As used in this Article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
DOG
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
DOG OF LICENSING AGE
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
KENNEL
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding
or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, includes every
person having a right of property in such dog and every person who
has such dog in his keeping.
PET SHOP
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized under
the provisions of this Article or otherwise.
The Registrar shall promptly after February
1 of each year cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept
or harbored within the limits of the Township and shall report to
the Clerk/Administrator, the Board of Health and the State Department
of Health the results thereof, setting forth in separate columns the
names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring dogs;
the number of licensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person,
together with the registration number of each dog; the number of unlicensed
dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person, together with a complete
description of each unlicensed dog.
No person shall own, keep or harbor a dog in
the Township except in compliance with the provisions of this Article
and the following regulations.
A. Wearing of registration. All dogs which are required
by the provisions of this Article to be licensed shall wear a collar
or harness with the registration tag for such dog securely fastened
thereto.
B. Use of registration tags. No person, except an officer
in the performance of his duties, shall remove a registration tag
from the collar of any dog without the consent of the owner, not shall
any person attach a registration tag to a dog for which it was not
issued.
C. Interference with official duties. No person shall
hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to
perform any duty under this Article.
D. Disturbing the peace. No person shall own, keep, harbor
or maintain any dog which habitually barks or cries.
E. Leashing of dogs. No person owning, keeping or harboring
any dog shall permit it upon a public highway or outside of the premises
occupied by the owner unless such dog is securely confined and controlled
by an adequate leash not more than six feet long and is accompanied
by a responsible person over the age of 12 years.
F. Property damage. No person owning, keeping or harboring
a dog shall permit or suffer it to do any injury or to do any damage
to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property.
G. No person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge
of any dog, cat or other animal shall cause, suffer or allow such
dog, cat or other animal to soil, defile, defecate on or commit any
nuisance on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway, bypath,
play area, park or any place where people congregate or walk or upon
any public property whatsoever or upon any private property without
the permission of the owner of such property.
[Added 4-6-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-13]
H. Any person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge
of any dog, cat or other animal which soils, defiles, defecates on
or commits any nuisance on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway,
bypath, play area, park or any place where people congregate or walk
or upon any public property whatsoever or upon any private property
without the permission of the owner of such property shall immediately
remove all feces deposited by such dog, cat or other animal by any
sanitary method approved by the local health authority.
[Added 4-6-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-13]
I. The feces removed from the aforementioned designated
areas shall be disposed of by the person owning, harboring, keeping
or in charge of any such dog, cat or other animal in accordance with
the provisions of this section, in a sanitary manner approved by the
local health authority.
[Added 4-6-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-13]
J. The provisions of this section shall not apply to
blind persons who may use dogs as guides.
[Added 4-6-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-13]
K. Limitation of ownership/custodianship. No person shall be defined to include a family unit, and no owner, as that term is defined in §
136-1 of this chapter, shall keep, harbor or have possession or custody of more than four dogs on any one residential premises within the Township. The only exceptions will be in the instance of a lawfully operating kennel or pet shop. This restriction shall not include the temporary keeping of puppies for a maximum of 90 days which have been born to a female dog on the premises at the time of the birth of said puppies.
[Added 12-16-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-15]
[Amended 4-3-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9]
A. Title; repeal of prior regulations. This section of Chapter
236 shall be known as the "Regulation of Cats Ordinance of the Township of Lumberton." This section shall supersede, repeal and replace the heretofore existing §
136-9 of the Code of the Township of Lumberton. Notwithstanding, the caretaking and maintenance of community cats as defined by §
136-17, shall be subject to the regulations and procedures set forth in §§
136-17,
136-18 and
136-19.
[Amended 10-21-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-18]
B. Definitions. As used in this section, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated, within this section:
CAT
Any animal of the feline species, whether male or female.
HARBOR
To provide food, shelter, health care or any other care to
cats, whether on a regular or irregular basis, and whether the cats
are vaccinated or housed.
OWN
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, includes possessing
cats by providing regular care by way of food, shelter and/or health
care.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, includes every
person having a right of property in such cat and every person who
has such cat in his keeping. For purposes of this section, the singular
shall mean the plural, as the case may require.
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of cats seized either
under the provisions of this section or otherwise.
PUBLIC NUISANCE
A eat shall be considered a "public nuisance" if it has no
known owner or custodian, if it has no known place of care or shelter
or if it trespasses upon or damages either private or public property
or annoys or harms lawful users or occupants thereof.
