(1) Wild Animals Prohibited. No person shall keep a wild
animal in any place other than a zoological park, veterinary hospital or clinic,
humane society, circus or facility used for educational or scientific purposes,
which provides proper cages, fences and other protective devices adequate to
prevent such animal from escaping or injuring the public. No license shall be
required of persons exempted in this Section.
(2) Sales or Exchanges
Disallowed. Subject to the exemptions of this Section, no person, whether or not
licensed under this article, shall sell, offer for sale or adoption or
[12] exchange with or without charge any wild
animal.
(3) Licensing Wild Animals Owned at Passage of Ordinance. Any
person owning a wild animal at the time of enactment of this title may license
such animal provided that such licensing is perfected within six (6) months of
the effective date of this ordinance. All such animals registered within this
six (6) month period shall be licensed and the fee for the licensing of such
wild animal shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) each per annum. Upon the death,
sale, or disposal of said animal, the animal may not be
replaced.
(4) Licensing Animals Kept for Exhibit.
(a) Subject
to exemptions of this Section, no person shall keep, conduct or operate within
the City of Philadelphia, any traveling animal show, petting or children's
zoo, circus, animal act or miscellaneous animal or reptile exhibit without first
obtaining a special animal permit from the Department of Licenses and
Inspections.
(b) Each application for a special animal exhibit permit
shall be in writing upon a form to be furnished by the Department of Licenses
and Inspections and shall contain such information as it shall require. The fee
for such special animal exhibit permit shall be one hundred dollars
($100.00).
(c) All special animal exhibit permits issued by the
Department of Licenses and Inspections shall be for a specific period of time,
not to exceed one (1) year, or until revoked or suspended, or until the holder
of such permit sells, assigns, transfers or otherwise disposes of his interests
therein.
(d) Upon certification by the Department of Public Health or
its authorized animal control officers, the Department of Licenses and
Inspections shall issue a permit to the applicant if it is found
that:
(i) The animals and the conduct or operation of the exhibit for
which the permit is requested, will not constitute a menace to the health,
welfare or safety of the community or the animal;
(ii) The premises
and facilities where such animals are quartered shall be maintained in a clean
and sanitary condition in order to control vermin and disease. All animal waste
is to be removed no less than every twenty-four (24) hours;
(iii) The
animals are to be provided with adequate food and drinking
water;
(iv) All animal cages and enclosures are to be constructed of
fire resistant material accompanied by fire fighting apparatus as may be
specified by the Fire Department;
(v) Supervision shall be provided in
order to prevent the mistreatment or injury of any animal by a customer or any
other person who has access to the animals; no person who has been convicted of
the crime of cruelty to animals shall be permitted to care for or have custody
of any animals; and
(vi) The premises and facilities comply with such
specific regulations as shall be promulgated by the Department of Public Health,
Fire Department, and the Department of Licenses and Inspections to carry out the
provisions of this Section.
(5) Exceptions. Unless otherwise stated, the
provisions of this Section shall not apply to any zoological park or educational
institution incorporated or authorized to do business in Pennsylvania as such;
any humane society or animal shelter; any veterinary hospital, clinic, or
office; any bona fide research institution using animals for scientific research
or any primate whose purpose is to assist a handicapped person.