Chapter 27 Animal Control Ordinance

Background: Wis. Stat. §95.21(5)(b) states if a dog or cat is ordered to be quarantined because there is reason to believe that the animal bit a person, the custodian of an isolation facility or the owner shall keep the animal under strict isolation under the supervision of a veterinarian for at least 10 days after the incident occurred. Sauk Co. Code §27.07(6) requires any animal involved in a bite incident whose owner resides outside Sauk County, shall be impounded at the Sauk County Animal Shelter or at the office of a local veterinarian if space is available. This requirement, requiring the animal to remain in Sauk County, is overly broad and more expansive than the State statute, which allows for a dog or cat to be quarantined, and does not reflect the characterization of the animals that are being quarantined in Sauk County (only dogs and cats). Additionally, the requirement that the animal shall be impounded at the Sauk County Animal Shelter or at the office of a local veterinarian, if space is available, has become onerous and untenable for Sauk County Animal Shelter to effectuate.

The proposed language provides the Sauk County Sheriff’s Department or the Animal Control Officer the discretion to transfer the quarantined animal back to its residence. The Sauk County Health Department would be responsible for forwarding all bite case information to the responsible jurisdiction completing the quarantine. This proposed change would place Sauk County in line with other surrounding counties.

Additionally, other non-substantive changes have been made to the attached Appendix to improve the clarity of the ordinance and to comport with the standard formatting currently in use, and your undersigned Committee has considered these amendments and believes that adoption of these amendments is in the best interest of Sauk County.