Dog problems and animal control is not helping.

[Bullitt]

City employees probably don't deal with livestock too much so this would be a new situation for them more than likely.

It isn't just livestock. It states, "attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowls." I guess they want to call chickens fowls. This would also cover the dog attacking your cat, dog, or any other animal.

 

[citychickx6]

link to article about it being legal to shoot a dog in Colorado for harassing your chickens. http://durangoherald.com/apps/pbcs....ngowoman’sdogshotkilledafterattackingchickens

Nice link. It does state that it is legal to protect livestock from attack in Colorado ..... however ..... Durango is rural and the shooting was on a county road that is mostly farming. I do not think it would be viewed the same in Loveland where I am.
I had rabbits years ago and a dog jumped the fence to get into my yard and attack the hutches (I now have a 6' fence). I called animal control and they pretty much told me to call the cops since it was after 5 pm.
YUP they are rather useless when it comes to dealing with REAL animal issues in progress.
I gave the dog a free ride to the pound and the dispatcher a piece of my mind.

I know Texas has different laws and it is worth knowing exactly what the ones in your city are.

 

[hydeist420]

Thank you to everyone who gave me answers,they were all thoughtful and informative.I would've never found these laws on my own,hopefully I won't have anymore problems with dogs anymore,and i'll reinforce my coop with hogwire when I get enough money together.
Everyone here is really helpful and welcoming as well

 

[War Chicken]

Disclaimer: although I am a lawyer, this is somehow not legal advice

The Texas animal cruelty statute defines animal cruelty as:

§ 42.092. Cruelty to Nonlivestock Animals

(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:
(1) tortures an animal or in a cruel manner kills or causes serious bodily injury to an animal;
(2) without the owner's effective consent, kills, administers poison to, or causes serious bodily injury to an animal;
(3) fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, water, care, or shelter for an animal in the person's custody;
(4) abandons unreasonably an animal in the person's custody;
(5) transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner;
(6) without the owner's effective consent, causes bodily injury to an animal;
(7) causes one animal to fight with another animal, if either animal is not a dog;
(8) uses a live animal as a lure in dog race training or in dog coursing on a racetrack; or
(9) seriously overworks an animal.

Therefore, shooting paintballs or air gun pellets at or killing a dog attacking livestock would be animal cruelty under (b)(2) and (b)(6) if not for the following sub-section:


(e) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(2) or (6) that:
(1) the animal was discovered on the person's property in the act of or after injuring or killing the person's livestock animals or damaging the person's crops and that the person killed or injured the animal at the time of this discovery; or
(2) the person killed or injured the animal within the scope of the person's employment as a public servant or in furtherance of activities or operations associated with electricity transmission or distribution, electricity generation or operations associated with the generation of electricity, or natural gas delivery.


In short, in Texas, you can injure a dog with non-lethal means during or after it attacks your chickens. You can also kill it during or after the act. The animal cruelty statutes of many other states are similar. In fact, most of the states' whose animal cruelty statutes I've examined are similar.

However, the best options are probably:

1) If you want to remain "on the level," video evidence of the dogs attacking your chickens. Then shoot to kill. These cases often seem to turn on whether the dogs were actually attacking livestock and video evidence would erase all doubt.

2) Quietly dispose of the dogs (it sounds like a pack of strays no one would miss) using Conibear traps or even poison. Discretion is often better than being legally in the right since the latter could involve a lot of legal wrangling and bad blood between neighbors.

 

[Mattemma]

Shoot to kill.A pellet gun would be considered cruelty unless you could get a kill shot with it. Multiple dogs are a danger to you so be cautious.

 

[War Chicken]

Shoot to kill.A pellet gun would be considered cruelty unless you could get a kill shot with it. Multiple dogs are a danger to you so be cautious.

Actually, both killing and injuring an animal are considered animal cruelty (see the statute above). The use of lethal force is not a defense to a charge of animal cruelty. Killing or injuring an animal that is or was attacking livestock is a defense.

 

[Chemguy]

Great thanks bullitt,still i wonder why the city customer service operators didn't want to tell me this information in the first place.Does it vary city to city or is the state law the final say so

City law usually cannot counterract state law, except in certain circumstances, usually where personal safety issues are concerned. Like firing a gun within city limits, or selling liquor for example. The animal control folk should be aware of the state livestock laws and should be able to advise you, but my experience is that they likely are not. A sheriff, though, probably knows a lot more about the pertinent laws. I strongly recommend contacting the sheriff's office.

There have been many suggestions in this thread, but only knowledgeable local authorities can advise you correctly in how to handle the dogs.

P.S. I assume that you are allowed to keep chickens in the first place.

 

[bobbi-j]

City law and state law aside, the main thing to think about when considering whether or not to shoot any animal is safety. If you're in a city, town, village, anywhere where you have close neighbors, you should not be discharging a firearm. Period. If you're using a .22 or other rifle, the bullets can travel up to a mile or more. They can also ricochet and you'll have no idea where they will travel. I don't know about Texas, but I do know that most municipalities around here have laws against shooting within 500' of a dwelling.

 

[Bullitt]

I don't know about Texas, but I do know that most municipalities around here have laws against shooting within 500' of a dwelling.

There are exceptions, though. You can shoot to protect yourself from physical harm from an animal or a person.

 

[NoZolbitty]

Something I saw on YouTube might be of use. the person who submitted the video was having problems with strays visiting his backyard. He used an air horn which sent them scurrying.