Senate Bill No. 535
(By Senator Minear, By Request)
____________
[Introduced February 15, 1999;
referred to the Committee on Agriculture.]
____________
A BILL to amend article ten, chapter seven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
by adding thereto a new section, designated section six; and
to amend and reenact section six, article twenty, chapter
nineteen of said code, all relating to including cats, as
well as dogs, within the responsibilities of the county dog
warden; licensing and control; and providing definitions and
procedures for humane euthanasia.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article ten, chapter seven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section six;
and that section six, article twenty, chapter nineteen of said
code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 10. HUMANE OFFICERS.
§7-10-6. Destruction of animals.
(a) Any humane officer may lawfully destroy or cause to be
destroyed any animal in his or her charge when, in the judgment
of the officer and by a written certificate of a regularly
licensed veterinary surgeon that the animal appears to be
injured, disabled, diseased past recovery or the animal is
unclaimed.
(b) The terms "destroy," "cause to be destroyed" and
"destroyed according to acceptable humane standards," as used in
this section and in section four, article ten, chapter seven of
the code of West Virginia are defined in accordance with the
humane euthanasia procedures set forth in sections six-d and
six-e, article twenty, chapter twenty-nine of the code of West
Virginia.
CHAPTER 19. AGRICULTURE.
ARTICLE 20. DOGS AND CATS.
§19-20-6. County dog warden; rules for dog and cat control; prosecution and penalties for violation of ordinances.
(a) The county commission of each county may appoint and
employ a county dog warden, and
such the number of deputies, for
such a time, and at such compensation, as
such the county
commission
shall deem considers reasonable and necessary to enforce the provisions of this code with respect to the control
and registration of dogs
and cats, the impounding, care and
destruction of unlicensed dogs
and cats. Such The county dog
warden may be appointed
as a deputy assessor for the purpose of
collecting the dog
and cat tax and registration fees, taking the
dog
and cat registration and providing the tags authorized by
this article. The county dog warden or any deputies may, in the
discretion of the county commission, be regularly employed
officers or agents of any humane society or society for the
prevention of cruelty to animals, organized and operating under
the laws of this state and owning, controlling and operating a
suitable place within the county for impounding and destroying
dogs
and cats. In addition to the compensation provided for
above, a bounty of fifty cents per dog
and cat shall be paid to
the county dog warden or deputy who captures an unregistered dog
or cat. Such The county dog warden and deputy wardens shall
each give bond in a sum
of not less than one thousand dollars and
not more than two thousand dollars conditioned on the faithful
performance of their duties.
Such The bonds shall be filed with
the county commission by which
such those persons are appointed.
The county dog warden and his
or her deputies shall patrol
the county in which they are appointed and shall seize on sight
and impound any dog
or cat more than six months of age found not
wearing a valid registration tag, except dogs
or cats kept constantly confined in a registered dog kennel. They shall be
responsible for the proper care and final disposition of all
impounded dogs
and cats. The county dog warden shall make a
monthly report, in writing, to the county commission of his
or
her county. When any dog
or cat shall have has been seized and
impounded, the county dog warden shall forthwith give notice to
the owner of
such the dog
or cat, if
such the owner be known to
the warden, that
such the dog
or cat has been impounded and that
it will be sold or destroyed if not redeemed within five days.
If the owner of
such the dog
or cat be not known to the dog
warden, he shall post a notice in the county courthouse. The
notice shall describe the dog
or cat and the place where seized
and shall advise the unknown owner that
such the dog
or cat will
be sold or destroyed if not redeemed within five days.
(b) Any county commission may promulgate and enforce such
ordinances
and rules not inconsistent with the provisions of this
article, as it considers necessary or convenient for the control
and management of all dogs
and cats in the county, or any portion
thereof, regardless of the age of any
such dog
or cat: Provided,
That the county commissions may promulgate and enforce
such the
ordinances and rules to the extent necessary for the
implementation of the provisions contained in this article.
(c) The county commission of each county may provide in
such
the ordinance for the arrest, conviction and punishment of any person who violates the provisions thereof. The county
commission of each county may provide in
any such the ordinance
that any person who violates the provisions of the ordinance is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, that
such
the person is subject to a fine or fines. The amount of
such the
fine for a single violation of any
such ordinance may not exceed
one hundred dollars. Magistrate courts and circuit courts shall
have concurrent jurisdiction with respect to
such the
misdemeanors.
(d) The terms "destruction," "destroy," "cause to be
destroyed" and "destroyed according to acceptable humane
standards," as used in this section and WV Code §30-10A and
§7-10-5, mean humane euthanasia of dogs and cats in the following
order of preference: (1) A lethal dose of sodium pentobarbital,
a sodium pentobarbital derivative or the most recent "euthanasia
drug of choice," as defined in section eight, article ten-a,
chapter thirty of this code, to be administered by intravenous
injection by hypodermic needle by a licensed veterinarian or by
a certified euthanasia technician in accordance with the
provisions of article ten-a, chapter thirty of this code; (2) any
other procedure approved by the American Veterinary Medical
Association, the Humane Society of the United States or the
American Humane Association.
(e) Emergency method:
The following method shall be used only in an emergency
situation in which the safety of people or other animal life is
threatened or in a situation in which the mandatory method of
euthanasia of cats and dogs cannot be implemented expeditiously
and will cause undue suffering. This method shall not be used as
a substitute for the mandatory method.
Shooting: The animal may be destroyed by shooting:
Provided, That:
(1) The animal is restrained in a humane manner.
(2) Shooting is performed by a highly skilled and trained
person utilizing a weapon and ammunition of suitable caliber and
other characteristics to produce instantaneous death by a single
shot; and
(3) Maximum precaution is taken to protect the general
public, employees and other animals.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to include cats, as well
as dogs, for licensing and control by dog wardens, and to provide
for humane disposition of diseased, injured and unclaimed cats
and dogs.
§7-10-6 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.