[Adopted 7-2-1990]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
For the purposes of this article, a dog or cat.
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State
of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this article.
Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female or
altered.
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or possesses
a set of permanent teeth.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
Committing any act of mistreatment upon any cat, including
but not limited to any act proscribed by state statute, N.J.S.A. 4:22-26,
and as it may hereafter be amended.
[Added 4-14-2003 by Ord. No. 03-15]
The Office of the Township Clerk of the Township of North
Brunswick.
[Amended 3-2-2009 by Ord. No. 09-05; 4-19-2010 by Ord. No. 10-10]
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified
by a licensed veterinarian.
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, includes every
person having a right of property or custody in such cat and every
person who has such cat in his/her keeping or who harbors or maintains
a cat or knowingly permits a cat to remain on or about any premises
occupied by that person.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or
institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
A retail establishment open to the public and engaging in
the business of selling dogs or cats or both, at retail. Any person
who sells, exchanges, or otherwise transfers only animals that were
bred and reared on the premises owned by the person shall be considered
a breeder and not a pet store.
[Added 10-21-2013 by Ord. No. 13-21]
A person who owns or operates a pet store, or both.
[Added 10-21-2013 by Ord. No. 13-21]
A.
Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall
own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within
the Township of North Brunswick, unless such cat is vaccinated and
licensed. The provisions of this section do not apply to cats held
in a cattery, or those held by a state or federal licensed facility,
or a veterinary establishment where cats are received or kept for
diagnostic, medical, surgical or other treatments, or licensed animal
shelters, pounds, kennels or pet shops.
B.
Vaccination. All cats shall be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with the latest Compendium of Animal Rabies Vaccines and Recommendations for Immunization published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, except as provided for in Subsection D.
C.
Vaccination certificates. A certificate of vaccination
shall be issued to the owner of each animal vaccinated on a form recommended
by the state or municipality.
D.
Exemptions. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements
of such vaccination for a specified period of time by the local Board
of Health, upon presentation of a veterinarian's certificate stating
that, because of an infirmity or other physical condition or regimen
of therapy, the inoculation of such cat shall be deemed inadvisable.
[Amended 9-15-1997 by Ord. No. 97-17; 11-7-2005 by Ord. No. 05-33; 3-2-2009 by Ord. No. 09-06]
A.
Annual procurement; display of license required. Any
person who shall own, keep or harbor a cat of licensing age shall
annually in the month of January apply for and procure from the the
office of the Clerk of the Township of North Brunswick, or other official
designated by the governing body thereof to license cats, a license
and official registration tag with license number or a registration
sleeve for each cat so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon
each cat a collar or other device with the license number securely
fastened or displayed thereto. Acceptable methods of displaying the
license number shall include, but are not limited to, breakaway or
elastic collars. License tags or sleeves are not transferable.
[Amended 4-19-2010 by Ord. No. 10-10]
B.
Time for applying for license. The owner of any newly
acquired cat of licensing age, or of any cat which attains licensing
age, shall make application for a license tag or sleeve for such cat
within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. This requirement
will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat within the Township
of North Brunswick for no longer than 90 days.
C.
Cats brought into jurisdiction.
(1)
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the Township of North Brunswick any cat licensed in another state
or municipality for the current year and bearing a registration tag
or sleeve, and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within
the Township of North Brunswick for a period of more than 90 days,
shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag or sleeve
for each such cat.
(2)
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the Township of North Brunswick any unlicensed cat, and shall
keep same or permit same to be kept within the Township of North Brunswick
for a period of more than 10 days, shall immediately apply for a license
and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat.
D.
Application; contents; preservation of information.
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings
of the cat for which license and registration are sought and whether
it is of a long- or short-haired variety; also the name, street and
post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or
harbor such cat. The information on said application and the registration
number issued for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three
years by the office of the Clerk of the Township of North Brunswick
or other local official designated to license cats in the municipality.
[Amended 4-19-2010 by Ord. No. 10-10]
E.
License forms and tags. License forms and official
tags or sleeves shall be furnished by the municipality and shall be
numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name
of the municipality.
[Amended 4-19-2010 by Ord. No. 10-10]
F.
