Marengo ordinance defines dangerous animals

MARENGO — An amendment to a Marengo ordinance will define dangerous animals and increase fines for keeping them within the city limits.

The Marengo City Council approved the second reading last month to changes in the animal protection and control ordinance. The changes forbid keeping vicious or dangerous animals and sets the fine for keeping one at $750.

According to the ordinance, an animal is considered vicious or dangerous when an attack by the animal requires a defensive action by a person to prevent bodily injury or property damage when such person is behaving peacefully and lawfully, or when an attack results in property damage or injury.

It also applies to animals that attack other animals and animals that exhibit behavior which constitutes a threat of bodily harm to someone behaving peacefully and lawfully.

Fines for allowing dangerous animals to run at large increase to $30 for the first offense, $100 for a second offense, $250 for the third offense and $500 for the fourth and subsequent offenses.

The new ordinance would prohibit the keeping of dangerous animals and allows the city to have the animal destroyed if it is found at large and unattended upon public property and cannot be confined or captured.

If police receive a complaint of someone keeping a vicious or dangerous animal, and an investigation finds the complaint to be true, police may order that the owner remove the animal from the city, or place the animal in the city pound or shelter or destroy the animal within three days, the city ordinance says.

An animal that has previously caused serious physical harm or death may be immediately seized and impounded or killed if seizure and impounding are not possible, the new ordinance says.

Owners have three days to file written appeal of such a judgment with the city council.

The changes to the ordinance will become law if the city council approves the third reading following a public hearing Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.

Marengo Police Chief Ben Gray told the city council during a meeting in August that the policy update was initiated after some recent court cases. The city realized it did not define what vicious or dangerous animals are.

The city had left the decision up to the court in the past, said Gray, and the court hasn’t always agreed with the city.

The ordinance changes to prohibit all vicious animals rather than dogs only, said Gray, and the fines are increased from $30, $50 and $100 to “put more sting to repeat offenders.”

Marengo City Attorney Gage Kensler said the ordinance is comparable to what other cities have.

Gray confirmed that he took the new parts of the ordinance from ordinances of other cities.