62.20. - Definitions.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, or unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning, the words and phrases in the following list of definitions shall, for the purposes of this title, have the meanings indicated. Additional definitions may be found within specific provisions of this title. All words and phrases not defined shall have their common meaning.
Abandon means to desert, forsake, or absolutely give up an animal without having secured another owner or custodian for the animal or by failing to provide the elements of basic care or to knowingly desert, forsake, or absolutely give up without having secured another owner or custodian any animal in any public or private property including, but not limited to, the right-of-way of any public highway, road or street or on the property of another. For the purpose of this definition, a cat that is involved in a TNR program is not considered abandoned.
Adequate care means the responsible practice of good animal husbandry, handling, production, management, confinement, feeding, watering, protection, shelter, transportation, treatment, and, when necessary, euthanasia appropriate for the age, species, condition, size, and type of the animal and the provision of veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering and impairment of health.
Adequate exercise means the opportunity for the animal to move sufficiently to maintain normal muscle tone and mass for the age, species, size and condition of the animal.
Adequate feed means access to and the provision of food that is of sufficient quantity and nutritive value to maintain each animal in good health; is accessible to each animal; is prepared so as to permit ease of consumption for the age, species, condition, size, and type of each animal; is provided in a clean and sanitary manner; is placed so as to minimize contamination by excrement and pests; and is provided at suitable intervals for the species, age, and condition of the animal, but at least once daily, except as prescribed by a veterinarian or as dictated by naturally occurring states of hibernation or fasting normal for the species.
Adequate shelter means provision of and access to shelter that is suitable for the species, age, condition, size, and type of each animal; provides adequate space for each animal; is safe and protects each animal from injury, rain, sleet, snow, hail, direct sunlight, the adverse effects of heat or cold, physical suffering, and impairment of health; is properly lighted; is properly cleaned; enables each animal to be clean and dry, except when detrimental to the species; and for dogs and cats, provides a solid surface, resting platform, pad, floor mat, or similar device that is large enough for the animal to lie on in a normal manner and can be maintained in a sanitary manner. Shelters whose wire, grid, or slat floors permit the animals' feet to pass through the openings, sag under the animals' weight, or otherwise do not protect the animals' feet or toes from injury are not adequate shelter.
Adequate space means sufficient space to allow each animal to (1) easily stand, sit, lie, turn about, and make all other normal body movements in a comfortable, normal position for the animal and (2) interact safely with other animals in the enclosure. When an animal is tethered, adequate space means a tether that permits the above actions and is appropriate to the age and size of the animal; is attached to the animal by a properly applied collar, halter, or harness configured so as to protect the animal from injury and prevent the animal or tether from becoming entangled with other objects or animals, or from extending over an object or edge that could result in the strangulation or injury of the animal; and is at least three (3) times the length of the animal, as measured from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail, except when the animal is being walked on a leash. When freedom of movement would endanger the animal, temporarily and appropriately restricting movement of the animal according to professionally accepted standards for the species is considered provision of adequate space.
Adequate treatment means the responsible handling or transportation of animals in the person's ownership, custody, or charge or care, appropriate for the age, species, condition, size, and type of the animal.
Adequate water means provision of and access to clean, fresh, potable water of a drinkable temperature that is provided in a suitable manner, in sufficient volume, and at suitable intervals, but at least once every four (4) hours, to maintain normal hydration for the age, species, condition, size and type of each animal, except as prescribed by a veterinarian or as dictated by naturally occurring states of hibernation or fasting normal for the species; and is provided in clean, durable receptacles that are accessible to each animal and are placed so as to minimize contamination of the water by excrement and pests or an alternative source of hydration consistent with generally accepted husbandry practices.
Adoption means the transfer of ownership of any animal from a releasing agency to an individual.
Agricultural animal means all livestock and poultry used for food or fiber.
Ambient temperature means the temperature surrounding the animal.
Amphibian means and includes salamanders, newts, caecilians, frogs, and toads.
Anaconda means and includes all species formerly or currently placed within genus Eunectes.
Animal means every living creature except members of the human race.
Animal abuse or neglect means any of the following:
(1) Insertion of any implement into any bodily orifice, unless directed by a veterinarian specifically in connection with training for a medical or reproductive procedure.
