Hamilton By-law 12-031, s. 1.1 — In this By-law

In this By-law:

• “animal ” means any member of the animal kingdom, other than a human; “at large ” means not on a leash and under the control of some person; “bees ” means the insects known as Apis mellifera; “bite ” in all of its forms means the breaking, puncturing or bruising of the skin of a person or domestic animal caused by the tooth or teeth of a dog; “cat ” means a male or female of the species felis catus and does not include any hybrid of felis catus; “City ” means the municipality of the City of Hamilton or the geographic area of the City of Hamilton as the context requires; “Council ” means the council of the City of Hamilton; “dog ” means a male or female of the species canis familiarus and does not include any hybrid of canis familiarus; “farm ” means an agricultural operation as defined in the Farming and Food Production Protection Act, 1998 and includes such an operation that is not carried on with the expectation of gain but otherwise meets the definition in that Act; “keep ” in all its forms, includes care, control or possession whether temporary or permanent; “kennel ” means a commercial establishment, licensed or required to be licensed under Schedule 7 of the Licensing By-law No. 07-170, for the keeping or boarding for more than 16 consecutive hours or the breeding of animals that are used or are intended to be used as pets; “leash ” means a restraint not exceeding 2.4 metres in length; “livestock ” means cattle, goats, horses, sheep, swine, poultry, fur-bearing animals, bees, cultured fish, deer, elk, game animals or birds grown, produced or raised as part or all of a farm on premises zoned under a City zoning by-law permitting such a use; Revised:
• June 2022 “microchip ” means an approved Canadian Standard encoded identification device implanted into an animal which is programmed to store a unique and permanent identification number that permits access to owner information which is stored in a central database;
• “mitigating factor ” means a circumstance which excuses aggressive behaviour of a dog and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, may include circumstances where: