[Adopted 9-20-1982[1] ]
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 5 of this ordinance
provided that is supersede in its entirety the Ordinance for the Control
of Cats, adopted May 13, 1982.
A.
A cat shall be considered a public nuisance if it
has no owner and no known place of care or shelter or if it habitually
trespasses upon or damages either private or public property or harms
lawful users or occupants thereof or if it causes a definable public
health hazard which is supported by medical documentation.
B.
Any person who owns, keeps, feeds or harbors any cat
at any time within the Township or who permits any cat to enter the
limits of the Township shall exercise sufficient and proper care and
control over such animal at all times so as to prevent the cat from
becoming a public nuisance.
A.
The Health Inspector or the person or agency designated
by the governing body of the Township of North Brunswick to enforce
the provisions of this article shall, upon receipt of a written complaint
that a cat is a public nuisance, investigate said complaint and, if
found to be legitimate, shall authorize the seizure of the cat by
the issuance of a humane-type cat trap to trap said cat alive.
B.
The person who is issued the trap must notify the
enforcement officer as soon as possible after a cat is apprehended.
The enforcement officer and/or the person or agency designated by
the governing body of the Township of North Brunswick will keep the
cat in his/her care and custody for a period of 15 days from the date
of apprehension. If any cat so apprehended bears any identification
of ownership, the designated officer shall, on the date of apprehension,
notify the owner that the animal has been apprehended, and that it
may be claimed at a designated location subject to the provisions
of this article.
C.
Any cat may be claimed by its owner during the fifteen-day
custodial period upon the payment to the Township of a pickup fee
of $10, and a maintenance fee of $3 per day or part thereof that the
cat has been in custody.
D.
Any cat which has been seized pursuant to this article
and which has not been reclaimed during the fifteen-day custodial
period may be disposed of in a humane manner in accordance with standards
generally recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly
own, keep, feed or harbor any cat which has been found to be a nuisance
under this article. Any person found to violate the provisions of
this article shall, upon conviction in the North Brunswick Municipal
Court, be subject to a fine of between $5 and $25 for a first offense,
and shall be subject to a fine of between $10 and $100 for each subsequent
offense.