(2) Striking an animal with any sharp object.
(3) Striking an animal on or around any sensitive area.
(4) Striking an animal in any manner with any object as to cause injury or pain.
(5) Applying tools used in training repeatedly and with such force that they cause any physical harm to the animal (i.e. breaking the skin, bleeding, bruising, etc.).
(6) Withholding or reducing an animal's daily recommended amount of food and/or water.
(7) Withholding veterinarian care for any reason.
(8) Failure to provide adequate care, grooming, exercise, feed, shelter, space, and/or water.
(9) Stabbing, shooting, beating, maiming, abandoning, starving, torturing, or any other act or omission leading to the death of or unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal, regardless of ownership.
(10) Failure to provide veterinary care to prevent pain, suffering or disease transmission, including euthanasia when needed.
Animal control officer means persons employed by the City of Minneapolis for code enforcement, who shall have the power to enforce this title, all ordinances enacted pursuant to this title and all statutes, rules and laws of the State of Minnesota for the control and protection of animals, as applicable.
Apiary means the assembly of one (1) or more colonies of honeybees at a single location.
Aquarium means a building or institution in which aquatic animals are kept for commercial exhibition or display.
Assembly/transfer facility means a facility approved for holding, feeding, hitching and short-term care of registered horses when they are not on a carriage run or in a loading zone. The facility shall not be used for overnight stabling.
At large means any animal found to be unrestrained by fenced yard, tether, or leash attached to a competent person.
Beekeeper means a person who owns or has charge of one (1) or more colonies of honeybees.
Beekeeping equipment means anything used in the operation of an apiary, such as hive bodies, supers, frames, top and bottom boards, and extractors.
Boa means and includes all species formerly or currently placed within the family Boidae.
Boarding establishment means a place or establishment other than a public or private animal shelter where companion animals not owned by the proprietor are sheltered, fed, and watered in exchange for a fee.
Clean means the absence of dirt, grease, rubbish, garbage, animal and bodily excretions, or offensive, unsightly, or extraneous matter.
Collar means a well-fitted device, appropriate to the age and size of the animal, attached to the animal's neck in such a way as to prevent trauma or injury to the animal.
Colony means an aggregate of honeybees consisting principally of workers but having, when perfect, one (1) queen and at times drones, brood, combs, and honey.
Commercial animal establishment means any business that breeds, raises, sells, boards, distributes, or exhibits animals for entertainment or educational purposes including but not limited to, kennels, aquariums, pet shops, petting zoos, riding schools or stables, zoological parks, or performing animal exhibition.
Companion animal means a nonhuman mammal, bird, or reptile impounded or held for breeding, or possessed by, cared for, or controlled by a person for the present or future enjoyment of that person or another.
Consumer means any person purchasing an animal from a dealer or pet shop or hiring the services of a boarding establishment. The term "consumer" shall not include a business or corporation engaged in sales or services.
Coop means a closed structure which provides protections from the elements of nature including heat and cold and protects fowl from predators. A coop shall provide for nesting, feeding and watering space for each fowl.
Cruelty means any act, omission, or neglect which causes or permits to be caused unnecessary or unjustifiable pain, suffering, or death.
Custodian means a person, firm, corporation, organization, or department possessing, harboring, keeping, having an interest in, or having care, custody, or control of an animal provided the animals are kept only temporarily, for five (5) days or less, on the premises and are owned by others. This does not include animals being housed for a rescue or other type of not for profit releasing agency.
Dealer means any person who in the regular course of business for compensation or profit buys, sells, transfers, exchanges, or barters companion animals. The following shall not be considered dealers: (1) any person who transports companion animals in the regular course of business as a common carrier or (2) any person whose primary purpose is to find permanent adoptive homes for companion animals on a nonprofit basis.
Direct and immediate threat means any clear and imminent danger to a person's or animal's health, safety or life.
Diseased animal means any animal which has or is suspected of having rabies, distemper, panleucopenia, glanders, farcy, tuberculosis or any other disease dangerous or communicable to humans or animals.
Domestic animal means any of the various non-venomous animals domesticated so as to live and breed in a tame condition.
Domesticated cat means a cat that is socialized to humans and is appropriate as a companion for humans.
EAID means an electronic animal identification device.
