[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Stanhope 7-28-1975 by Ord. No. 1975-8. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 82.
As to legislation adopted by the Board of Health,
consult Part III of this Code.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Cat or dog.
Both male or female.
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
The act of providing or making available shelter, refuge,
food or water to any dog or cat in such a manner which attracts a
dog or cat to any person, persons, partnership or corporation’s
premises.
[Added 10-26-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-9]
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding
or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a
pet shop.
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog or cat, includes
any person, persons, partnership or corporation harboring, keeping,
owning or having any right of property in a dog or cat within the
Borough of Stanhope.
[Amended 10-26-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-9]
Any place of business, which is not part of a kennel, wherein
animals, including but not limited to dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles,
rabbits, hamsters or gerbils, are kept or displayed chiefly for the
purpose of sale to individuals for personal appreciation and companionship
rather than for business or research purposes.
[Amended 4-28-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-6]
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either
under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
Any establishment where dogs are received, housed or distributed
without charge.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The former definition of “vicious dog,”
which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 7-31-1990
by Ord. No. 1990-15.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, as defined,
an animal in the Borough of Stanhope without having obtained a license
for it in compliance with provisions set forth in this chapter.
B.
A license shall be required for any animal which has
attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent
teeth.
An official shall be designated by the Borough
Council as the Animal Registrar for the purpose of issuing licenses
and maintaining records of registration of the animals with the borough.
A.
Any person who owns an animal that has reached licensing
age shall annually, on or before the 30th day of April, obtain a license
and an official metal registration tag for each animal.
[Amended 12-17-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-23]
B.
The owner of a newly acquired animal of licensing
age or of any animal which attains licensing age shall make application
for the license and registration tag for such animal within 10 days
after such acquisition or age attainment.
C.
Any person who brings or causes to be brought into
the borough any animal licensed in another state for the current year
and bearing a registration tag for such animal who shall keep the
same or permit the animal to be kept within the borough for a period
of more than 90 days, shall immediately, upon the conclusion of said
ninety-day period, apply for a license and registration tag for such
animal.
D.
Any person bringing or causing to be brought into
the borough any unlicensed animal and who shall permit the animal
to remain in the borough for a period of more than 10 days shall immediately
apply for a license and registration tag for such animal upon conclusion
of said ten-day period.
Dogs used as guide dogs for blind persons and
commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs shall be licensed and registered
as other dogs, as provided in this chapter, except that the owner,
as defined herein, shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
[Amended 8-28-1984 by Ord. No. 1984-10]
The application shall state the breed, sex,
age, color, name and markings of the animal for which license and
registration are sought and whether it is a long- or short-haired
variety and also the name, street, post office address of the owner
and the person who shall be harboring such animal. Proof of rabies
vaccination is required before a dog or cat license can be issued.
[Amended 5-31-1978 by Ord. No. 1978-9; 8-28-1984 by Ord. No. 1984-10; 11-27-1984 by Ord. No. 1984-16; 7-26-1988 by Ord. No. 1988-18; 12-17-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-23]
A.
The Animal Registrar shall, upon issuing the license
as herein provided, at the same time issue to the applicant an identification
tag of metal or other suitable material.
B.
Said identification tag shall have printed or stamped
"Licensed Borough of Stanhope," the current year and a distinctive
different number for each animal. A careful record of each such number
and the accompanying license shall be maintained by the Animal Registrar,
particularly for identifying lost, strayed or impounded animals.
C.
The shape of the identification tag shall be alternated each year, and, upon satisfactory proof to the Animal Registrar that a license tag has been lost, worn or damaged beyond further use or cannot be found, the Animal Registrar shall issue to the same applicant, upon payment of a fee as provided for in Chapter 82, Fees, a new tag, but of a new and different number, and notation of the transaction shall also be made on the office file for the number originally issued.
[Amended 5-31-1978 by Ord. No. 1978-9]
B.
The owner of a dog kennel shall procure, in lieu of
an individual license for each dog, a kennel license annually in the
month of January, which license will expire on December 31 of each
year.
D.
The application for a kennel license shall state the
name and address of the owner of said kennel, the location of the
kennel and the number of dogs that shall be accommodated and shall
be accompanied by written approval of the Borough Clerk and Health
Officer showing compliance with the local and state rules and regulations
governing the location of and the sanitation of such establishment.
E.
The kennel license is not transferable.
A.
The Borough Council shall have the power to appoint:
B.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed
as limiting the authority of the Health Officer or the Chief of Police
or members of the Police Department to enforce the provisions of this
chapter when, in the interest of health and safety, they deem it necessary.
[Amended 11-27-1984 by Ord. No. 1984-16; 7-31-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-15]
The Chief of Police of the borough or the appointed
Animal Control Officer or such person designated by resolution of
the Mayor and Council shall cause a canvass to be made of all dogs
and cats owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the borough
and shall, on or before September 1 of each year, make reports to
the Borough Clerk, the Board of Health of the borough and the State
Department of Health of the result thereof, setting forth in separate
columns:
A.
