[Adopted 12-17-1973 by Ord. No. 1973-19 as part of Ch. VII of the 1973 Code]
As used in this Article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.[1]
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding
or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on.
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.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized under
the provisions of this Article or otherwise.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 136-2, Registrar of Dogs,
was repealed 7-25-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-04.
A.Â
License required. No person shall keep or harbor any
dog within the Township except in compliance with this chapter and
without first obtaining a license therefor from the registrar. Licenses
shall be required of all dogs of licensing age, including:
(1)Â
Any dog acquired by any person during the course of
any calendar year and kept within the Township for more than 10 days
after acquisition.
(2)Â
Any unlicensed dog brought into the Township by any
person and kept within the Township for more than 10 days.
(3)Â
Any dog licensed by another state brought into the
Township by any person and kept within the Township for more than
90 days.
B.Â
Application for license. Each application for a license
under this section shall give the following information:
C.Â
Registration numbers shall be issued in the order
in which applications are received.
D.Â
Date of application. Applications for licenses for
dogs which are required to be licensed shall be made within 10 days
of the day upon which the dog in question first becomes subject to
the provisions of this Article.
E.Â
License record. The information on all applications
under this Article and the registration number issued to each licensed
dog shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Registrar.
In addition, he shall report to the State Department of Health each
month on forms furnished by the Department.
F.Â
Expiration date. Each dog license and registration
tag shall expire on the last day of January of each year.
G.Â
Fees.
[Amended 10-15-1979 by Ord. No. 1979-14; 5-18-1981 by Ord. No. 1981-5; 12-21-1981 by Ord. No. 1981-10; 10-3-1983 by Ord. No. 1983-9; 12-16-1985 by Ord. No. 1985-17; 12-3-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-20]
(1)Â
Applicable fees are detailed in the universal fee chart located in § 18-2, reference number 22, of the Code of the Township of Lumberton.
[Amended 12-5-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-17]
(2)Â
Notwithstanding the licensing and registration provisions contained in Subsection G(1), the fee for issuing a special license for a potentially dangerous dog pursuant to Article II hereof shall be $700 for said license for each dog and for each annual renewal, and said licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of March of each year. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, all fines and fees collected or received by the municipality pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-29 through 4:19-31, or any amendments or supplements thereto, the enabling statute, shall be deposited in a special account and used by the municipality to administer and enforce the provisions of said statute.
H.Â
Exceptions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any dog licensed under § 136-4 of this Article. Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs, dogs used to assist handicapped persons and commonly known as "service" dogs or dogs used to assist deaf persons and commonly known as "hearing ear" dogs shall be licensed and registered in the same manner as other dogs, except that the owner or keeper shall not be required to pay any fee.
[Amended 8-3-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-6]
A.Â
License required. Any person who keeps or operates
or proposes to establish a kennel or pet shop shall apply to the Registrar
for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment.
Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual
licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and kept at such establishments;
such licenses shall not be transferable to another owner or different
premises.
B.Â
Application information.
(1)Â
The application shall contain the following information:
(2)Â
Each application shall be accompanied by the written
approval of the Health Officer of the Board of Health that the establishment
or proposed establishment complies with local and state rules governing
the location of and sanitation at such establishment.
C.Â
License term. All licenses issued for a kennel or
pet shop shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained,
and all such licenses shall expire on the last day of June of each
year.
[Amended 8-3-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-6]
E.Â
Compliance with state regulations. All licenses issued
for a kennel or pet shop shall be subject to revocation by the Township
Committee on recommendation of the State Department of Health or the
Board of Health for failure to comply with the rules and regulations
of the State Department of Health or the Board of Health, after the
owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department of
Health or the Board of Health.
F.Â
Control of dogs off premises. No dog kept in a kennel
or pet shop shall be permitted off premises except on a leash or in
a crate or under other safe control.
G.Â
Reports to State Health Department. The Registrar
shall forward to the State Department of Health a list of all kennels,
pet shops and pounds licensed within 30 days after the licenses therefor
are issued, which list shall include the name and address of the licensee
and the kind of license issued.
