H. B. 2861
(By Delegates Houston, Marshall,
Yeager and Compton)
[Introduced February 22, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then the
Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections six and eight, article
twenty, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating
to prohibiting the shooting of dogs or cats at county pounds
or animal shelters that receive county or state funds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections six and eight, article twenty, chapter
nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 20. DOGS AND CATS.
§19-20-6. County dog warden; rules for dog 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 any number of deputies, for such a time, and at such compensation, as such county commission
shall deem consider reasonable and necessary to enforce the
provisions of this code with respect to the control and
registration of dogs, the impounding, care and destruction of
unlicensed dogs. Such The county dog warden may be appointed a
deputy assessor for the purpose of collecting the dog tax and
registration fees, taking the dog 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. In addition to the compensation provided
for above, a bounty of fifty cents per dog shall be paid to the
county dog warden or deputy who captures an unregistered dog.
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 the 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 more than six months of age found not wearing a valid registration tag, except dogs kept constantly confined in
a registered dog kennel. They shall be responsible for the
proper care and final disposition of all impounded dogs. The
county dog warden shall make a monthly report, in writing, to the
county commission of his or her county. When any dog shall have
has been seized and impounded, the county dog warden shall
forthwith give notice to the owner of such the dog, if such the
owner be known to the warden, that such the dog has been
impounded and that it will be sold or destroyed if not redeemed
within five days. If the owner of such the dog be not known to
the dog warden, he or she shall post a notice in the county
courthouse. The notice shall describe the dog and the place
where seized and shall advise the unknown owner that such the dog
will be sold or destroyed if not redeemed within five days.
(b) Any county commission may promulgate and enforce such
ordinances and rules, and regulations not inconsistent with the
provisions of this article, as it considers necessary or
convenient for the control and management of all dogs in the
county, or any portion thereof, regardless of the age of any such
dog: Provided, That the county commissions may promulgate and
enforce such ordinances and rules, and regulations 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 an 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 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 misdemeanors.
(d) The terms "destruction," "destroy," "cause to be
destroyed," and "destroyed according to acceptable humane
standards" as used in this section and as used in sections four
and five, article ten, chapter seven of this code, mean humane
euthanasia of dogs and cats in the following order of preference:
(1) A lethal solution 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, to be administered by intravenous injection by hypodermic
needles by a licensed veterinarian, or by a certified animal
euthanasia technician in accordance with the provisions of
article ten-a, chapter thirty of this code; and (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. The
following method shall not be used as a substitute for the
mandatory method: The animal may be destroyed by shooting,
provided that:
(1) The animal is restrained in a humane manner;
(2) The shooting is performed by a highly skilled and
trained personnel 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.
§19-20-8. Impounding and disposition of dogs; costs and fees.
All dogs seized and impounded as provided in this article,
except dogs taken into custody under section two of this article,
shall be kept housed and fed in the county dog pound for five
days after notice of seizure and impounding shall have has been
given or posted as required by this article, at the expiration of
which time all dogs which have not previously been redeemed by
their owners as herein provided, shall be sold or humanely destroyed: Provided, That no dog or cat housed at a shelter or
pound that receives county or state funds shall be destroyed by
being shot, and the same is hereby declared to be inhumane. No
dog sold as herein provided shall be discharged from the pound
until such the dog shall have has been registered and provided
with a valid registration tag.
The owner, keeper or harborer of any dog seized and
impounded under the provisions of this article may, at any time
prior to the expiration of five days from the time that notice of
the seizure and impounding of the dog shall have has been given
or posted as required by this article, redeem the same by paying
to the dog warden or his or her authorized agent or deputy all of
the costs assessed against such the dog, and by providing a valid
certificate of registration and registration tag for such the
dog.
Reasonable costs and fees, in such an amount as may be
determined from time to time by the county commission, shall be
assessed against every dog seized and impounded under the
provisions of this article, except dogs taken into custody under
section two of this article. Such The cost shall be a valid
claim in favor of the county against the owner, keeper or
harborer of any dog seized and impounded under the provisions of
this article and not redeemed or sold as herein provided, and
such the costs shall be recovered by the sheriff in a civil action against such the owner, keeper or harborer.
A record of all dogs impounded, the disposition of such the
dogs, and a statement of costs assessed against each dog shall be
kept by the dog warden and a transcript thereof shall be
furnished to the sheriff quarterly.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the killing
of dogs or cats at pounds or shelters funded by state or county
funds from being killed by shooting.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.