrate's court and contest the charge. D.I f the person pays the fine he shall be given or mailed a receipt therefor and the citation shall not be filed in court. E.I f the person does not pay such penalty or i f such person requests that the matter go to court,the court clerk shall file the citation in the magistrate court. F.Citations filed with the court clerk by the enforcement agent and not filed in the magistrate court shall be kept on file in the court clerk's office for at least one year. Section 6-8-8 Keeping of Pot -Bellied Pigs The provisions of Article 6-7 of this Chapter shall be applicable to the keeping of pot-bellied pigs. Section 6-8-9 Number Permitted ORDINANCE NO.792 PAGE 4 OF 5 No more than three pot-bellied pigs as defined in this Article shall be allowed per household.Pot-bellied pigs kept in this manner shall be considered as pets provided,however,they are not kept for purposes of retail sales or commercial breeding. Section 6-8-10 Commercial Breeding Prohibited No pot-bellied pigs shall be kept for purposes of commercial breeding or retail sales.Any pot-bellied pig as permitted under this chapter shall be kept only as a pet or as a show animal within the limitations of Section 6-8-9.The provisions of Section 6-1-6 Animal Kennels shall not apply to Article 6-8 of this Code. SECTION I I REPEALING ANY CONFLICTING PROVISIONS All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance or any part of the code adopted herein by reference are hereby repealed. SECTION III PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY If any section,subsection,sentence,phrase,clause or portion of this ordinance or any part of the code adopted herein by reference is,for any reason,held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction,such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 2ND DAY OF JULY ,1991,BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION,ARIZONA. SIGNED AND ATTESTED TO THIS 9TH DAY OF JULY ,1991. •\,-,-)ei.AnAndadv THOMAS DAMIAN() Mayor ATTEST: KATHLEEN CONNELLY City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: DAM F.ALEXANDER City 'Attorney ORDINANCE NO.792 / PAGE 5 OF 5