§ 2140 — Definitions

§ 2140. Definitions. For the purpose of this title:\n 1. "Actively immunized" shall mean that the animal has been injected\nwith a rabies vaccine suitable to the species and which meets the\nstandards prescribed by the United States department of agriculture for\ninterstate sale and which was administered according to the\nmanufacturer's instructions under the direction of a duly licensed\nveterinarian not later than the expiration date on the package. Active\nimmunization shall begin fourteen days following primary vaccination or\nimmediately following a booster vaccination, and continue for the period\nstated in the manufacturer's instructions.\n 2. "County" shall mean a county of the state other than those in the\ncity of New York.\n 3. "County health authority" shall mean the county health agency.\n 4. "Domestic livestock" includes cattle, goats, horses, donkeys,\nmules, sheep, and swine.\n 5. "Certificate of immunization" shall mean a signed statement issued\nby the veterinarian containing the following information: name and\naddress of the owner, date or dates of vaccination, type of vaccine\nadministered and duration of immunity, amount and manner of\nadministration, name of manufacturer of the vaccine, and the lot number\nand expiration date of the vaccine. The certificate of immunization for\ndomestic livestock may include multiple animals. The system of\nidentification applicable to the livestock is to be used.\n 6. "Owner" shall mean any person keeping, harboring, or having charge\nor control of, or permitting any dog, cat or domesticated ferret to\nremain on or be lodged or fed within such person's house, yard, or\npremises. This term shall not apply to veterinarians or other\nfacilities temporarily maintaining on their premises dogs, cats or\ndomesticated ferrets owned by others for periods of no more than four\nmonths or to the owner or occupant of property inhabited by a feral\nanimal.\n 7. "Confinement and observation" refers to the conditions under which\napparently healthy dogs, cats, domesticated ferrets, and domestic\nlivestock, which are not exhibiting symptoms of rabies, must be\nmaintained to determine rabies status if such an animal has potentially\nexposed a person to rabies, and the owner wishes to avoid euthanizing\nand testing the animal. If the county health authority does not approve\nhome confinement, the ten day confinement and observation period must\ntake place, at owner's expense, at an appropriate facility such as an\nanimal shelter, veterinarian's office, kennel or farm. The confinement\nmust include (i) provisions to prevent escape of the animal during the\nconfinement period and (ii) requirements that the owner notify the\npublic health authority immediately if the animal becomes ill at anytime\nduring confinement, and (iii) verification by the county health\nauthority or their designee at the end of the ten day period that the\nanimal is healthy. If a police work dog bites an individual in the\ncourse of such dog's official duty the police department may apply for a\nwaiver from confinement from the local department of health. As part of\nsuch application for a waiver, the police department shall provide the\nlocal health department with records of such dog's past vaccination for\nrabies and proof that such dog's rabies vaccinations are up-to-date.\n 8. "Quarantine" refers to a six month period of restriction for\nanimals which are not actively immunized against rabies and have been\nexposed to a potentially rabid animal, in accordance with applicable\nregulations of the department. The quarantine must include provisions to\nprevent escape of the animal during the quarantine period and to\nminimize contacts with humans and other animals, and these provisions\nmust be verified by the county health authority during and at the end of\nthe six month period.\n 9. "Local residence", under the conditions hereinafter specified,\nshall mean any person who has his or her primary residence, secondary\nresidence, vacation home or school within a county of the state of New\nYork shall be deemed to have local residence in such county.\n 10. "Qualification on residence." Local residence shall not include\nresidence:\n (a) as an incarcerated individual of any state or federal prison, or\n (b) on a military reservation.\n 11. "Initial treatment after human exposure to rabies" shall mean\nadministration of the first postexposure dose of rabies vaccine and,\nwhen necessary, administration of rabies immune globulin.\n 12. "Animal control officer" shall mean one or more persons designated\nby the county health authority as having responsibility for animal\ncontrol issues in the county. This responsibility may be delegated to\nothers such as cities and towns, law enforcement agencies, animal\nshelters, or private nuisance control officers.\n 13. "Feral animal" shall mean any cat, dog or ferret that is born in\nthe wild and is not socialized, is the offspring of an owned or feral\ncat, dog or ferret and is not socialized, or is a formerly owned cat,\ndog or ferret that has been abandoned and is no longer socialized.\n