O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 4-13-4 (2019)

Inspection warrants; impoundment authorized; examination

✓ O.C.G.A. (archive.org 2024 item): print volumes of 2004-2024, per-volume vintage; older volumes partly replaced by 2019 Release 73 text; no 2025 or 2026 Acts
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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(a) At any time there is cause to believe that a violation of Code Section 4-13-3 has occurred, the Commissioner of Agriculture or his designated agent may apply to the appropriate court in the county in which the equine is located for an inspection warrant under the provisions of Code Section 2-2-11 or any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or other law enforcement officer may apply for a search warrant for the purpose of inspecting any equine found on such property to determine if a violation of Code Section 4-13-3 has occurred.

(b) The Commissioner or his designated agent or any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or other law enforcement officer is authorized to impound any equine which has not been furnished with adequate food and water, which has not received humane care, or which has been subjected to cruelty in violation of Code Section 4-13-3. Such determination as to the condition or treatment of the equine shall be made by a licensed veterinarian employed by the state or federal government following an examination conducted at the request of the Commissioner or his designated agent or any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or other law enforcement officer.

History

(Code 1981, § 4-13-4, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 2398, § 2.)

Annotations

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Due process issues. - Requiring hearings before impounding horses under the Georgia Humane Care for Equines Act, O.C.G.A. § 4-13-1 et seq., could cause further harm to animals being deprived of adequate food and water, thus, there was no due process violation and defendant agency officials had qualified immunity on

plaintiff animal owner’s claim; the safeguards of O.C.G.A. §§ 4-13-3 and 4-13-4(a) and (b), in connection with any seizure, and the procedure for requesting a hearing under O.C.G.A. § 2-2-9.1(d) after any seizure were adequate. Reams v. Irvin, 561 F.3d 1258 (11th Cir. 2009).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 2009–2009 · leading case: Reams v. Irvin, 561 F.3d 1258 (11th Cir. 2009).
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Reams v. Irvin, 561 F.3d 1258 (11th Cir. 2009). · cites it 2× “" O.C.G.A. § 4-13-4(a), (b). Before the Commissioner may impound an animal pursuant to this provision, a licensed veterinarian must examine and determine the condition or treatment of the animal.”
4-13-4(a): 1 case
Reams v. Irvin, 561 F.3d 1258 (11th Cir. 2009). “" O.C.G.A. § 4-13-4(a), (b). Before the Commissioner may impound an animal pursuant to this provision, a licensed veterinarian must examine and determine the condition or treatment of the animal.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.