Environment Committee
Planning and Development Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DUTIES OF ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS
SUMMARY: This act extends the duties of animal control officers (ACOs) to include enforcing laws on domestic animals, instead of just dogs. In practice, ACOs already work with other domestic animals, and by law, ACOs may arrest someone who violates the laws relating to dogs or other domestic animals (CGS § 22-330).
The act requires municipal pounds to accommodate domestic animals, in the same way that they must accommodate dogs. By law, municipalities, other than those participating in a regional pound, must (1) provide and maintain a suitable building to comfortably keep and care for detained dogs and (2) provide veterinary care for those dogs.
The act also makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2015
ACO MAY TAKE CUSTODY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS
The act extends the duties of ACOs to include taking control of other domestic animals, instead of just dogs. In doing so it allows an ACO to (1) take custody of a domestic animal found injured, neglected, abandoned, or mistreated and (2) impound it or, if necessary, put it down humanely. An ACO must immediately notify the animal's keeper of an impoundment, if the keeper is known. If the keeper is unknown, the ACO must advertise the impoundment in a newspaper and on pet adoption websites. If an animal is not claimed, the ACO may sell it or, as a last option, put it down humanely. Anyone aggrieved by an ACO's taking of an animal may complain to the ACO's appointing authority.
OLR Tracking: JLK: DC: PF: cmg