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ORDINANCE RELATING TO ANIMALS; DELETING SECTION 5-16 OF THE CODE OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA; REPEALING REGULATIONS RELATING TO PEAFOWL; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE

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WHEREAS, peafowl, more commonly known as peacocks or peahens, are a non-native, invasive species that has inhabited the streets and natural areas of Miami-Dade County for years, and their population only continues to grow; and
WHEREAS, peafowl are a nuisance to residents and businesses in Miami-Dade County, destroying landscaping, damaging property, and emitting loud noises, all of which negatively impact the quality of life and economy of the County; and
WHEREAS, regulations promulgated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (�FWC�) codified at rule 68A-9.010, Florida Administrative Code, allow property owners to �take� peafowl and other nuisance wildlife on their property under certain circumstances; and
WHEREAS, �take� is a term of art defined by the FWC as �taking, attempting to take, pursuing, hunting, molesting, capturing, or killing any wildlife or freshwater fish, or their nests or eggs by any means whether or not such actions result in obtaining possession of such wildlife or freshwater fish or their nests or eggs�; and


WHEREAS, despite this allowance under state law, section 5-16 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, originally adopted in September 2001 in Ordinance No. 01-132, makes it unlawful for any person to take any peafowl, except when (i) done on property zoned for agricultural use and used for a bona fide agricultural purpose or (ii) a property owner removes peafowl from his or her own property in a manner that does not physically injure the peafowl; and
WHEREAS, even when a property owner removes peafowl from his or her property in a manner that does not physically injure the peafowl, FWC regulations do not allow the property owner to release the peafowl back into the wild because peafowl are non-native, and therefore the property owner�s only choices under the FWC regulations are to euthanize the peafowl or relocate it to a place of captivity; and
WHEREAS, in July 2016, this Board adopted Resolution No. R-671-16, directing the County Mayor to investigate potential receiving facilities for the relocation of nuisance peafowl removed by the Animal Services Department at the request of property owners; and
WHEREAS, after thorough investigation, the County was unable to identify any receiving facilities that would accept peafowl; and
WHEREAS, section 5-16 of the Code limits the options that property owners would otherwise have under FWC regulations to deal with peafowl, leaving residents and business owners severely restrained from combatting a detrimental nuisance; and
WHEREAS, despite its good intentions, section 5-16 of the Code has not allowed County communities to live in harmony with peafowl; and
WHEREAS, because peafowl are an invasive, non-native species that poses a serious nuisance to the County, this Board finds it proper to repeal section 5-16 so that private property owners can make their own decisions about how to best deal with peafowl on their property,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are approved and incorporated herein.
Section 2. Section 5-16 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, is hereby repealed in its entirety as follows:1
[[Sec. 5-16. - Taking of peafowl prohibited.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to take any peafowl.
(b) As used in this section, "take" means taking, attempting to take, hunting, molesting, capturing, or killing any peafowl, their nests or eggs, by any means, whether or not such actions result in obtaining possession of peafowl or their nests or eggs.
(c) Exceptions.
(1) The prohibitions of this section shall not apply on property zoned for agricultural use and used for a bona fide agricultural purpose.
(2) Nothing in this section shall prevent a property owner from removing peafowl from his or her own property in a manner that does not physically injure the peafowl.]]

Section 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this ordinance is held invalid, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected by such invalidity.
Section 4. It is the intention of the Board of County Commissioners, and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance, including any sunset provision, shall become and be made a part of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention, and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section," "article," or other appropriate word.
Section 5. This ordinance shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of enactment unless vetoed by the Mayor, and if vetoed, shall become effective only upon an override by this Board.




1 Words stricken through and/or [[double bracketed]] shall be deleted. Words underscored and/or >>double arrowed<< constitute the amendment proposed. Remaining provisions are now in effect and remain unchanged.