BAY MILLS INDIAN COMMUNITY
ANIMAL CONTROL & PROTECTION ORDINANCE
1. Purpose: The purpose of this ordinance is to regulate and the keeping of animals so as to protect the health, safety and welfare of all individuals residing on, or visiting, the Bay Mills Reservation.
This ordinance will also provide the measures to protect animals from neglect, abuse, abandonment, failure to provide adequate food, shelter or water or cruel mistreatment.
2. Definitions.
a. “Custodian” means any person having custody of another person’s dog or cat with the consent of the dog or cat owner, and said consent may be either express or implied.
b. “Harboring” means allowing any dog or cat to be lodged, or remain, or to be fed within the person’s home, store, building, enclosure or premises for a period of two (2) days or longer.
c. “Owner” means any and every person having a right of property in the animal, and every person who keeps or harbors the animal or has the animal in his/her care, and every person who permits the dog or cat to remain on or about any premises occupied by him/her.
d. “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 and the adverse effects of heat or cold, physical suffering, and impairment of health with a protective flap to eliminate drafts; 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 covered with clean dry bedding and can be maintained in a sanitary manner.
e. “Sanitary Conditions” means space free from health hazards including excessive animal waste, overcrowding of animals, or other conditions that endanger the animal’s health. This definition does not include any condition resulting from a customary and reasonable practice pursuant to farming or animal husbandry.
f. “Animal” means any one (1) or more of a kingdom of living beings (except humans) differing from plants in capacity for spontaneous movement and rapid motor response to stimulation.
g. “Animal Control Officer” means any person designated by city, county, state or Tribe to enforce the provisions of this Ordinance.
h. “Hoarding” means having more than the number of animals that the owner is able to provide minimally adequate nutrition, sanitation, and shelter for their care.
i. “Dangerous Animal” means a dog or any animal that bites or attacks a person or a dog that bites or attacks and causes serious injury or death to another dog while the other dog is on the property or under the control of its owner. It shall also mean any animal that bites or seriously injures the owner or another member of the household. It shall also mean any dog or animal determined by a court to be dangerous and any animal defined in this ordinance. However, a dangerous animal does not include any of the following:
1. An animal that bites or attacks a person who is knowingly trespassing on the property of the animal’s owner.
2. An animal that bites or attacks a person who provokes or torments the animal on the property of the animal’s owner.
3. An animal that is responding in a manner that an ordinary and reasonable person would conclude was designated to protect a person if that person is engaged in a lawful activity or is the subject of an assault.
j. “Domestic Animal” means any of the various animals (as the horse or sheep) domesticated by humans so as to live and breed in a tame condition.
k. “Exotic Animal” means, generally the species of animals which are not native to Michigan or the United States and/or are introduced from another country.
l. “Hybrid” means, any animal which is the offspring of two (2) different varieties or species.
m. “Poisonous” means a substance which, through its chemical action, usually kills, injures or substantially impairs an organism.
n. “Tribal Lands” mean:
1. All land within the limits of the Tribe’s reservation, including trust land, fee patented land and rights of way running through the reservation; and
2. All land outside the boundaries of the Tribe’s reservation held in trust by the Unites States for the individual members of the Tribe or for the Tribe; and
3. All other land considered “Indian Country” as defined by 18 U.S.C.§1151 that is associated with the Tribe.
3. Designation of Animal Control Officer. The Bay Mills Indian Community Executive Council designates the Animal Control Officer of the Chippewa County and authorizes them to enter upon tribal lands to enforce state, tribal and federal law relative to the control and quarantine of Animals.
4. Enforcement Generally. All complaints shall first be directed to Bay Mills Police Department officers who shall then call Animal Control. It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer to promptly seize, take up and place in the pound all dogs, cats and other animals, when necessary, that may be found running at large, or unlicensed, or if not tagged as required in this Ordinance or being kept or harbored any place within the tribal land contrary to the provisions of this Ordinance, state or federal laws.
5. Procedures for Animal Control Officer. The Animal Control Officer in conjunction with Bay Mills Police Department Officers is authorized in his/her discretion, to issue a notice of violation to any person violating this Ordinance or to file a sworn complaint at Tribal Court.
6. Keeping When Annoyance to Neighborhood Prohibited. No person shall harbor or keep any Animals which is a nuisance in the neighborhood, either by:
a. Barking, howling, braying, crowing or making other sounds common to its species; or
b. Failure of the owner, caretaker or possessor to maintain in a clean and sanitary condition, devoid of rodents and vermin, and free from objectionable odors, all structures, pens, coops or yards wherein any Animals are kept; or
c. Failure of the owner, caretaker or possessor to keep such Animals confined on such owner’s, caretakers or possessor’s premises; or
7. Disposition When Sick or Dead.
a. No person shall place dead Animals in rubbish or garbage containers.
b. No person shall deposit, place or throw any dead or fatally sick or injured Animal, or part thereof, on any public or private place, or into any reservoir or into, or on the banks of any stream, lake, pond, sewer, well or other body of water.
c. No person shall carry or convey any dead Animal through or upon any street, alley or public place unless the same is so covered that no part of it is exposed to view and no odors can emanate from it.