Eartipping means straight-line cutting of the tip of the left or right ear of a cat while the cat is anesthetized.
Emergency veterinary treatment means veterinary treatment to stabilize a life-threatening condition, alleviate suffering, prevent further disease transmission, or prevent further disease progression.
Enclosure means a structure used to house or restrict animals from running at large.
Euthanasia means a good death of an animal that is merciful, peaceful, kind, and compassionate which is accomplished by a method that involves instantaneous unconsciousness and immediate death or by a method that involves anesthesia, produced by an agent that causes painless loss of consciousness and death during such loss of consciousness.
Exhibitor means any person who has animals for or on public display.
Farming activity means, when consistent with standard animal husbandry practices, the raising, management, and use of agricultural animals to provide food, fiber, or transportation and the breeding, exhibition, lawful recreational use, marketing, transportation, and slaughter of agricultural animals pursuant to such purposes.
Farm animal means any of the various species of animals domesticated as to live and breed in a tame condition and kept for agricultural purposes such as but not limited to horses, cattle, goats, sheep, llamas, potbellied pigs, pigs, and bees. Farm animals do not include domestic or wild animals.
Feral cat means a cat that is born in the wild or is the offspring of an owned or feral cat and is not socialized or is a formerly owned cat that has been abandoned or lost and is no longer socialized.
Feral cat caretaker means any person other than an owner who provides food, water, or shelter to or otherwise cares for a feral cat or multiple feral cats.
Feral cat colony means a group of cats that congregate, more or less, together as a unit. Although not every cat in a feral cat colony may be feral, any non-feral cats that congregate with a colony shall be deemed to be a part of it.
Feral cat colony caretaker means any feral cat caretaker who is approved by a sponsor to care for a feral cat colony and who resides in the city. The caretaker must reside within six (6) blocks of the colony.
Food producing animal (FPA) means any species of animal used for the production of food or fiber.
Foster care provider means a person who provides care or rehabilitation for companion animals through an affiliation with a public or private animal shelter, home-based rescue, releasing agency, or other animal welfare organization.
Foster home means a private residential dwelling and its surrounding grounds, or any facility other than a public or private animal shelter, at which site through an affiliation with a public or private animal shelter, releasing agency, or other animal welfare organization, care or rehabilitation is provided for companion animals.
Fowl means any of the various species of domesticated poultry as to live and breed in a tame condition such as but not limited to chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigeons, swans, and doves.
Good repair means free of corrosion, breaks, cracks, chips, pitting, excessive wear and tear, leaks, obstructions, and similar defects so as to constitute a good and sound condition.
Great bodily harm means bodily injury which creates a high probability of death or which causes serious permanent disfigurement or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily harm.
Groomer means any person who, for a fee, cleans, trims, brushes, makes neat, manicures, or treats for external parasites any animal.
Harm means any result or action caused by behavior which could qualify for a potentially dangerous or dangerous animal declaration; or any action which may cause injury to either human or animal.
Hearing officer means an impartial person retained by the city to conduct a hearing prescribed in this title.
Hen means a female bird.
Hive means the receptacle inhabited by a colony that is manufactured for that purpose.
Honeybee means all life stages of the common domestic honeybee, Apis mellifera species of European origin.
Humane means any action taken in consideration of and with the intent to provide for the animal's health and well-being.
Impounded animal means an animal seized or taken into protective custody by a public authority that is being held.
Intake animal means an animal that enters a public or private sheltering agency or rescue group regardless of whether the animal is a stray, owner relinquished, transferred from another private or public sheltering agency, or is an animal whose owner requests that the animal be euthanized except for an animal presented to a medical clinic associated with such agencies for the purpose of preventive or rehabilitative medical care or sterilization.
Irremediably suffering animal means an animal with a medical condition that has a poor or grave prognosis for being able to live without severe, unremitting pain as determined by a veterinarian licensed to practice in this state.
Livestock includes all domestic or domesticated: bovine animals; equine animals; ovine animals; porcine animals; cervidae animals; capradae animals; animals of the genus Lama; ratites; fish or shellfish in aquaculture facilities, enclosed domesticated rabbits or hares raised for human food or fiber; or any other individual animal specifically raised for food or fiber, except companion or domestic animals.
Lot means a contiguous parcel of land under common ownership.
