Senate Bill 2950

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 21-19-9 AND 19-5-50, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE AUTHORITY OF A LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO REGULATE THE KEEPING OF CERTAIN ANIMALS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 19-5-50, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

19-5-50. (1) The governing authority of any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and having within its boundaries two (2) cities having in excess of forty thousand (40,000) population each, according to the 1970 United States decennial census and of any county bordering on the Pearl River having two (2) judicial districts, wherein is housed the seat of state government, wherein U.S. Interstates 55 and 20 interchange and having a population in excess of two hundred thousand (200,000), according to the 1970 federal decennial census, shall have the power to prevent or regulate the running at large of animals of all kinds, and to cause such as may be running at large to be impounded and sold to discharge the costs and penalties provided for the violation of such regulations and the expense of impounding and keeping and selling the same; to regulate and provide for the taxing of owners and harborers of dogs, and to destroy dogs running at large, unless such dogs have proper identification indicating that said dogs have been vaccinated for rabies; and to provide for the erection of all needful pens, pounds, and buildings for the use of the county, and to appoint and confirm keepers thereof, and to establish and enforce rules governing the same.

(2) The governing authority of any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and having within its boundaries two (2) cities having in excess of forty thousand (40,000) population each, according to the 1970 federal decennial census, and of any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and the State of Alabama in which there is a shipyard which constructs oceangoing vessels, and any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and the State of Louisiana and through which U.S. Interstate Highway 10 runs, shall have the power to prevent or regulate the running at large of animals of all kinds, and to cause such as may be running at large to be impounded and sold to discharge the costs and penalties provided for the violation of such regulations and the expense of impounding and keeping and selling the same; to regulate and provide for the taxing of owners and harborers of dogs, and to destroy dogs running at large unless such dogs have proper identification indicating that said dogs have been vaccinated for rabies; and to provide for the erection of all needful pens, pounds and buildings for the use of the county, and to appoint and confirm keepers thereof, and to establish and enforce rules governing the same.

(3) (a) The board of supervisors shall have the power to prohibit the ownership of an individual vicious animal.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection, "vicious animal" means an animal that, without provocation, has killed or injured a person, domestic animal or livestock when not on the property of its owner, or approaches a person in a vicious or terrorizing manner in an apparent attitude of attack when not on the property of its owner.

(d) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect the power of a county to regulate animal ownership under Title 49, Chapter 8.

SECTION 2. Section 21-19-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

21-19-9. (1) (a) The governing authorities of municipalities shall have the power to prevent or regulate the running at large of animals of all kinds, and to cause such as may be running at large to be impounded and sold to discharge the costs and penalties provided for the violation of such regulations and the expense of impounding and keeping and selling the same; to regulate and provide for the taxing of owners and harborers of dogs, and to destroy dogs running at large, unless such dogs have proper identification indicating that said dogs have been vaccinated for rabies; and to provide for the erection of all needful pens, pounds and buildings for the use of the municipality, within or without the municipal limits, and to appoint and confirm keepers thereof, and to establish and enforce rules governing the same.

(b) The governing authorities of municipalities may enter into pacts, agreements or contracts with other municipalities to provide for cooperation in the use or erection of all pens, pounds and buildings to prevent or regulate the running at large of animals of all kinds.

(2) (a) The governing authority of a municipality shall have the power to prohibit the ownership of an individual vicious animal.

(d) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect the power of a municipality to regulate animal ownership under Title 49, Chapter 8.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and shall apply to all ordinances without regard to the date of enactment.