AMENDING SAUK CO. CODE § 27.07 TO BRING THE ANIMAL CONTROL ORDINANCE INTO CONFORMITY WITH STATE STATUTES

Background: The current animal control ordinance is overly broad as to the animals that may be quarantined and does not provide for release of vaccinated animals.   This is both inconsistent with state statute and does not take into account vaccination-compliant animals.  Wis. Stat. §95.21(5)(b) states if a dog or cat is ordered to be quarantined because there is reason to believe that the animal bit a person, the custodian of an isolation facility or the owner shall keep the animal under strict isolation under the supervision of a veterinarian for at least 10 days after the incident occurred.  Sauk Co. Code §27.07(6) requires any animal involved in a bite incident whose owner resides outside Sauk County, shall be impounded at the Sauk County Animal Shelter or at the office of a local veterinarian if space is available.

The proposed language is specific as to cats and dogs, and provides the Animal Control Officer the discretion to transfer a vaccinated dog back to its residence for isolation. The Animal Control Officer would be responsible for forwarding all bite case information to the responsible jurisdiction completing the quarantine and the Sauk County Health Department. This proposed change would place Sauk County in line with other surrounding counties.

Additionally, other non-substantive changes have been made to the attached Appendix to improve the clarity of the ordinance and to comport with the standard formatting currently in use, and your undersigned Committee has considered these amendments and believes that adoption of these amendments is in the best interest of Sauk County.