Microchip means to implant an EAID (electronic animal identification device) in an animal.
Mobile pet care vehicle means a motor vehicle used for the sale, grooming, breeding, treating, exhibition, or any other form of care for hire of any animal, reptile, fish, or bird. A mobile pet care vehicle does not include a motor vehicle used solely for transporting animals, reptiles, fish or birds.
New owner means an individual who is legally competent to enter into a binding agreement and who adopts or receives any animal from a releasing agency.
Non-rehabilitatable animal means an animal with severe illness or injury whose prognosis for rehabilitation is either poor or grave as determined by a veterinarian or an animal with historical or observed behavior that poses a potential safety risk to humans and other dogs or cats that cannot be reasonably managed.
Nucleus colony means a small quantity of honeybees with a queen housed in a smaller than usual hive box designed for a particular purpose.
Nuisance means any animal that habitually or continually howls, cries, or screams or habitually and significantly destroys, desecrates, or soils property against the wishes of the owner of the property.
Owner means any person having a right of property in an animal or who keeps or harbors an animal, or who has it in his care, or acts as its custodian, or who knowingly permits an animal to remain on any premises occupied by him or her. "Owner" does not include a feral cat caretaker or feral cat colony caretaker.
Owner-relinquished/surrendered animal means any animal taken into custody by a public or private sheltering agency because the owner has voluntarily agreed to transfer ownership of the animal to that agency for the purposes of re-homing or euthanasia.
Pet shop means an establishment where companion animals are bought, sold, exchanged, or offered for sale or exchange to the general public.
Poultry means and includes all domestic fowl and game birds raised in captivity.
Primary enclosure means any structure used to immediately restrict an animal or animals to a limited amount of space, such as a room, pen, cage, compartment, or hutch. For tethered animals, the term includes the shelter and the area within reach of the tether.
Private residence means a free standing home that does not share hallways or air ducts with a neighboring unit. Apartments are not considered a private residence for the purposes of this title.
Private sheltering agency means a shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, humane society, or animal adoption group designated as a nonprofit under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that accepts animals into a physical facility other than a private residence and places into new homes stray or owner-relinquished animals or animals who have been removed from a public or private sheltering agency.
Properly cleaned means that debris, food waste, excrement, and other similar contaminating material are removed from the primary enclosure with sufficient frequency to minimize the animals' contact with the above-mentioned contaminants; the primary enclosure is sanitized with sufficient frequency to minimize odors and the hazards of disease; and the primary enclosure is cleaned so as to prevent the animals confined therein from being directly or indirectly sprayed with the stream of water, or directly or indirectly exposed to hazardous chemicals or disinfectants.
Properly lit means that any building or dwelling where animals are housed and its surrounding grounds has sufficient illumination to permit routine maintenance and cleaning thereof and observation of the companion animals; and to provide regular diurnal lighting cycles of either natural or artificial light to promote the well-being of the animals being housed or cared for.
Provocation means an act that an adult could reasonably expect may cause an animal to attack or bite.
Public nuisance shall have the meaning provided pursuant to Minnesota Statute and this Code.
Public sheltering agency means a public animal care and control shelter that receives funding or has a contract with a city, town, political subdivision, or municipality for the purpose of sheltering seized, stray, homeless, abandoned, unwanted, or owner relinquished/surrendered animals.
Python includes all species formerly or currently placed within the family Pythonidae.
Rabid animal means an animal showing signs associated with rabies that are observed and reported by a veterinarian or an animal diagnosed as positive for rabies by a recognized laboratory.
Rabies authority means Minneapolis Animal Care and Control as having oversight of all rabies exposures in the City of Minneapolis.
Rabies suspect means any animal which is considered as a potentially rabid animal under the guidelines of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health, which has bitten any person and caused an abrasion of the skin of such person or has otherwise exposed that person to its saliva or brain matter through an open wound or mucous membrane.
Range/exercise yard means a larger fenced area that provides ample space for safe exercise, forage, sunlight, earth and vegetation that is regularly available to the birds when supervised.
Registered horse means any horse that is registered with the licensing official in accordance with Chapter 303 of this Code, and which meets the requirements of Chapter 303.