8. Dogs Running at Large Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person owning, harboring or otherwise having custody of any dog to allow or permit the dog to run at large within the Reservation of the Bay Mills Indian Community. A person shall restrain his/her dog at all times within an adequate fencing enclosure or on a leash not less than twenty (20) feet in length or accompanied by its owner or custodian who has reasonable control of the dog, shall not be deemed to be running at large.
9. Confinement of Female Dogs in Heat. The owner of a female dog in heat shall confine such dog in a building or enclosed pen or kennel until such heat is ended.
10. License Required. Dogs and cats shall at all times wear a substantial collar of leather, or other durable material, to which shall be securely attached a license issued by Chippewa County if the Animal is a dog, or a tag identifying the owner of the Animal if a cat. Members can license their pet at any and all veterinarian, animal shelter or county office.
11. Vaccinations Required. Dogs and cats shall have updated vaccinations. Vaccinations are required before licensing your pets.
12. Sanitation.
a. Yards and exercise runs shall be kept properly clean so that debris, food waste and excrement are removed from the primary enclosure with sufficient frequency to minimize the animals contact with the above mentioned contaminants; the primary enclosure/yard shall be maintained in a sanitary condition so as not to be a nuisance because of odor or attraction for flies or vermin and to prevent the animal from being exposed to hazards of disease.
b. No owner or possessor of a dog or cat shall cause, suffer or allow it to defecate upon any public or private property without the prior permission of the owner of such property unless the person, owner or possessor shall immediately remove all feces by a sanitary method. The owner or possessor shall possess a container of sufficient size to collect and remove such feces. The collected feces shall be disposed of only upon the property of the owner or possessor of the Animal.
13. Quarantine of Biting Animals. Whenever any Animal bites a person, the owner or possessor of such Animal shall immediately notify the Bay Mills Tribal Police and/or Animal Control Officer within the first twenty-four (24) hours of the bite and make themselves and the Animal readily available to the Animal Control Officer. The officer shall order the Animal held on the owner’s premises or shall have it impounded, at the discretion of the Animal Control Officer, for a period of ten (10) days. The Animal shall be examined immediately after it has bitten anyone and again at the end of such ten-day period. If a veterinarian is convinced that the Animal is free of rabies, the Animal shall be released from quarantine or from the pound as the case may be. If the dog dies in the meanwhile, its head shall be sent to the state department of health for examination and determination of rabies.
14. Animals Prohibited. It shall be unlawful and a violation of this Ordinance for any person to possess or maintain within Tribal Lands (Note: Bay Mills Housing Authority have their own list of animal prohibited in their policy.) the following Animals:
a. All Animals, including snakes, whose bite or venom is poisonous or deadly to humans.
b. Bears.
c. Constrictor snakes.
d. Coyotes.
e. Gamecocks and other fighting birds (excluding hens).
f. Lynex (Lynx) and Bobcat.
g. Pumas.
h. Raccoons.
i. Skunks.
j. Any dog that is known to be dangerous as defined in section 2(i) of this Ordinance.
k. Any Animal that maintenance or possession of is prohibited by state, federal law or tribal law.
l. Any Animal that is determined to be dangerous by a court of competent jurisdiction.
15. Hoarding Prohibited. No person shall have in their possession more animals then they can rightfully provide care for.
16. Destruction or Removal of Prohibited Animals.
a. Upon a sworn complaint that an Animal is a dangerous Animal, or one of the species of exotic or other Animal prohibited by section 14 of this Ordinance or is otherwise prohibited by this Ordinance, and is currently being possessed or maintained, the Tribal Court shall issue a summons to the owner or possessor ordering him to appear to show cause why the Animal should not be destroyed or removed from Tribal Lands.
b. Upon the filing of a sworn complaint as provided herein, the Tribal Court may order the owner or possessor to immediately turn the Animal over to the Animal Control Officer, an incorporated humane society, a licensed veterinarian, or a boarding kennel, at the owner’s option, to be retained by them until a hearing is held and a decision made for the disposition of the Animal. The expense of the boarding and retention of the prohibited Animal is to be borne by the owner. After a hearing, the Court shall issue its findings and opinion as to whether the Animal is subject to destruction or removal under this Ordinance. If so, the Court shall order the destruction of the Animal at the expense of the owner, or, in the alternative, at the Court’s discretion, order the Animal removed from the Tribal Lands under terms and condition which ensure such removal. If the Tribal Court does not order the destruction or removal, the Animal shall be returned to the owner or possessor. The owner or possessor shall be responsible for the costs of boarding the Animal.
c. Illegally possessed and/or maintained Animals, who reasonably appear to have become a dangerous Animal, are subject to immediate seizure or pickup under this Chapter. The impounded Animal shall be held at a facility designated by the Animal Control Officer, at the owner’s expense. The complaining witness shall promptly comply with the complaint requirements of subsection (a) and (b) of this section.
17. Notice & Owner Requirements of Dangerous Dogs.
a. Where the Tribal Court designates a dog has been deemed dangerous as defined in section 2(i), the Bay Mills Police Department, in conjunction with Animal Control personnel, shall notify the owner of such dog to comply with the following requirements:
1. Upon the filing of a sworn complaint as provided herein, the Tribal Court may order the owner or possessor to keep such dog confined