Compilation of State of Texas Animal Control Laws
Essentially, every county in Texas has
animal control if related laws are proactively enforced.
Proactively enforcing these laws offers promise for the correction of pet
overpopulation in our county because it will instill responsibility with pet ownership. The root of pet overpopulation stems
from irresponsible people who allow their pets to remain unsterilized, run at large
and to breed at will—thus fueling pet overpopulation and burdening our communities
and citizens with four serious liabilities—health, economic, legal, and safety (HELS). The following is a compilation of existing
State of Texas laws relating to animal control.
Because the majority of our county is without local (city) law enforcement,
the Sheriff Office becomes an important part in animal control for our county. To fully support an animal control program,
a central animal shelter is needed as its nucleus—a challenge that Hill County Paw
Pals has been fund raising and facilitating for the past four years.
The laws are:
1)
Texas Rabies Control Act (Texas Health and
Safety Code, Chapter 826). Requires
all pet owners to vaccinate (and keep current) their pets against the deadly rabies
virus after four months of age. Class
C Misdemeanor with up to $300 fine.
2)
Abandonment of Dogs and Cats (Penal Code 42.09
Animal Cruelty). Class A Misdemeanor
with up to $4,000 fine and/or year in jail.
3)
Shooting “stray” Dogs and Cats (Penal Code
42.09 Animal Cruelty).
Any person who shoots a non-livestock animal, which includes any stray or feral
cat or dog, and a wild living creature previously captured, can be charged with
a felony offense. Penal Code 42.092
of the State of Texas law states that a person must have the owner’s consent to kill
the animal (exceptions to prosecution are provided in Section 42.092(e)(1)). It is clear that a “stray” dog or
cat either has no owner or that the person who shoots the animal did not get the
owner’s consent.
4)
Dogs Dangerous to Animals (Texas Health and
Safety Code Chapter 822 Subchapter B). The
owner or keeper of a dog that the person knows is
accustomed to chase or kill livestock, domestic animals, or fowl
may not allow the dog to run at large.
The penalty of the owner who allows his dog to run at large is in violation
and can be punished with a fine not to exceed $100.
This law became effective in 1989.
5)
Keeping a Dangerous Dog (Texas Health and
Safety Code Chapter 822 Sub-Chapter D).
A dangerous dog is defined as one that makes unprovoked attacks or
acts like its going to attack a person when it is out of the enclosure
which it is being kept. State of Texas
law (Chapter 822.041) states that the owner of a dangerous dog must register the
dog with animal control office or the Sheriff Office in areas without an animal
control office and restrain the dog at all times on a leash when outside its secure
enclosure. The owner must also
purchase a $100,000 liability insurance policy specific for the dog to cover the
cost of potential damage to a person.
This law became effective in 1991.
6)
Local Rabies Control Authority (Health and
Safety Code Chapter 826.017). Mandates
that every county have this position.
7)
HB-916—Dog fighting.
Increases penalty
for dog fighting from a Class A Misdemeanor to a State Jail Felony and increases
punishment for people who attend dog fights.
8)
HB-1141—Anti-tethering law.
Prohibits an owner from tethering a dog outside between the hours of 10pm to
6am and prohibits tethering for more than 3 hours.
It also prohibits tethering outside during extreme weather conditions such
as when temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
9)
HB-1355—Known as Lillian’s Law.
This law provides that a dog owner can be held criminally responsible
if the dog causes serious bodily injury or death at a location other than the owner’s
property in an unprovoked attack during which the owner by criminal negligence failed
to secure the dog.
10)
Texas Health & Safety Code, Chapter 821
(Treatment & Disposition of Animals), Subchapter
C. Requires all animals in
animal shelters be euthanized in a humane manner with
only one of two methods by a licensed veterinarian or certified technician:
administrating sodium pentobarbital or commercially compressed carbon monoxide. In Subchapter C, “animal shelter” is
defined as a facility that collects, impounds or keeps stray, homeless, abandoned
or unwanted animals. Thus, Subchapter
C applies to rescue groups, humane societies, public animal shelters, and confinement
areas used by law enforcement officers for abandoned or unwanted animals in the
interest of public safety and health.
A violation of any provision of Subchapter C is punishable as a
Class B misdemeanor which carries a penalty of up to 180 days in jail or a fine
of up to $2,000 or both. In
other words, communities can not shoot, poison, drown or dump their “strays”.
If you would like to become involved with the grass roots movement to bring positive
change in correcting pet overpopulation in our county, please call (254) 580-0679
or email hcpawpals@yahoo.com.
Paw Pals meet at 6:30pm on the first Thursday of each month in Hillsboro
at Hill College’s cafeteria.