Releasing agency means a public animal shelter, private animal shelter, humane society, animal welfare organization, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other similar entity or rescue that releases or transfers companion animals for adoption or placement with another public or private sheltering agency or rescue.
Reptile means and includes turtles, terrapins, tortoises, lizards, worm lizards, snakes, crocodiles, alligators, caimans, gharials, gavials, and tuataras.
Rescue group or organization means a collaboration of individuals not operated for a profit and designated as a nonprofit by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, whose primary stated purpose is animal adoption or animal rescue, or which is formed for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
Research facility means any place, laboratory, or institution licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at which scientific tests, experiments, or investigations involving the use of living animals are carried out, conducted, or attempted.
Sanitize means to make physically clean and to remove and destroy, to a practical minimum, agents injurious to health.
Savable animal means any animal that is either healthy or treatable and is not a dangerous or potentially dangerous animal as defined by state law or city ordinance.
Severe injury means any physical injury that results in broken bones, multiple bites, or disfiguring lacerations requiring sutures or reconstructive surgery.
Service animal means a dog or miniature horse that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.
Shelter means a structure designed to protect any animal from the elements of nature.
Stable means any enclosed permanent structural facility approved to house registered horses throughout the twenty-four (24) hour day.
Sterilize or sterilization means a surgical or chemical procedure performed by a licensed veterinarian that renders a dog or cat permanently incapable of reproducing.
Stray animal means an animal that is running at large and has been impounded by a public authority without a known owner present or captured and relinquished by a private citizen with no known owner.
Sponsor means any humane animal-related organization, registered as a nonprofit with the State of Minnesota, that satisfactorily meets the requirements of this title.
Substantial bodily harm means bodily injury which involves a temporary or permanent but substantial disfigurement, or which causes temporary or permanent but substantial loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or which causes a fracture of any bodily member.
Tether means a method (cable, rope, or chain) of physical restraint intended to secure and confine an animal to a specific location in a safe and humane manner.
TNR means trap, neuter, and return.
TNR program means a program pursuant to which feral and stray cats are trapped, neutered or spayed, microchipped, vaccinated against rabies, and returned to the location where they congregate in accordance with this title.
Trap means any mechanical device used to capture any animal that otherwise would not be captured.
Trapping means a method of setting or laying or otherwise using a mechanical device to catch, snare, or otherwise restrain the free movement of any animal.
Treatable animal means an animal that is sick or injured whose prognosis for rehabilitation of that illness or injury is excellent, good, fair, or guarded as determined by a veterinarian.
Undeveloped property means any idle land that is not improved or actually in the process of being improved with residential, commercial, industrial, church, park, school, or governmental facilities or other structures or improvements intended for human occupancy and the grounds maintained in associations therewith. The term shall be deemed to include property developed exclusively as a street or highway or property used for commercial agricultural purposes.
Unprovoked means that the victim who has been conducting himself or herself peacefully and lawfully has been bitten or chased in a menacing fashion or attacked by an animal.
Under restraint means an animal that is:
(1) Within a secured vehicle;
(2) Within a secured fence or building within the owner's property limits;
(3) Tethered in accordance with city ordinance; or
(4) Controlled on a leash by a responsible custodian or owner.
Unweaned animal means a neonatal animal that, in the absence of its mother, requires supplemental bottle feeding by humans in order to survive and is no more than four (4) weeks of age.
Vaccination against rabies means the inoculation of an animal by a licensed veterinarian with a vaccine approved for that species by the United States Department of Agriculture and administered in accordance with recommendations listed in the most current Compendium of Animal Rabies Control.
Veterinarian means a person licensed in the State of Minnesota or another state of the United States to practice veterinary medicine.
Veterinary treatment means treatment by or on the order of a duly licensed veterinarian.
Venomous snake means any species formerly or currently placed within the family of Elapidae, Viperidae, or Astractaspididae. Also included are species formerly or currently found within the genus Dispholidus (Boomslangs) in family Colubridae. This includes, but is not limited to, rattlesnakes, cobras, vipers, mambas, boomslangs, coral snakes, asps, stiletto snakes, sea snakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths.
Weaned means that an animal is capable of and physiologically accustomed to ingestion of solid food or food customary for the adult of the species and has ingested such food, without nursing, for a period of at least five (5) days. (Ord. No. 2016-009, § 1, 2-12-16)