C. Control of cats. Any person who owns or harbors any
cat at any place within the Township or who permits any cat to enter
the corporate limits of the Township shall exercise sufficient and
proper care of and control over such animal at all times so as to
prevent the same from becoming a public nuisance, as defined in this
section.
D. Rabies vaccination. It shall be unlawful for any owner
or custodian of such cats to own or harbor such animal for a period
of time exceeding seven business days unless said cat has been properly
vaccinated with a rabies vaccine approved by the New Jersey Department
of Health and Senior Services (NJDH&SS). Said vaccination shall
be administered only by a licensed veterinarian or vet tech, under
the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. After the initial vaccination,
each cat shall be revaccinated at an interval approved by the NJDH&SS.
E. Certification of vaccination. Certification of vaccination/receipts
issued by the veterinarian shall be kept by the owner or custodian
of said cat for the purpose of not only the animal's health records,
but also for display upon the request by any animal control warden,
law enforcement officer or the Animal Registrar of the Township of
Lumberton at the time such documentation is requested.
F. Limitation on ownership/custodianship. Individual
households in the Township of Lumberton shall be limited to a maximum
of any combination of six cats housed on the premises and shall be
required to obtain proper vaccination for such cats. The only exceptions
will be in the instance of a lawfully operating kennel or pet shop.
Owners of property designated as farmland, provided that owners are
actively engaged in the operation of said farm, shall be exempt from
this provision.
G. Harboring of cats. Any individual found feeding or in any way attracting or harboring cats without complying with the vaccination and other provisions of this section or §§
136-17,
136-18 and
136-19 shall be deemed in violation of this chapter and will be responsible for any costs incurred by the Township of Lumberton in the process of the collection and surrendering of said cats should they be deemed nuisance cats pursuant §
136-19 and such nuisance go unabated by the caretaker, as well as any fines or penalties hereinafter set forth.
[Amended 10-21-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-18]
H. Establishment of pound; Animal Control Officer. The
Township Committee may by resolution establish a pound and appoint
an Animal Control Officer. The Township Committee may by resolution
enter into a contract with Animal Control Officers for the collection,
keeping for redemption and destruction of all cats found to be a public
nuisance and within the municipal limits in accordance with the provision
of this section.
I. Impounding of cats. The Animal Control Officer, any police officer or any other person designated by the Township Committee as a person authorized to enforce the provisions of this section shall, upon receipt of a complaint that a cat is a public nuisance, seize the cat and keep the same in his care and custody for a period of seven full days from the date of apprehension, provided that the owner can pick up said cat at any time following payment of the necessary fees set forth under Subsection
L below.
J. Notice of seizure.
(1) If any cat apprehended pursuant to the provisions
of this section bears any identification of ownership or place of
abode, the Animal Control Officer or other duly authorized apprehending
official shall, on the date of apprehension, notify the owner or the
occupant of the place of abode that the animal has been apprehended
and that it may be claimed at a designated location, subject to the
provisions of this section.
(2) A notice under this section may be served either 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 forwarding
it by the post and in a prepaid letter addressed to that person at
his usual or last known place of abode.
K. Claiming impounding cats. During the seven-day custodial
period, any cat so incarcerated may be claimed by its owners upon
payment to the Animal Control Officer or authorized custodian of all
reasonable expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including
the sum of $35 for the pickup of the cat, the sum of $5 for the first
12 hours and the sum of $1 for each additional day or fraction thereof
thereafter.
L. Disposition of unclaimed cats. Any cat which has been
seized pursuant to this section and which has not been reclaimed during
the custodial period herein set forth may be claimed by any person
willing to assume the responsibilities of ownership. Otherwise, the
cat may be disposed of by the Animal Control officer or other duly
designated official in as humane a manner as possible.
M. Fines and penalties. Any individual found to be in
violation of this section shall be responsible for the fees and costs
associated with the pickup, detainment and disposition of cats and
feral cats, as well as a fine of at least $50 and no greater than
$500 in the discretion of the Municipal Court Judge.
[Amended 12-3-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-20]
Unless otherwise specifically provided for in
this article, any person who violates any of the provisions of this
article or does any act or thing herein prohibited, or neglects, fails
or refuses to do any act or thing herein required to be done shall,
upon conviction thereof before the Municipal Judge or other judicial
officer authorized to hear and determine the matter, forfeit and pay
such fine, not less than $5 nor more than $50 for each offense, as
shall be imposed by the Judge or other judicial officer, in his or
her discretion.