Halifax By-law A-700, s. 2(a) — Animal By-law

“animal” includes any living mammal, livestock, bird, reptile, amphibian, insect or arachnid, and excludes:

• (i) wildlife, and
• (ii) human being;
• (b) “apprehend” means to take an animal into custody without a warrant;
• (c) “attack” means to injure, bite, or threaten;
• (d) “cat” means a non-feral or feral cat, either male or female;
• (e) “Chief Administrative Officer” means the Chief Administrative Officer of the Municipality;
• (f) “Committee” means the Appeals Committee established pursuant to By-law A- 100, the Appeals Committee By-law;
• (g) “dog” means a dog, male or female, or an animal that is the result of the breeding of a dog and any other animal;
• (h) “leash” means a device made of rope, cord or similar material:
• (i) used by a person to restrict the movement of an animal;
• (ii) that is adequate for the purpose of restricting the animal; and
• (iii) that does not exceed 3 meters in length;
• (i) “License Administrator” means the person or persons designated by the Chief Administrative Officer and includes a person acting under the supervision and direction of the License Administrator;
• (j) “license tag” means the tag issued by the Municipality upon licensing of the animal and which contains a serial number or other means of identification corresponding with the number under which the animal is licensed by the License Administrator;
• (k) “livestock” includes cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, ponies, poultry, mules, alpacas, llamas and ratites;
• (l) “microchip” means an approved Canadian Standard encoded tag implanted into an animal, which contains a unique code that permits or facilitates access to an

owner’s name, address and telephone number, which is stored in the municipal registry;

• (m) “municipal public park” includes any municipal park, Point Pleasant Park, Shubie Park, school grounds, public swimming areas, service animal areas, playgrounds or sports or athletic fields owned or operated by the Municipality or the Halifax Regional School Board, but excludes Provincial or Federal lands;
• (n) “municipal registry” means the records maintained by the License Administrator regarding every licensed animal in the Municipality, which shows:
• (i) the issuance date, expiry date and number of the license;
• (ii) the name and description of the animal;
• (iii) the name and address of the owner;
• (iv) the category of license assigned to the animal; and
• (v) if the animal is a dog, whether the dog has been designated as a dangerous dog.
• (o) “Municipality” means the Halifax Regional Municipality;
• (p) “muzzle” means a humane covering device of sufficient strength placed over

a dog’s mouth to prevent it from biting;

• (q) “owner” includes:
• (i) when used in respect of an animal:
• (A) any person who possesses, has the care of, has the control of, or harbours the animal, and where the person is a minor, includes the person responsible for the custody of the minor; or
• (B) the registered owner; or
• (ii) when used in respect of property:
• (A) a part owner, joint owner, tenants in common or joint tenant of the whole or any part of land or a building;
• (B) in the case of the absence or incapacity of the person having title to the land or building, a trustee, an executor, a guardian, an agent, mortgagee in possession, or a person having the care or control of the land or building including a tenant; or
• (C) in the absence of proof to the contrary, the person assessed for the property;
• (r) “Peace Officer” means a police officer, by-law enforcement officer or a special constable appointed pursuant to the Police Act, S.N.S. 2004, c.31;
• (s) “prohibited animal” means:
• (i) all venomous snakes, venomous reptiles, venomous insects, and venomous arachnids;
• (ii) green anacondas, yellow anacondas, reticulated pythons, African rock pythons, Burmese pythons, Indian pythons, and amethyst pythons; and
• (iii) snakes exceeding 3.3 meters in length, and lizards exceeding 2 meters in length, with length being measured from the animal’s snout to the tip of its tail; but excludes any animal that was licensed and microchipped in accordance with By- Law A-300, the Animal By-law, within ninety (90) days of April 1, 2008 and which has been continuously licensed since that date;
• (t) “poultry” means common domestic fowl, including any cock, hen, chicken, capon, turkey, goose, gander, duck, drake, guineafowl, peacock, peahen, swan, or pigeon;
• (u) “registered owner” means the person or persons listed as the owner of the animal in the municipal registry;
• (v) “running at large” means to be off the property of its owner and:
• (i) without a leash;
• (ii) on a leash that is not held by a person; or
• (iii) on a leash but not under the control of a person;
• (w) “seize” means to take an animal into custody pursuant to a warrant;
• (x) “service animal” means any animal that is a licensed service animal under this By-law and:
• (i) any animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability; or
• (ii) any animal used for search and rescue or law enforcement purposes;
• (y) “shelter” means any premises and facilities designated by the Municipality as animal shelters for the keeping and disposition of impounded animals; and
• (z) “Shelter Keeper” means a person appointed by the Municipality, including an employee, to be in charge of a shelter and includes a person acting under the supervision and direction of a Shelter Keeper; and
• (aa) “wildlife” means vertebrates that, in their natural habitat, are usually wild by nature and includes
• (i) domestic organisms that are physically similar to their wild counterparts,
• (ii) exotic wildlife,
• (iii) hybrid descendants of wildlife or of wildlife and a domestic organism,
• (iv) the eggs, sperm or embryos of wildlife, and
• (v) any other organism designated as wildlife by the Governor in General in accordance with the Wildlife Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 504, and the regulations. Dog Control Officer