The animals and dangerous

Policing powers of the mayor

The presence of pets such as the dogs or the cats can be at the origin of more or less large disorders public healthiness peace. You can be resulted in intervening, by using your policing powers, in the event of divagation of the dogs and the cats, or of presence of dangerous dogs in the commune, and by setting up a service of pound.

> 1.Vos policing powers with respect to the wandering of the dogs and the cats

article 213-1 of the rural Code, a dog must be regarded as :
- if it is not any more under the effective monitoring of its Master;
- if it is out of reach voting right of its Master or any sound instrument allowing its recall;
- if it is distant from its owner or the person who of it is responsible for a distance exceeding eters;
- if it abandoned and is delivered to its only instinct.
According to article 213-1 of the rural Code, a cat must be regarded as :
- if it not is identified and found with more than two hundred meters of the dwellings;
- if it is found with more than thousand meters of the residence of its Master and that it is not under his immediate monitoring;
- if it is seized on the public highway or the property of others and that its owner is unknown.
Consequently, the dogs and the cats can circulate only in the following conditions:
vaccinated against the rage;
identified by tattooing;
under the direct monitoring of their owner.
The owner of a dog or a cat must be able to forward to any requisition of your share a certificate of valid anti-rabic vaccination and a card of registration of the animal.

According to item R. 622-2 of the new , the fact of letting digress an animal likely to forward a danger to the people is punished fine planned for the infringments of 2nd class.

>According to article 213 of the rural Code, you must make all provisions suitable to prevent the wandering of the dogs and cats. You can in particular:
- to order that these animals are held leaves some and that the dogs are muzzled;
- to prescribe that the wandering dogs and cats and all the animals which would be seized on the territory of the commune are led to the pound, where they are kept during the time allowed at articles 213-4 and 213-5.

The responsibility for your commune can be engaged because of the insufficiency of the measurements which you took to prevent the divagation of the dogs and the cats (see EC, April 27th, 1962, Of , . EC, p. 281).

>Lastly, according to article 213-6 of the rural Code, in the unscathed departments of rage, you can, by closure, with your initiative or the request of an association of welfare of animals, to make proceed to the capture not identified cats, without owner or guard, alive in group in public places of your commune, in order to make carry out their sterilization and their identification, before their slackening in these same places.

> 2.Vos policing powers with respect to the dangerous dogs

> the detention of the dangerous dogs

article 211-2 resulting from the law 99-5 of January 6th, 1999 published in the Official journal of January 7th, 1999, cannot hold the dogs mentioned with the item 211-1du rural Code, dogs of attack, guard and defense (see the closure of April 27th, 1999 published in the OJ of April 30th, 1999 fixing the list of the dogs likely to be dangerous):
- elderly of less than eighteen years;
- the major ones in supervision, unless they were not authorized there by the judge of the supervisions;
- people condemned for crime or to a sorrow of imprisonment with or without deferment for offense registered with the bulletin 2 of the police records or, for the foreign nationals, in an equivalent document;
- the people to which the property or the guard of a dog was withdrawn pursuant to article 211.

Is punished three months of imprisonment and of 16 803 F of fine makes it hold a dog pertaining to
first or the second category mentioned in article 211-1, in infringment with enacted prohibition pointed out above.

>According to article 211-3 of the rural Code resulting from the law 99-5 of January 6th, 1999, when the people are authorized to hold a dog mentioned in article 211-1 of the rural Code, they must make a statement with the town hall by providing the parts justifying:
- identification of the dog conforms to article 276-2 of the rural Code;
- anti-rabic vaccination of the valid dog;
- for the male and female dogs of the first category, the veterinary certificate of sterilization of the animal;
- under conditions fixed by decree, the subscription of an insurance guaranteeing the civil liabilities of the owner of the dog or that which holds it, for the possible damage caused with the third parties by the animal.

The statement must be made with the town hall of the place of residence of the owner of the animal or, when it defers from that of its owner, of the place of residence of the dog. This statement must be again deposited each time at the town hall of the new residence.

> The circulation of the dangerous dogs

article 221-5 of the rural Code, the access of the dogs of attack to public transport, the public places - except for the public highway - and to the buildings open to the public is prohibited. Their stationing in the common parties of the apartment buildings is also prohibited. Always, according to this item, the dogs of attack, guard and defense must be muzzled and held leaves some by a major person on the public highway, in the common parties of the apartment buildings. It is the same for the guard dogs and of defense in the public places, the buildings open to the public and public transport.

>In addition, according to article 211 of the rural Code resulting from the law 99-5 of January 6th, 1999 published Official journal of January 7th, 1999, if an animal is likely, because of the procedures of its guard, to forward a danger to the people or the pets, you must, of your own initiative or at the request of any person concerned, to prescribe with the owner or the guard of this animal to take measures likely to prevent the danger.

In the event of inexecution, by the owner or the guard of the animal, the prescribed measurements, you can, by closure, to place the animal in a discharge point adapted to the greeting and the guard of the aforementioned. The expenses are the responsibility of the owner or the guard.

If, at the conclusion of a frank time of guard of eight working days, the owner or the guard does not forward all the guarantees as for the implementation of the prescribed measurements, you can authorize the manager of the discharge point, after opinion of a veterinary surgeon elected by the management of the veterinary services, either to make proceed to the euthanasia of the animal, or to have about it under the provided for conditions to II article 213-4.

The owner or the guard of the animal must be invited to forward his observations before the implementation of the provisions of article 211 of the rural Code. However, in the event of urgency, this formality is not required and the capacities of the mayor can be exerted by the prefect.

> 3.Vos obligations as regards

article 213-3 of the rural Code, each commune must have either a communal pound suited to the greeting and the guard of the dogs and cats found wandering, or in a state of wandering, until the term of the time allowed at articles 213-4 and 213-5, or of the service of a pound established on the territory of another commune, with the agreement of this commune. Each must have a capacity adapted to the needs for each commune for which it ensures the service of greeting of the animals. It belongs to you, by closure, to define the capacity of it.
>According to article 213-4 of the rural Code, when the dogs and the cats accommodated in the pound are identified in accordance with article 276-2 or by the port of a collar where appear the name and addresses of their Master, the manager of the pound must seek, as soon as possible, the owner of the animal.

In the departments officially stated infected by the rage, only the animals vaccinated against the rage can be returned to their owner.
The animals can be restored with their owner only after payment of the expenses of pound. In the event of non-payment, the owner is liable to a contractual fine whose procedures are defined by decree.
At the conclusion of a frank time of eight working days guard, if the animal were not claimed by its owner, he is regarded as given up and becomes the property of the manager of the pound, which can have it under the conditions defined below:
In the unscathed departments of rage, the manager of the pound can keep the animals within the limit of the capacity of greeting of the pound. After opinion of a veterinary surgeon, the manager can yield the animals on a purely free basis with foundations or associations of welfare of animals having a refuge which, only, are entitled to propose the animals with the adoption by a new owner. After the expiry of the period of guard, if the veterinary surgeon notes the need of it, it proceeds to the euthanasia of the animal.
In the departments officially stated infected by the rage, it is proceeded to the euthanasia of the animals not given to their owner at the conclusion of the time of guard.

Card-index realized by Bernard , François and François
References
Divagation of the dogs and cats:
- decree 26 606 of June 27th, 1996 relating to the fight against the rage;
- articles 213 and following of the rural Code;
- items and of the ;
- ministerial decree of July 31st, 1989.
Dangerous dogs:
- law 99-5 of January 6th, 1999 published in the OJ of January 7th, 1999;
- articles 211 and following of the rural Code…

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