The names and addresses of persons owning, keeping
or harboring such dogs or cats.
B.
The number of licensed dogs or cats owned, kept or
harbored by each of said persons, together with the registration numbers
of each of said dogs or cats.
C.
The number of unlicensed dogs or cats owned, kept
or harbored by each of said persons, together with the complete description
of each of said unlicensed cats or dogs.
The Chief of Police or any other person authorized
or employed by the borough for that purpose shall take into custody
and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded the following:
A.
Any dog or cat off the premises of the owner or of
the person(s) keeping or harboring said animal or any dog or cat which
said official(s) or agent(s) thereof has reason to believe is a stray.
[Amended 2-23-1993 by Ord. No. 1993-3]
B.
Any dog or cat off the premises of the owner or of
the person keeping or harboring said dog or cat, without a current
registration tag on his collar.
C.
Any female dog or cat in season off the premises of
the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog or cat.
The owner of any dog or cat which is impounded and/or destroyed pursuant to this chapter shall pay all expenses incurred in connection with such action to the Borough of Stanhope upon redemption of such animal. The fees for initial impoundment, an additional daily maintenance fee, veterinary fees, euthanasia fees, and disposal fees shall be charged as provided in Chapter 82, Fees, or at the rate charged by any entity or individual providing such service to the Borough, if such rates are not otherwise set forth in § 82-2.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 2 of this ordinance
provided that it would become effective on January 1, 1989, upon adoption
and publication as required by law.
[Added 4-7-2009 by Ord.
No. 2009-01]
Whenever a stray dog or cat is found by the Animal Control Officer and returned to the owner thereof, the owner shall, within 10 days of the return of said animal, pay a $25 animal return fee to the Borough, as is provided for in Chapter 82 of this Code.
A.
If any dog or cat seized, as provided in § 79-13A through C, or any dog seized, as provided in § 79-13D, wears a collar or harness having inscribed thereto the name and address of any person or a registration tag or if the owner or the person keeping or harboring said dog or cat is otherwise known, the Chief of Police or any person authorized by him in that behalf shall forthwith serve or cause to be served on the person whose address is given on the collar or on the owner or the person keeping or harboring said dog or cat, if known, a notice, in writing, stating that the dog or 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.
B.
The notice referred to in Subsection A of this section may be served either by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served, 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 post 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.
C.
When any dog or cat seized in accordance with § 79-13A through C or any dog seized in accordance with § 79-13D has been detained for seven days after notice when notice can be given as set forth above or has been detained for seven days after seizure when notice has not been and cannot be given as set forth above, and if the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog or cat has not claimed said dog or cat and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including maintenance, not exceeding the daily rate charged by the Animal Control Officer or other authorized person by the borough in accordance with the terms of the contract and resolution relating to the keeping and holding of dogs or cats entered into by the borough for the year within which said dog or cat is impounded, and if the dog or cat is unlicensed at the time of the seizure and the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog or cat has not produced a license and registration tag for said dog or cat, the Chief of Police or any person authorized by him in that behalf or authorized by the borough may cause the dog or cat to be destroyed in a manner recommended by the American Veterinarian Medical Association.
[Amended 7-31-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-15]
Any person or agent authorized to or empowered
to perform any duty under this chapter is hereby authorized to go
upon any premises to seize for impounding any dog(s) or cat(s) which
he may lawfully seize and impound when he is in immediate pursuit
of such dog(s) or cat(s), except upon premises of the owner of the
dog or cat if said owner is present and forbids the same.
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere
with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this
chapter.
A.
No person shall keep or harbor any dog or cat in the
borough except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
B.
No more than four dogs and/or cats of licensing age
shall be kept, maintained or harbored at one time, for any length
of time, in any residential housing unit or on its grounds or in any
business establishment or on its grounds. This restriction shall not
apply to properly licensed kennels, pet shops, pounds and shelters.
A.
No person owning or having the care, custody or control
of any dog shall suffer or permit such dog to soil or defile or to
commit any nuisance upon any sidewalk, street or thoroughfare or in
or upon any public park, playground or other public place or the private
property of persons other than the owner or person having the care,
custody or control of such dog.
B.
No person owning or having the care, custody or control
of any dog or cat shall suffer or permit such dog or cat to:
(1)
Soil or defile or do any injury or damage to any lawn,
vegetable garden, shrubbery, trees, flowers, driveway, ground or any
property of persons other than that of the owner or person having
the care, custody or control of such dog or cat.
(2)
Cause any injury to any person.
(3)
Bark, cry, whine, howl or otherwise disturb the peace
or quiet of the neighborhood or the sleep of any person for any unreasonable
length of time.
(4)
Be or become a public nuisance or to create a condition
hazardous to safety and health.
C.
