As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL
For the purpose of this article, "animal" shall mean cat.
ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State
of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this article.
CAT
Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female or
altered.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
CATTERY
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
LICENSING AUTHORITY
The City Clerk or any designated representative thereof charged
with administering the issuance and/or revocation of permits and licenses
under the provisions of this article.
NEUTERED
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified
by a licensed veterinarian.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, shall include
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.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, partnership organization or
institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a cat
of licensing age shall annually apply for and procure from the Clerk
of the City or other official designated by the governing body thereof
to license cats in the City in which he/she resides 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 such
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.
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 City of Garfield for no longer
than 90 days.
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 longhaired or shorthaired 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 Clerk or other local
official designated to license cats in the City.
License forms and official tags or sleeves shall
be furnished by the City and shall be numbered serially and shall
bear the year of issuance and the name of the municipality.
No Municipal Clerk or other official designated by the governing body 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 the United States Department of Human Services or has been certified exempt as provided by §
80-21D 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.
[Amended 4-23-2002 by Ord. No. 2339; 10-7-2014 by Ord. No.
2692]
A. A license shall be issued after payment of a fee of $15 for each
nonneutered and nonspayed cat and $10 for each neutered and spayed
cat.
B. All cat owners must apply for and receive a license no later than
January 31 of each calendar year. The late fee for cat licenses obtained:
If a license tag or sleeve has been misplaced
or lost, the City Clerk may issue a duplicate license and/or registration
sleeve for that particular cat at a fee of $2.
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.
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere
with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this
article.
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this article shall be forwarded to the Treasurer
of the City 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: collecting, keeping and disposing of
cats liable to seizure, for local prevention and control of rabies,
providing antirabies treatment under the direction of the local Health
Officer for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to
rabies and for administering the provisions of this article. 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.
[Amended 4-25-2006 by Ord. No. 2457]
Except as otherwise provided in this article,
any person who violates or who fails or refuses to comply with this
article shall be punished by one or more of the following: a fine
not exceeding $2,000; imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days;
and/or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days.