Cedar Rapids ‘vicious’ animal ordinance revised

CEDAR RAPIDS - The City Council Tuesday night voted to change the classification of some animals that bite so city officials have options to keep the offending animals in the community rather than euthanizing them.

Specifically, the change will allow city officials to call animals “potentially dangerous” rather than “vicious” if, for instance, the bite of a person did not require medical attention or if the bite has injured another domestic animal.

Once tagged "potentially dangerous," the new ordinance allows the city's animal control manager to require that the owner house the animal in a proper enclosure to prevent the entry of other people or to prevent the animal's escape. In addition, the owner must neuter or spay the animal and implant it with a microchip with the information about the owner and animal. The animal control manager also may require the owner to take the animal to behavior-modification classes.

It is illegal under the updated ordinance to own, keep or harbor a wild, exotic or dangerous animal, and those categories of animals under the ordinance amendment can be euthanized or moved to a registered or licensed facility once a court finds the owner in violation of the ordinance.

The ordinance defines a dangerous animal as one who attacks, bites or has a history of attacking people or other domestic animals one or more times without provocation; one who engages in or has been trained to exhibitions of fighting; or any animal found to be potentially dangerous who bites a person without provocation.

Doing away with the vicious label will give the city more of a chance “to work with” the animal owners,” the city has said.

The updated ordinance also provides “pretty significant” increases in fines for those who are repeat offenders as a way to “hold them more accountable.”