No person shall own, possess, or harbor a dog or cat 16 weeks of age or over without obtaining a license for each animal. Pet owners shall provide proof of an animal's current city license when requested by an animal care officer. Proof shall be provided by showing a current city license to the officer, or providing a receipt from the veterinarian or authorized location where the license was purchased.
Commercial- No person shall operate a commercial animal establishment within the city limits without first obtaining the necessary permit in compliance with this article.
Residential- No person shall own or harbor any of the following categories of animals within the city limits that require a permit, without first obtaining the necessary permit in compliance with this article: Fowl, Livestock, Pet Fancier (harboring 5 or more animals unless covered by another permit), Project Animal, Rabbit, Swine.
Feral Cat- No person shall harbor any cat that is not either a licensed cat, is not covered by a feral cat permit or which is not a nonmember feral cat.
Recue Group- Any individual or organization that operates as a rescue group, or rescuer, must be registered with the Wichita Falls Animal Services Center.
Litter Permit, Stud Permit, Seller's Permit- In addition, no owner or person shall advertise, display, transfer ownership, or offer to transfer ownership of any dog, cat, or ferret over the age of six (6) months of age that is not sterilized, implanted with a microchip, and currently vaccinated against rabies.
No owner shall fail to provide their animals, fowl, or livestock with sufficient good and wholesome food and water; adequate shelter, shade, and protection from the weather; adequate space; humane care and treatment; and reasonable veterinary care as needed to prevent suffering.
No person shall beat; cruelly treat; torment; mentally abuse; overload; overdrive; overwork; kill; torture; mutilate; maim; or perform, cause to be performed, or permit to be performed any other act of cruelty upon any animal, wildlife, fowl, or livestock.
Abandonment means to leave an animal without human supervision, unattended, and/or without adequate provisions necessary for maintenance of life for an unspecified amount of time or fails to reclaim any animal that he/she owns from the ASC or any person who has temporary possession of the animal. It shall be unlawful for any person to abandon or turn any animal, excluding wildlife, loose within the city limits.
No person shall give away any live animal, reptile, fowl, livestock, or wildlife as a prize for or inducement to enter any contest, game, or other competition; an inducement to enter a place of amusement; or as an incentive to enter into any business agreement whereby the offer is for the purpose of attracting trade.
No chick, duckling, gosling, rabbit, or hamster that has been dyed or otherwise colored artificially shall be sold or offered for sale; offered or given as a prize, premium, or advertising device; or displayed in the city.
No person shall expose any known poisonous substance, whether mixed with food or not, so that the poison shall be likely to be eaten by an animal, fowl, livestock, wildlife, or person. This subsection is not intended to prohibit the prudent use on one's own property of herbicides, insecticides, or common rodent control materials (e.g., rat poisons) mixed only with a vegetable substance.
No person shall expose an open-jaw-type trap, leg hold trap, snare trap, or any type trap able or likely to cause physical harm or injury to any animal, fowl, livestock, wildlife, or person.
No animal shall be confined within a motor vehicle at any location under such conditions as may endanger the health or well-being of the animal, including, but not limited to, dangerous temperature; lack of food, water or attention; or confinement with a dangerous animal. Endangered health may be demonstrated by but not limited to the animal's excessive drooling, panting, lethargic behavior, collapse, vomiting, or convulsions. It is presumed that an animal's health, safety, or welfare is endangered when the animal is confined in a parked or standing vehicle for a period of five (5) or more minutes when the ambient outside air temperature measures above 85°F or below 35°F.
To file a complaint, click here Headline or call Animal Services Dispatch at 940-761-7824.