H. B. 4087
(By Delegates Browning, Staton and Beane)
[Introduced
January 21, 2004
; referred to the
Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then the
Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §19-20-13 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to further amend said code by adding
thereto a new section, designated §19-20-8b, all relating to
authorizing county commissions to enact ordinances prohibiting
cats from running at large and authorizing county dog wardens
or others to seize and impound cats under authority of the
ordinance; requiring the giving of notice to owners of
impounded cats; and providing owners of cats who cause damage
while running loose are liable for the damage.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §19-20-13 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that said code be further amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated §19-20-8b, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 20. DOGS AND CATS.
§19-20-
8b. County commissions authorized to provide for ordinances
to control cats running at large.
(a) Any county commission may promulgate and enforce
ordinances, rules and regulations not inconsistent with the
provisions of this article, as is considered necessary or
convenient for the control and management of all cats in the
county, or any portion of the county. The county commission may
provide in the ordinance for the seizure and impounding of cats
running at large as well as for the arrest, conviction and
punishment of any owner who allows a cat to run at large in spite
of the implementation of an ordinance prohibiting cats to run at
large.
(b) In the event a cat is seized under the provisions of any
lawful ordinance authorized by this section, the county dog warden
or other person designated with responsibility for the impoundment
of the seized cat shall forthwith give notice to the owner, if the
owner is known, that the cat has been impounded and that it will be
sold or destroyed if not redeemed within a reasonable period of
time: Provided, That no such time period is considered reasonable
unless it allows five days for the owner to claim the animal after
notice is given. If the owner is not known, notice shall be posted
in the county courthouse. The notice shall describe the cat and
the place where it was seized and it shall advise the unknown owner, if any, that the cat will be sold or destroyed if not
redeemed within five or more days.
§19-20-13. Dog or cat running at large; liability of owner.
Any owner or keeper of any dog or cat who permits such a dog
or cat to run at large shall be is liable for any damages damage or
injury inflicted upon the person or property of another caused by
such the dog or cat while so running at large.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize county
commissions to enact ordinances prohibiting cats from running at
large. The bill also authorizes county dog wardens or others to
seize and impound cats under authority of an ordinance while
requiring the giving of notice to owners of impounded cats.
Finally, the bill provides owners of cats who cause damage while
running loose are liable for the damage.
§19-20-8b
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.