A.Â
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this Article, except the registration tag
fees, shall be forwarded to the Chief Financial Officer within 30
days after collection or receipt and shall be placed in a special
account separate from any of the other accounts of the Township and
shall be used for the following purposes only: collecting, keeping
and disposing of dogs liable to seizure under this Article; local
prevention and control of rabies; 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; all other purposes prescribed
by the statutes of New Jersey governing the subject; and for administering
the provisions of this Article.
B.Â
Any unexpended balance remaining in such special account
shall be retained therein 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 the 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 Township 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.
C.Â
The registration tag fee for each dog shall be forwarded
within 30 days after collection by the Registrar to the State Department
of Health.
[Amended 8-3-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-6]
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.
A.Â
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 strays found within
the Township limits in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
B.Â
Causes for impounding. The Animal Control Officer
or any police officer may take into custody and impound or cause to
be taken into custody and impounded any of the following dogs:
(1)Â
Any unlicensed dog running at large in violation of
the provisions of this Article.
(2)Â
Any dog off the premises of the owner of or the person
keeping or harboring such dog which such official or his agent has
reason to believe is a stray dog.
(3)Â
Any dog off the premises of the owner of or the person
keeping or harboring such dog without a current registration tag on
its collar.
(4)Â
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner
of or the person keeping or harboring such dog.
C.Â
Access to premises. Any officer or agent authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this Article is hereby authorized
to go upon any premises to seize for impounding any dog which he may
lawfully seize and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit
of such dog, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog if the
owner is present and forbids the same.
D.Â
Notice of seizure.
(1)Â
If any dog so impounded or seized wears a registration
tag, collar or harness having inscribed thereon or attached thereto
the name and address of any person or the owner of or the person keeping
or harboring the dog is known, the Animal Control Officer or police
officer shall immediately serve on the person whose address is given
on the collar or on the person owning, keeping or harboring the dog
a notice, in writing, stating that the dog has been seized and will
be liable to be offered for adoption or destroyed if not claimed within
seven days after service of the notice.
[Amended 8-3-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-6]
(2)Â
A notice under this subsection 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 at the address
given on the collar or by forwarding it by mail in a prepaid letter
addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode
or to the address given on the collar.
E.Â
Care of impounded dogs. It shall be the duty of the
Animal Control Officer to keep male and female dogs separate at all
times and to segregate and keep segregated all sick animals and animals
suspected of being infected with any communicable disease. Every dog
seized or impounded under this section shall be kept, fed and kindly
treated by the Animal Control Officer for the period of time as provided
by this section.
F.Â
Destruction of unclaimed dogs. The Animal Control
Officer or any person authorized under this Article to do so may cause
the destruction of any unclaimed dog in as humane a manner as possible
under any of the following contingencies:
(1)Â
When any dog so seized has not been claimed by the
person owning, keeping or harboring such dog within seven days after
notice or within seven days of the dog's detention when notice has
not been or cannot be given, as set forth in the previous subsections.
(2)Â
If the person owning, keeping or harboring any dog
so seized has not claimed the dog and has not paid all expenses incurred
by reason of its detention, including the sum of $5 for the first
12 hours and the sum of $1 for each additional day thereafter.
(3)Â
If the seized dog is unlicensed at the time of its
seizure and the person owning, keeping or harboring such dog has not
produced a license and registration tag as provided in this Article.
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Interference with official duties. No person shall
hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to
perform any duty under this Article.
D.Â
Disturbing the peace. No person shall own, keep, harbor
or maintain any dog which habitually barks or cries.
E.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
CAT
HARBOR
OWN
OWNER
POUND
PUBLIC NUISANCE
Definitions. As used in this section, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated, within this section:
Any animal of the feline species, whether male or female.[1]
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.
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, includes possessing
cats by providing regular care by way of food, shelter and/or health
care.
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.
An establishment for the confinement of cats seized either
under the provisions of this section or otherwise.
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.
[1]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "feral cat," which
immediately followed this definition, was repealed 10-21-2021 by Ord.
No. 2021-18.
C.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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[2]]
H.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Notice of seizure.
(1)Â
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)Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.