Section 4-14-2. Definitions

   As used in this chapter, the term:

   (1) "Animal shelter" means any facility operated by or under contract for the state or any county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the state for the purpose of impounding or harboring seized, stray, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted dogs, cats, and other animals; any veterinary hospital or clinic operated by a veterinarian or veterinarians which operates for such purpose in addition to its customary purposes; and any facility operated, owned, or maintained by a duly incorporated humane society, animal welfare society, or other nonprofit organization for the purpose of providing for and promoting the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals.

   (2) "Humane society" means any unincorporated nonprofit organization existing for the purpose of prevention of cruelty to animals.

   (3) "Public or private animal refuge" means harborers of unwanted animals of any breed, including crossbreeds, who provide food, shelter, and confinement for a group of dogs, a group of cats, or a combination of dogs and cats.

   (4) "Sexually mature animal" means any dog or cat that has reached the age of 180 days or six months or more.

   (5) "Sterilization" means the surgical removal of the reproductive organs of a dog or cat in order to render the animal unable to reproduce.

Code 1981, § 4-14-2, enacted by Ga. L. 1994, p. 999, § 1.