§ 7-79. Cruelty to and neglect of animals.

(a)

It is unlawful for any person to intentionally kill, maim, disfigure, torture, beat with a stick, chain, club or other object, mutilate, burn or scald with any substance, or overdrive any animal, except that reasonable force may be employed to drive off vicious or trespassing animals.

(b)

It is unlawful for any person to drive or work any animal cruelly.

(c)

It is unlawful for any person to fail, refuse or neglect to provide any animal in his charge or custody, as owner or otherwise, with adequate care, food, health care, shelter, and water.

(d)

It is unlawful for any owner or keeper to abandon any animal. For purpose of this section, "to abandon" means for the owner or keeper to leave an animal without demonstrated or apparent intent to recover or resume custody or to leave an animal for more than 12 hours without providing for adequate food, water and shelter for the duration of the absence.

(e)

It is unlawful for any person by any means to make accessible to any animal, with the intent to cause harm or death, any substance which has in any manner been treated or prepared with a harmful or poisonous substance. It is not the intent of this section to prohibit the use of poisonous substances for the control of vermin that pose a threat to the public health.

(f)

It is unlawful for any person to carry any animal or cause any animal to be carried in or upon any vehicle in a dangerous or careless manner.

(g)

Legislative findings. It is the purpose of this section to promote the health and safety of the residents of the city and protect dogs from neglect by reducing the number of improperly tethered dogs. The unified government recognizes that dogs that are continuously and improperly tethered have an increased potential to be poorly socialized, act aggressively toward humans, and be neglected by their owner. In order to better protect the safety of its citizens and the welfare of the animal, restraint by tethering must meet certain standards.

(h)

Tethered animals must not:

(1)

Be tethered unattended to any utility pole, parking meter, building, structure, fence, sign, tree, shrub, bench or other object on public property or on private property without the prior permission of the person or agency in charge thereof, and no pet animal shall be tethered within ten feet of, or in such a manner as to permit it to intrude upon, neighboring property, a public sidewalk or street;

(2)

Be tethered directly with chains or other tethers, restraints or implements without the proper use of a collar, harness or other device designed for tethering;

(3)

Be tethered with a chain, leash, rope or tether that is shorter than ten feet in length;

(4)

Be tethered with a chain, leash, rope, collaring device, tether, or any assembly or attachments thereto that due to weight, inhibit the free movement of the animal within the area tethered;

(5)

Tether a dog in such a manner as to cause injury, strangulation, or entanglement of the dog on fences, trees, posts or other man-made or natural obstacles.

(i)

It is unlawful for any person to have, keep or harbor any animal that is infected with any dangerous or incurable and/or painfully crippling condition except as hereinafter provided. A municipal court judge may order a person convicted under this section to turn the animal involved over to the animal control division. If, in the opinion of a licensed veterinarian, the animal appears to be diseased or disabled beyond recovery for any useful purpose, the animal may be humanely euthanized. This section shall not be construed to include veterinary hospitals or animals under active veterinary care.

(j)

It is unlawful for any person to cause, instigate, stage, train or torment any animal for or permit any fight between any animal and another animal or human.

(k)

It is unlawful for any person to attend or solicit attendance at or be an umpire, judge, or other official at a fight staged between any animal and another animal or human.

(l)

It is unlawful for any person to give or to offer to give a live animal as a prize, a business inducement, or any other form of gratuity, except purebred livestock given away as a part of a farm youth organization program.

(m)

It is unlawful for any person to use as a toy or for display or decorative purposes, to sell or offer for sale, to expose for sale, to subject to any form of mistreatment or careless handling, or to dye any newly hatched fowl or newly born rabbit.

(n)

It is unlawful for any person to confine calves, sheep or hogs by tying their legs, except during a properly licensed rodeo, or in any way confine them in closed boxes or otherwise, or have in his possession any calves, sheep or hogs so tied or confined, or load into any freight car or into any other conveyance, for the purpose of transportation, any animal in a cruel or inhumane manner.

(o)

It is unlawful for any person to induce or encourage any animal in an animal exhibition, rodeo or circus to perform through the use of the chemical, mechanical, electrical or manual devices in a manner which will cause or is likely to cause physical injury or suffering.

(p)

It is unlawful for any person to display for sale, sell, exchange, barter, or give away any animal except in the following places:

(1)

A commercial animal establishment having a valid business license and licensed with the state department of agriculture.

(2)

A private kennel or cattery licensed with the state department of agriculture.

(3)

A private residence, provided that should the residence exceed the limit of animals sold under K.S.A. 47-1701(f), that residence is licensed with the state department of agriculture.

(q)

It is unlawful for any person to intentionally use a wire, pole, stick, rope or any other object to cause an equine to lose its balance or fall for the purpose of sport or entertainment.

(r)

The provisions of this section shall not apply to:

(1)

Normal or accepted veterinary practices;

(2)

Bona fide experiments carried on by commonly recognized research facilities;

(3)

Killing, attempting to kill, trapping, catching or taking of any animal in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 32-101 et seq. or K.S.A. 47-101 et seq.;

(4)

Rodeo practices accepted by the Rodeo Cowboys' Association;

(5)

The humane killing of an animal which is diseased or disabled beyond recovery for any useful purpose, or the humane killing of animals for population control by the owner thereof, by the agent of such owner residing outside of a city, by the owner thereof within a city if no animal shelter, pound or licensed veterinarian is within the city, by a licensed veterinarian at the request of the owner thereof, by any officer or agent of an incorporated humane society, by the operator of an animal shelter or pound, by a local or state health officer, or by a licensed veterinarian five working days following the receipt of any such animal with tags identifying its owner at such society, shelter or pound;

(6)

With respect to farm animals, normal or accepted practices of animal husbandry;

(7)

The killing of any animal by any person at any time which may be found outside the owned or rented property of the owner or custodian of such animal and which is found injuring or posing a threat to any person, farm animal or property;

(8)

An animal control officer trained by a licensed veterinarian in the use of a tranquilizer gun, using such gun with the appropriate dosage for the size of the animal, when such animal is vicious or could not be captured after reasonable attempts using other methods; or

(9)

Laying an equine down for medical or identification purposes.

(s)

As used in this section, the term "equine" means a horse, pony, mule, jenny, donkey or hinny.

(t)

Cruelty to animals is a Class A violation.

(Code 1988, § 7-57; Ord. No. O-22-03, § 1, 6-5-2003; Ord. No. O-8-15 , § 1, 1-29-2015)