Whenever any contagious, infectious, or communicable disease affecting domestic animals or live poultry, and especially the disease known as pleuropneumonia, shall be brought into or shall break out in the District of Columbia, it shall be the duty of the Council of said District to take measures to suppress the same promptly and to prevent the same from spreading; and for this purpose the said Council is empowered to order and require that any premises, farm, or farms where such disease exists, or has existed, be put in quarantine; to order all or any animals coming into the District to be detained at any place or places for the purpose of inspection and examination; to prescribe regulations for and to require the destruction of animals or live poultry affected with contagious, infectious, or communicable disease, and for the proper disposition of their hides and carcasses; to prescribe regulations for disinfection, and such other regulations as they may deem necessary to prevent infection or contagion being communicated, and shall report to the Secretary of Agriculture whatever it may do in pursuance of the provisions of this section.
(May 29, 1884, 23 Stat. 33, ch. 60, § 8; Feb. 7, 1928, 45 Stat. 59, ch. 30.)
Prior Codifications1981 Ed., § 1-324.
1973 Ed., § 1-230a.
Change in GovernmentThis section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 402(430) of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to the District of Columbia Council, subject to the right of the Commissioner as provided in § 406 of the Plan. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.