Evidence of inoculation with rabies vaccine or certification of exemption; requirement for license. Neither the office of the Clerk of the Township of North Brunswick nor any other official designated by the governing body of the municipality to license cats therein shall grant any such license and official registration tag or sleeve for any cat unless the owner thereof provides evidence that the cat to be licensed and registered has been inoculated with a rabies vaccine of a type approved by and administered in accordance with the recommendations of the United States Department of Agriculture and United States Department of Human Services or has been certified exempt as provided by § 381-5D of this article. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do the same. If a required inoculation has an expiration date which is less than one year from the date the license is issued, the issuance of the license shall be conditioned upon the applicant submitting proof to the office of the Clerk of the Township of North Brunswick that the inoculation which will expire has been administered. Said proof shall be submitted no later than 30 days after the expiration date listed on the license. Failure to submit the required proof of inoculations within 30 days of the expiration date shall result in a fine of $5 for each thirty-day period, or fraction thereof, that the proof has not been submitted.
[Amended 4-19-2010 by Ord. No. 10-10]
G.
License fee schedule. A license shall be issued after
payment of a fee of $11 for each unneutered cat and $8 for each neutered
cat. The fee for any cat whose owner is an elderly person shall be
reduced by the sum of $2 per license. Persons who fail to obtain a
license by February 1 of the year in question shall be subject to
a late charge of $5 for each month or fraction thereof that the license
is delinquent.
H.
Fees, renewals and expiration date of license.
(1)
A license from another municipality shall be accepted.
The person applying for the license and registration tag and/or sleeve
shall pay the fee fixed or authorized. The fee for the renewal of
the license and registration tag or sleeve shall be the same as for
the original, and said license, registration tag or sleeve and renewal
thereof shall expire on the last day of January in the following year.
(2)
Only one license and registration tag or sleeve shall
be required in the licensing year for any cat in the Township of North
Brunswick. Any valid New jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a
New Jersey municipality shall be accepted by this municipality as
evidence of compliance.
I.
Loss of license. If a license tag or sleeve has been
misplaced or lost, the office of the Clerk of the Township of North
Brunswick may issue a duplicate license and/or registration sleeve
for the particular cat at a fee of $2 each.
[Amended 4-19-2010 by Ord. No. 10-10]
J.
Disposition of fees collected.
(1)
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this article shall be forwarded to the Treasurer
of the municipality and shall be placed in a special account separate
from any of the other accounts of the municipality and shall be used
for the following purposes only:
(a)
Collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable
to seizure;
(b)
Local prevention and control of rabies;
(c)
Providing anti-rabies treatment under the direction of the local
Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed
to rabies; and
(d)
Administering the provisions of this article.
(2)
Any unexpected balance remaining in such special account
shall be retained until the end of the third fiscal year following
and may be used for any of the purposes set forth in this section.
At the end of said third fiscal year following, and at the end of
each fiscal year thereafter, there shall be transferred from such
special account to the general funds of the municipality any amount
then in such account which is in excess of the total amount paid into
the special account during the last two fiscal years next preceding.
No person, except an official in the performance
of his duties, shall remove a registration tag or sleeve from any
cat, nor shall any person attach a registration tag or sleeve to a
cat for which it was not issued.
[Amended 4-14-2003 by Ord. No. 03-15]
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere
with anyone authorized or employed to perform any duty under this
article.
Proof of licensing shall be produced by any
person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a cat, upon the request
of any health official, police officer, animal control officer or
other authorized person.
Any person authorized to enforce this article shall take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, and thereafter destroyed or disposed of as provided in §§ 381-11 and 381-12, any cat off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring the cat on complaint of the police or of the resident of the premises to which the cat has strayed, as well as any cat which the Animal Control Authority has substantial reason to believe is abandoned, diseased or injured.
If any cat so seized wears a collar having inscribed
thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person or
a registration tag, or if the cat has identification as herein provided,
or if the owner or other person keeping or harboring the cat is otherwise
known, the enforcement authority or any person authorized in that
behalf may return the cat to the owner, and if not, he shall immediately
notify by telephone or mail the person whose address is given on the
collar or the person whose name is registered as the owner. The notice
shall state that the cat has been seized and will be liable to be
disposed of or destroyed if not claimed within seven days after the
service of the notice. A notice under this section may be served by
delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served or by leaving
it at the person's usual or last known place of abode or by mailing
the same to the address given on the collar or registration.
[Amended 4-14-2003 by Ord. No. 03-15]
A.
For every cat impounded, there shall be charged a
detention expense of $25, plus a kennel charge of $60 per week or
part thereof to cover cost of maintenance.
B.
