For your convenience, we have listed some of the most common animal control violations. Below you will find a link to the full Animal Control Code and a link to the associated fees.
- All dogs must be licensed each year, except as otherwise provided herein, to a person of the age of eighteen (18) years or older. Any person owning, possessing or harboring any dog shall obtain a license for such animal within thirty (30) days after the dog reaches the age of six (6) months; or in the case of a dog over six (6) months, within 10 days of the acquisition of the dog. License applications must be submitted annually to Grantsville City, utilizing a standard form which requests name, address, telephone number of the applicant; breed, sex, color, age of the animal and current rabies information. The application shall be accompanied by the prescribed license fee and by a current rabies vaccination certificate. Rabies vaccinations shall be given by a licensed veterinarian every two (2) years.
- License fees: Annual license fees for dogs are as follows and license fees and any other fee provided for by this Chapter may hereafter be amended by Resolution of the City Council.
Female dog $25.00
Male dog $25.00
Spayed or neutered dog $15.00
Late fee - Double the regular fee.
No dog will be licensed as spayed or neutered without proof that such surgery was performed. The license shall be effective from the date of purchase through the end of March of the following year, after which a late fee shall be imposed. Licenses for the following year may be purchased within ninety (90) days prior to the expiration date. No person or persons at any one residence within the City shall at any one time own or license more than two (2) dogs in any combination except as otherwise provided for herein.
It shall be unlawful for the owner or person having charge, care, custody or control of any dog to allow such dog at any time to run at large. The owner or person charged with responsibility for a dog found running at large shall be strictly liable for a violation of this section regardless of the precautions taken to prevent the escape of the dog and regardless of whether or not he knows that the dog is running at large. The enhancement period for a conviction under this section shall be for a period of two (2) years from the date of conviction.
The Penalty schedule is as follows:
1st offense $50.00
2nd offense $75.00
3rd offense $125.00
4th offense $250.00
Each additional offense will be treated as a 4th offense.
Any owner or person having charge, care, custody or control of an animal or animals causing a nuisance as defined below shall be in violation of this ordinance and subject to the penalties provided herein. The following shall be deemed a nuisance:
- Any animal which:
- Causes damage to the property of anyone other than its owner.
- Is a fierce, dangerous or vicious animal as defined herein and kept contrary to Section 4-1-15 above.
- Causes unreasonable fouling of the air by odors.
- Causes unsanitary conditions in enclosures or surroundings.
- Defecates on any public sidewalk, park, or building, or on any private property without the consent of the owner of such private property, unless the person owning, having a proprietary interest in, harboring or having care, charge, control, custody or possession of such animal shall immediately remove any such defecation to a proper trash receptacle.
- Barks, whines or howls or makes other disturbing noises in an excessive, continuous, or untimely fashion.
- Molests passers by or chases passing vehicles.
- Attacks other domestic animals.
- Is determined by the Department of Animal Control or County Health Department to be a public nuisance by virtue of being offensive or dangerous to the public health, welfare, or safety.
- Any animal which, by virtue of the number maintained, are determined by the Department of Animal Control or County Health Department to be offensive or dangerous to the public health, welfare or safety.
- A person is guilty of cruelty to animals if the person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence:
- fails to provide necessary food, care, or shelter for an animal in his custody;
- abandons an animal in the person's custody;
- transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner;
- injures an animal;
- causes any animal, not including a dog, to fight with another animal of like kind for amusement or gain; or
- causes any animal, including a dog, to fight with a different kind of animal or creature for amusement or gain.
- A violation of Subsection A is:
- a class B misdemeanor if committed intentionally or knowingly; and
- a class C misdemeanor if committed recklessly or with criminal negligence.
- A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to an animal if the person:
- tortures an animal;
- administers poison or poisonous substances to an animal without having a legal privilege to do so;
- kills or causes to be killed an animal without having a legal privilege to do so.
- A violation of Subsection C is:
- a class B misdemeanor if committed recklessly; and
- class C misdemeanor if committed with criminal negligence.
(If the violation of Subsection C is committed intentionally or knowingly the offense is a Class "A" misdemeanor under §76-9-301(4)(a) of the Utah Code.)
- It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the conduct of the actor towards the animal was:
- by a licensed veterinarian using accepted veterinary practice;
- directly related to bona fide experimentation for scientific research, provided that if the animal is to be destroyed, the manner employed will not be unnecessarily cruel unless directly necessary to the veterinary purpose or scientific research involved;
- permitted under §18-1-3 of the Utah Code (attacking dogs);
- by a person who humanely destroys any animal found suffering past recovery for any useful purpose; or
- by a person who humanely destroys any apparently abandoned animal found on the person's property.
- For purposes of Subsection E.4, before destroying the suffering animal, the person who is not the owner of the animal shall obtain:
- the judgment of a veterinarian of the animal's nonrecoverable condition;
- the judgment of two other persons called by the person to view the unrecoverable condition of the animal in the person's presence;
- the consent from the owner of the animal to the destruction of the animal; or
- a reasonable conclusion that the animal's suffering is beyond recovery, through the person's own observation, if the person is in a location or circumstance where the person is unable to contact another person.
- This section does not affect or prohibit the training, instruction, and grooming of animals, so long as the methods used are in accordance with accepted husbandry practices.
- This section does not affect or prohibit the use of an electronic locating or training collar by the owner of an animal for the purpose of lawful animal training, lawful hunting practices, or protecting against loss of that animal.
- Upon conviction under this section, the court may in its discretion , in addition to other penalties:
- order the defendant to be evaluated to determine the need for psychiatric or psychological counseling, to receive counseling as the court determines to be appropriate, and to pay the costs of the evaluation and counseling;
- require the defendant to forfeit any rights the defendant has to the animal subjected to a violation of this section and to repay the reasonable costs incurred by any person or agency in caring for each animal subjected to violation of this section;
- order the defendant to no longer possess or retain custody of any animal, as specified by the court, during the period of the defendant's probation or parole or other period as designated by the court; and
- order the animal to be placed for the purpose of adoption or care in the custody of a county and municipal animal control agency, an animal welfare agency registered with the state, sold at public auction, or humanely destroyed.
- This section does not prohibit the use of animals in lawful training.
- As used in this section:
- "Abandons" means to intentionally deposit, leave, or drop off any live animal: without providing for the care of that animal or in a situation where conditions present an immediate, direct, and serious threat to the life, safety, or health of the animal.
- "Animal" means a live, nonhuman vertebrate creature. "Animal" does not include animals kept or owned for agricultural purposes and cared for in accordance with accepted husbandry practices, animals used for rodeo purposes and does not include protected and unprotected wildlife as defined in §23-13-2 of the Utah Code.
- "Custody" means ownership, possession, or control over an animal.
- "Legal privilege" means an act authorized by state law, including Division of Wildlife Resources statutes and rules, and conducted in conformance with local ordinances.
- "Necessary food, care, and shelter" means appropriate and essential food and other needs of the animal, including veterinary care, and adequate protection against extreme weather conditions.
Municipal Code: Animal Control
Fees
