§ 14-28. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Ordinance, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Abandon shall mean to forsake an animal entirely or neglect or refuse to provide or perform the legal obligations for care and support of an animal by its Owner or its Custodian.
Animal means every living vertebrate other than a human being.
Animal Control Officer shall be defined in accordance with F.S. § 828.27, as may be amended and shall be deemed appointed as an agent of the County as contemplated in F.S. § 828.03.
Animal cruelty, torture or torment shall be held to include every act, omission, or neglect whereby unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering is caused, except when done in the interest of medical science, or otherwise permitted under Florida Law.
Animal hoarding means the activity of a person characterized by the following:
A.
Failure to provide minimal standards of sanitation, space, nutrition or veterinary care for animals; and
B.
Attempts to accumulate or maintain a collection of animals in the face of progressively deteriorating conditions.
Animal-related business means any for-profit person or business required to hold a business tax receipt that renders services to, for or by any domestic animal, excepting commercial agricultural operations and the offices or practices of State-certified and licensed veterinarians. Examples of animal-related businesses include, but are not limited to, boarding facilities, doggie day cares, groomers, pet shops, petting zoos, pony rides, stables, and training facilities.
Animal-related organization means any not-for-profit entity that maintains premises for the purpose of rendering services to, for or by any domestic animal. Examples of animal-related organizations include, but are not limited to, rescues that maintain premises as a central location for their activities, sanctuaries, service dog organizations and animal shelters.
Animal services means the Collier County Domestic Animal Services Division. Animal services may be referred to herein as "Division."
Animal services center means any place approved as such by the Board of County Commissioners for the detention, care and/or treatment of animals in custody.
At-large means off the premises of the owner and not under the direct control of the owner or other competent person, on a suitable leash of dependable strength sufficient to restrain the animal.
Commercial Breeder means any person or business required to hold a business tax receipt who engages in the sale or breeding of three (3) or more litters of dogs or cats, per a one-year period or offers one (1) or more domestic cat(s) or dog(s) for breeding or stud purposes, producing three (3) or more litters per year, excepting service dog organizations that are members of Assistance Dogs International. Commercial breeders are subject to agricultural zoning requirements of the Land Development Code.
Community cat shall means any un-owned free-roaming cat that has been sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, ear-tipped or ear-notched, implanted with an RFID, and returned to field and may be cared for by one (1) or more residents of the immediate area who is/are known or unknown.
Community cat caregiver means any person who provides food, water, shelter, and/or cares for one (1) or more community cat(s) but who does not own, harbor, keep, or have custody, control, or charge of such cats.
County veterinarian means a veterinarian, duly licensed by the state, appointed by the Director to be a consultant to the county health department and to the Director.
Custodian means any person who is not the Owner of an animal, but is in possession of or control of an animal.
Dangerous dog shall be defined in accordance with F.S. § 767.11, as may be amended.
Direct control means the immediate, continuous physical control of an animal at all times by such means as a fence, tether, or suitable leash of dependable strength, sufficient to restrain the animal; or specially trained hunting animals engaged in legal hunting, or animals engaged in shows or organized obedience training programs where the animals respond to commands.
Director of animal services means the director of the Collier County Domestic Animal Services Division, or his or her designee.
Ear-notched means a "v" has been cut from the tip of the left ear of a cat.
Ear-tipped means the tip of the left ear of a cat has been cut in a straight line.
Free-roaming means any dog or cat found outdoors regardless of its appearance, behavior or ownership status.
Grooming means that animals shall be groomed in such a manner to maintain health. Animals shall be provided with hair, hoof, claw, nail, tooth and beak care as appropriate and as necessary to maintain health and comfort.
Health officer means the director of the County health department, or his designee.
Hobby Breeder means any person who intentionally or unintentionally causes or allows the breeding or studding of one (1) or more domestic cat(s) or dog(s), producing one (1) to two (2) litters per household or premises per a one-year period, excepting service dog organizations that are members of Assistance Dogs International.
Livestock means all animals of equine, bovine, or swine class, including sheep, goats and other grazing animals.
Owner means any person having a right of property in an animal. If the owner is a minor as defined by statute, the minor's parent(s) or legal guardian(s) shall be deemed the owner for purposes of this chapter.
Pet dealer shall mean any person who, in commerce, for compensation or profit engages in the sale of a dog(s) or cat(s) for use as a pet but who does not engage in breeding dogs or cats. This definition excludes humane societies, private nonprofit animal organizations, animal rescue organizations and animal shelters.
Police working dog shall mean any dog owned by any State, County or municipal police department or any State or Federal law enforcement agency, which has been trained to aid law enforcement officers and is actually being used for police work purposes.
Premises means the principle place of operation for all animal-related businesses, animal-related organizations, commercial and hobby breeders, and rodeos, specifically where animals are housed on a day-to-day basis.
Proper Enclosure for primary means of confinement for dogs means an enclosed or locked pen or structure, designed to prevent the animal from escaping. Such pen or structure shall be a structurally sound enclosure, made of materials impervious to moisture and shall also provide protection from injury and the elements. The square footage of a proper enclosure used as a primary means of confinement for a dog must be equal to or greater than the length of the animal from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, doubled, then squared, and divided by 144. For example, a dog measuring 30 inches from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail will require a 25 square foot enclosure (30 x 2 = 60; 60 x 60 = 3,600; 3,600/144 = 25). The height of the enclosure shall be equal to or greater than the length of the animal from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail multiplied by 1.5.
