In accordance with Chapter III, Section 31 of the General Laws, the Haverhill Board of Health adopted the following regulation on July 26, 1968:

DOMESTIC ANIMALS, POULTRY OR FOWL

SECTION 1 - The above designation covers horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, and other equines, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, monkeys, minks, chinchillas, reptiles, pet skunks, hamsters, or other types of rodent animals, turkeys, geese, ducks, hens, chickens, roosters, pigeons, and other fowl, also the stables, barns, poultry houses, pens, hutches, or any structure or enclosure wherein they are housed or confined.

SECTION 2 - No person shall erect, occupy or use for a stable or barn any building in the city of Haverhill, unless such use is licensed by the Board of Health, and, in such case, only to the extent so licensed. Properly prepared plans and specifications shall be submitted with the application for a license. Said Board of Health may establish such suitable sanitary requirements as, in its judgment, the public health demands relative to drainage, ventilation, upkeep, size and character of stalls or stanchions, beddings, number of animals and the storage and handling of manure for each specific structure intended for use as a stable or barn with due consideration given to the location from a health stand point.

SECTION 3 - None of the animals, rodents, reptiles, fowl, etc. referred to under Section 1 shall be kept within 150 feet of an abutters dwelling. Pens must be reasonably free from standing water and filth at all times. No person shall keep horses, colts, ponies, donkeys, mules or other equines within the limits of the city unless a suitable structure has been licensed for the purpose, and the location and all other conditions have been given unqualified approval of the Board of Health or its authorized representative. All such licenses or permits shall expire on December 31 of each year. Such license or permit is subject to revocation at anytime for failure to meet the requirements set forth by the Board of Health.

SECTION 4 - No person, whether owner, lessee or occupant of a building used in whole or in part for residential purposes shall be permitted to house therein any of the domestic animals or poultry listed under Section 1 of this Article 5, nor other animals or birds not commonly considered household pets.

SECTION 5 - No person shall keep turkeys, geese, ducks or guinea hens within the compact part of the city; nor, crowing roosters which disturb the neighborhood. Any person who keeps hens, chickens, or rabbits within the compact part of the city shall see that the land and buildings are maintained in a satisfactory condition, and free from offensive odors at all times; shall make without delay any changes which the Board of Health or its Agent deem necessary to prevent or abate a nuisance and shall remove them from the premises entirely if and when ordered to do so by the aforesaid health authorities.

Any person or persons who have in their possession or control, dogs, cats, or other domestic pets shall see that the premises are kept free of offensive odors and filth at all times.

Any nuisance declared by the Board of Health or its Agent to exist due to failure to conform to these requirements, shall be abated without delay by the person or persons responsible, who shall also remove any of said animals or birds entirely if it is decided by the Board of Health that there is no other satisfactory way to abate the nuisance.