Porterville Municipal Code Art. V Rabies Control

This article shall be in effect only at those times when the city of Porterville is not designated as a rabies area pursuant to sections 121575 - 122374 of the Health And Safety Code of the state of California. During those periods when the city of Porterville is designated as a rabies area, the provisions of said sections 121575 - 122374 of the Health And Safety Code, and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, are applicable rather than the provisions of this article. (Ord. 1824, 6-16-2015)

Whenever the owner of an animal observes or learns that such animal shows symptoms of rabies or acts in a manner which would lead to a reasonable suspicion that it may have rabies, such person shall immediately notify the police department. Said person shall thereafter allow the police department to inspect or examine the animal. (Ord. 1824, 6-16-2015)

The owner of any rabid animal or clinically suspected rabid animal shall isolate the animal in strict confinement under proper care and under the observation of a veterinarian in a kennel, veterinary hospital, or other adequate facility in a manner approved by the police department, and said animal shall not be destroyed or released from confinement for at least ten (10) days after the onset of symptoms suggestive of rabies and until the police department gives written authorization for the release of the animal, with the exception that such animal may be euthanized with the permission of the police department for the purpose of a laboratory examination for rabies using the fluorescent rabies antibody test in an approved public health laboratory. (Ord. 1824, 6-16-2015)

Whenever the owner of an animal has knowledge that such animal has bitten any person, the owner shall immediately report that fact to the police department and report the name and address of the person bitten and the time and place that such person was bitten. Upon order of the police department, the owner shall quarantine the animal for the period of time specified in section 2606 of chapter 17 of the California administrative code with regard to rabies areas, and shall allow the police department to make inspections and examinations of the animal from time to time during such period. The police department may quarantine said animal upon the premises of the owner. However, if the owner of the animal so desires, the police department shall place the animal in quarantine in a veterinary hospital, at the expense of the owner, in lieu of quarantine of the animal on the premises of the owner. Quarantine shall be made by written notice delivered to the owner of said animal stating that the animal is quarantined and the instructions to be followed. If the quarantine is upon the premises of the owner of the animal, the animal shall be confined within a locked enclosure so constructed that the animal cannot escape or have contact with any other animal or human being other than the person responsible for its care or, at the discretion of the police department, the animal may be kept under restraint by leash in charge of a responsible person, or under such restrictions as the police department may prescribe. Said animal shall be kept in quarantine until the police department gives written authorization for the release of the animal from quarantine. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, such animal may be euthanized with the permission of the police department for the purpose of a laboratory examination for rabies using the fluorescent rabies antibody test in an approved public health laboratory. (Ord. 1824, 6-16-2015)

Any animal of a species subject to rabies which has been bitten by a known rabid or suspected rabid animal or has been in intimate contact with a rabid or suspected rabid animal shall be quarantined by the owner in a place and manner approved by the police department for a period of six (6) months or destroyed, provided, however, that the following alternatives are permitted in the case of dogs and cats: if the dog or cat has been vaccinated against rabies within two (2) years but not less than thirty (30) days with a live virus vaccine, or within one year but not less than thirty (30) days with a killed virus vaccine, as those types of vaccines are defined in section 2606 et seq., of chapter 17 of the California administrative code, the dog or cat may be revaccinated in a manner approved by the police department and quarantined in a place and manner approved by the police department for a period of thirty (30) days. The provisions of this chapter concerning quarantine shall also apply to the quarantine of animals pursuant to this section. (Ord. 1824, 6-16-2015)

When any animal is quarantined by the police department, it shall be unlawful for the owner of the animal to violate the quarantine by removing said animal from the premises where it is quarantined, allowing it to run at large, destroying it without authorization from the police department, concealing it from the police department or disobeying any of the quarantine restrictions which have been imposed by the police department. (Ord. 1824, 6-16-2015)