Psittacine birds means all birds commonly known as parrots, Amazons, Mexican doubleheads, parakeets, African grays, cockatoos, macaws, lovebirds, loris, lorikeets, and other birds of the Psittacine family.
Radio frequency identification device (RFID), commonly referred to as a Microchip, means a device that is implanted underneath the skin of a dog, cat or other animal that when scanned produces a unique number that identifies the animal and its owner, if properly registered. When present, an RFID with registration information shall be considered the primary indication of ownership.
Rescue Organization, Animal Rescue Group, Animal-related organization shall mean a duly incorporated non-profit organization that has tax exempt status in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, founded or chartered with the primary mission being the welfare, care, and adoption/placement of stray, abandoned, or surrendered animals, and which does not breed dogs or cats or obtain these animals for any form of payment or compensation from any source other than an animal shelter. Such organizations make pets available on a cost-recovery basis and/or foster animals or enlist others to foster animals.
Rescue Pet Placement Partner means a group of persons who has completed a Collier County Pet Placement Partner application and is approved to rescue adopt animals from animals services, who hold themselves out as an animal rescue group, accept or solicit dogs, cats, or other animals with the intent of finding permanent adoptive homes or providing lifelong care for such dogs, cats, or other animals, and who use foster homes as the primary means of housing animals; or a group of persons formed for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
Research or testing means any use of any animal in any vivisection, including demonstration or practice surgery, medical or biomedical research, medical experimentation, medical or nonmedical education, or to test any medication, radiation, toxicity, element, chemical or chemical compound, or to study the effects of any consumer product on humans or animals, or for use in biological production or other substantially similar research or testing for scientific, medical, biomedical, educational, or veterinary purpose, by any individual, school, college, university, hospital, laboratory, or any other institution or entity of any description, public or private. Such uses of an animal that does not expose any animal to any incision or puncture, to torture, torment, or cruelty, to any immediate or future damage or impairment, or to unusual stress, is not research or testing as defined herein.
Rodeo means any event or show involving the use of equines, and/or bovines for the exhibition of skills in riding, bronco or bull riding, calf roping, and/or bulldogging, where a fee is charged to witness the event.
Shelter shall mean, provision of and access to a three-dimensional structure having a roof, walls and a floor, which is dry, sanitary, clean, weatherproof and made of durable material. At a minimum, the structure must:
1.
Be sufficient in size to allow each sheltered animal to stand up, turn around, lie down, and stretch comfortably;
2.
Be designed to protect the sheltered animal from the adverse effects of the elements and provide access to shade from direct sunlight and regress from exposure to inclement weather conditions;
3.
Be free of standing water, accumulated waste and debris, protect the sheltered animal from injury, and have adequate ventilation and for dogs and cats, provide a solid surface, resting platform, pad, floormat or similar device that is large enough for the animal to lie on in a normal manner; and
4.
Be properly lighted to provide a regular lighting cycle of either natural or artificial light corresponding to the natural period of daylight unless otherwise directed by a veterinarian. Structures with wire, grid or slat floors which permit the animal's feet to pass through the openings, sag under the animal's weight or which otherwise do not protect the animal's feet or toes from injury are prohibited except for birds where perches are provided.
Standards of Care refers to a set of rules and regulations governing the care and feeding of animals maintained in or by animal-related businesses, animal-related organizations, commercial breeders, hobby breeders, and rodeos, as adopted by the Board of County Commissioners.
Sustenance shall mean access to and the provision of palatable nourishment appropriate for the type of animal which is to eat it, free from contamination and provided in a clean and sanitary manner. Food shall be of sufficient nutritional value to maintain the animal in good health and shall be provided at suitable intervals for the species, age and condition of the animal but not less than once daily except as otherwise prescribed by a veterinarian or as dictated by naturally occurring states of hibernation or fasting normal to the species.
Tether means to restrain a dog by tying the dog to any object or structure, including without limitation a house, tree, fence, post, garage, or shed, by any means, including without limitation a chain, rope, cord, leash, or running line. Tethering shall not include using a leash to walk a dog.
Trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) shall mean a program whereby a free-roaming cat is humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated against the threat of rabies, implanted with an RFID, ear-notched or ear-tipped; and returned to their original point of pick-up or other suitable location as part of a community cat management program.
Unaltered shall mean an animal that has not been sterilized.
Unprovoked means that a person, who has been conducting himself or herself peacefully and lawfully, has been bitten or chased in a menacing fashion or attacked by an animal. The meaning of "unprovoked" as it relates to Section Thirteen (§ 14-38) shall follow the definition as provided in F.S. ch. 767.
Vaccination means administering to any animal, pursuant to a certificate of vaccination issued by a licensed state veterinarian, an anti-rabies vaccine approved by the state department of health and rehabilitative services.
Water shall mean provision of, and access to, clean, fresh, potable water, of a drinkable temperature, which is free from contamination, and provided in a suitable manner, in sufficient volume, and at suitable intervals, to at all times maintain normal hydration for the age, species, condition, size and types of each animal, except as otherwise prescribed by a veterinarian or as dictated by naturally occurring states of hibernation.
Wild animal means any living non-domesticated species defined as wildlife by the wildlife code of the state fish and wildlife conservation commission.
(Ord. No. 2018-33, § 1)
Cross reference
Definitions generally, § 1-2.