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Council unanimously adopts tougher standard for declaring "vicious" animals
Summary
The La Crosse Common Council adopted an ordinance that expands the "vicious" animal definition to include animals that twice, within 12 months and without provocation, cause or attempt to cause damage to a person or property, and sets a certified-mail notice and 30-day appeal process, the police explained.
The La Crosse Common Council voted unanimously Nov. 13 to adopt an amendment to the city code that broadens how an animal is designated as "vicious" and clarifies the city's process for notifying owners and handling appeals.
Sergeant Brooke Petasca of the La Crosse Police Department told the council the change adds property damage to the existing standard so an animal that, without provocation, twice within a 12-month period "caused or attempted to cause damage to a person or property" may be deemed vicious. "So that was the current, and then the change or the add is any animal without provocation 2 times within 12 month period caused to attempted to cause damage to person or property," Petasca said during the meeting.
Petasca described the administrative steps after the designation: the animal control technician would send a certified-mail notice informing the owner of the finding and of the city's ordinance; the owner would have 30 days to appeal. "With that they would be sent a letter, certified mail, from our animal control technician, and they would be notified that they've had those 2 occurrences ... They'd be notified of the city's ordinance, and then they would have an opportunity to appeal that decision," Petasca said.
Council members sought background on why the change was needed and how responsibilities shifted. Petasca said the La Crosse Police Department took over animal-control duties for the city in January 2023; until recently the county and the Coolidge Region Humane Society handled some duties. She said quarantine and rabies-control procedures remain for incidents involving people, but the department trimmed animal-on-animal process requirements (from three veterinary exams to two) and may not always require quarantine for animal-on-animal bites.
Councilmember Newberry, who moved adoption, and other members pressed on enforcement and appeals; Petasca said appeals would be handled with assistance from the city attorney and that removal of an animal would follow established procedures if the appeal failed. After discussion the council voted to adopt the ordinance.
The ordinance changes the city's enforcement framework for animal incidents and adds a defined notice and appeal timeline; it does not alter state-level rabies-control requirements, which officials said would still guide rabies-related quarantine and follow-up.
The council adopted the ordinance by voice vote and the measure carried unanimously. The next step is administrative implementation by the police department and the city attorney's office to ensure the notice and appeals procedures are in place.