Before the enforcement authority shall release said
cat from detention and if the cat so seized shall have been licensed
and registered, the owner or other person shall produce proof of such
licensing and registration; or if the cat shall not have been licensed
and registered, said owner or other person shall otherwise produce
such evidence of ownership or custody as may be deemed sufficient
by the enforcement authority.
C.
Additionally, the enforcement authority shall not
release any impounded cat to such owner or other person unless and
until such owner or other person shall have paid to the Township of
North Brunswick, at the office of the licensing official, all the
fees required to be paid hereunder and, if the cat is unlicensed and
not registered, an additional charge of $2 payable to the Township
of North Brunswick for the issuance of a license.
D.
The enforcement authority shall be required to detain every identifiable licensed cat for a period of seven days after its seizure, and after notice has been given pursuant to § 381-11 hereof, and shall detain every unlicensed cat or every other cat so seized where it cannot be identified or notice cannot be given as set forth in said § 381-11 for a period of seven days after its seizure. If after such respective periods of detention, no person has claimed the cat or will pay the charges required hereunder, the enforcement authority may cause the cat to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible or to place the cat with some responsible person desiring the cat as a household pet. But the enforcement authority may sooner dispose of any cat, whether or not the owner is known or whether it is licensed, if said cat is so ill or injured as to justify such disposal. Prior to such actions, the owner shall be notified, if known, and given the opportunity to provide any special euthanizing instructions to the Animal Control Officer, which instructions should be carried out at the expense of the owner.
Any cat which has bitten or abraded the skin
of a human being shall be forthwith quarantine into the care of the
enforcement authority for observation and examination. Before such
cat is released from quarantine, the enforcement authority shall certify
that, to the best of his knowledge, such cat is free of rabies; provided,
however, if any cat has received antirabic treatment under the direction
of the enforcement authority or a licensed veterinarian within one
year prior to the time that it has bitten or abraded the skin of a
human being, such cat may, in the discretion of the enforcement authority,
be quarantine into the care of its owner for a period of not less
than 10 days from the day of the bite or abrasion; provided further
that this section shall not be construed as preventing the enforcement
authority, where necessary, from quarantining the animals referred
to herein, so long as prior to such animal's release an examination
shall be made by a licensed veterinarian and a written report thereof
be transmitted to the enforcement authority.
[Amended 4-14-2003 by Ord. No. 03-15]
It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer
and each member of the Police Department and the Health Department
to assist and cooperate in carrying out the provisions of this article.
[Added 10-21-2013 by Ord. No. 13-21[1]]
No pet shop or pet shop operator shall sell, offer for sale,
barter, auction, breed or otherwise improperly sell or dispose of
cats in the Township of North Brunswick. Nothing contained herein
shall prohibit a shelter, pound or other establishment from keeping,
displaying, selling or otherwise transferring any cat that has been
seized, rescued or donated.
[Amended 4-14-2003 by Ord. No. 03-15; 10-21-2013 by Ord. No.
13-21]
A.
No person
shall commit any act of cruelty or shall treat any cat in an inhumane
manner. Any person who shall violate this subsection shall be subject
to a fine not to exceed $250.
B.
Unattended
cat in a vehicle. No person shall leave any cat unattended in a vehicle
under inhumane conditions adverse to the health or welfare of the
cat. Any person who shall violate this subsection shall be subject
to a fine not to exceed $250.
C.
Abandonment
of a cat. No person shall abandon a cat. Any person who shall violate
this subsection shall be subject to a fine of $500. Any person who
shall abandon a cat near a roadway shall be subject to a fine of $1,000.
D.
Barter
or sale of cat flesh, fur or hair. No person shall knowingly sell,
barter or offer for sale or barter, at wholesale or retail, the flesh,
fur or hair of a domestic cat or any product made in whole or in part
from the flesh, fur or hair of a domestic cat. This subsection shall
not apply to the sale or barter, or offering for sale or barter, of
the fur or hair of a domestic cat cut at a commercial grooming establishment
or at a veterinary office or clinic or for scientific research purposes.
Any person who shall violate this subsection shall be subject to a
fine not to exceed $1,000.
F.
Unless
otherwise specified in this article, any person who violates or refuses
to comply with any provision of this article shall be subject to a
fine not exceeding $100 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding
20 days.
This article shall become effective on October
1, 1990. The payment of a license fee shall not be required for the
period October 1, 1990, through December 31, 1990.