The habitual barking, howling, whining or crying of
a dog or dogs or the howling of a cat or cats in the Borough of Stanhope
is hereby declared to be a disturbing noise within the meaning of
N.J.S.A. 40:48-1, Subsection 8, and a nuisance.
A.
No person owning, keeping, harboring or having care,
custody or control of any dog or cat shall suffer or permit it to
run at large.
[Amended 2-23-1993 by Ord. No. 1993-3]
B.
Every dog shall be led by a chain, cord or other leash
in the hands of a person capable of leading and controlling such dog.
A.
No person shall be cruel or inhumane to a dog or cat,
said cruelty or inhumanity consisting of beating, torturing, mutilating,
cruelly killing or clearly failing to provide food, drink or shelter
for a dog or cat or abandoning any dog or cat of which he has charge,
either as owner or otherwise.
B.
No person owning, keeping, harboring or having the
care, custody or control of any dog or cat shall abandon such a maimed,
sick, infirm or disabled animal or creature to die.
[Amended 7-31-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-15]
A.
Any cat which has attacked or bitten a human being
or which habitually attacks other cats or domestic animals is hereby
presumed to be a vicious cat for the purpose of this section until
a further determination of the facts is made, as hereinafter provided.
B.
It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Police Department
or any person authorized by him, the appointed Animal Control Officer
or the governing body of the borough to receive and investigate complaints
against cats, and when any cat complained against shall be deemed
by the proper authorities to be a vicious cat, as herein defined,
said officer shall file a complaint in the Municipal Court of the
borough, which court shall thereupon cause the owner or person harboring
such cat to be notified, in writing, of the complaint and to appear
before said Municipal Court Judge at a stated time and place. Pending
the disposition of said complaints, the Chief of Police or such other
authorized persons may order the cat to be muzzled and leashed while
being walked and to be confined at all other times.
C.
The Municipal Court Judge, at the time set for such
hearing, shall inquire into the facts and give all interested persons
an opportunity to be heard under oath and to be represented by counsel,
and the Municipal Court Judge shall decide in accordance with such
evidence before him. If the Municipal Court Judge shall decide that
such cat complained of is a vicious cat, as defined by this section,
notice of such decision shall be given to the owner or person harboring
such cat.
D.
No cat which has been so determined to be a vicious
cat shall be permitted to run at large or to be upon any street or
public place in the borough except while securely muzzled and under
leash, and the owner or person harboring any such vicious cat, who
shall suffer or permit such cat to be upon any street, public place
or private property in the borough, other than the property of the
owner or person harboring such cat, while not securely muzzled and
under leash, shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter.
[Added 7-31-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-15]
A.
The State of New Jersey has enacted an act concerning certain dogs, supplementing Chapter 19 of Title 4 of the Revised Statutes entitled "Laws of 1989," Chapter 307, approved on January 12, 1990.[1] Section 21 sets forth that said act supersedes any local
ordinance, and said act shall be enforced within the Borough of Stanhope
as set forth therein.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 4:19-36.
A.
No person shall own, harbor or keep any dog or cat
from within the borough which is not currently inoculated against
rabies; provided, however, that animals which have not attained the
age of six months shall not be required to be inoculated and further
provided that any animal may be exempt from the requirements of such
inoculation, for a specified period of time, by the Board of Health
upon the presentation of a certificate from a veterinarian stating
that because of identity or other physical condition, the inoculation
of such animal for said specified period of time shall be deemed inadvisable
by said veterinarian.
[Amended 8-28-1984 by Ord. No. 1984-10]
B.
Inoculations shall be made by a duly licensed veterinarian
of the State of New Jersey, or such other person permitted by law
to make the same, and approved by the Borough Board of Health.
C.
Whenever a dog, cat or other animal is infected with
rabies or is suspected of being infected with rabies, or has been
bitten by an animal infected with rabies or suspected of being infected
with rabies the person owning or having the care, custody or control
of any such animal or any person having knowledge or suspicion of
such infection shall notify the Borough Board of Health and/or the
Chief of Police of the borough, or the person in charge of the Police
Department at the given time, immediately. Any such report shall be
reduced to writing at the request of the Board of Health of the Borough
of Stanhope.
D.
If a dog or cat or other animal is known or believed
to have rabies, or has been bitten by a dog or cat or other animal
known or suspected of having rabies, the owner of such animal shall
be notified in writing to have the animal confined for a period of
not less than six months, or such lesser period specified by the State
Department of Health, and placed under the observation of a veterinarian,
at the expense of the owner, for such period.
E.
Any animal confined under order of the Borough Board
of Health shall not be released until a certificate of release has
been issued by the said Board.
F.
Whenever it becomes necessary to safeguard the public
from the danger of rabies, the Mayor, upon recommendation of the Borough
Board of Health, shall issue a proclamation ordering every person
owning or keeping a dog, cat or other animal to confine it securely
on his premises unless such animal shall have a muzzle and leash of
sufficient strength to prevent the biting of any person.
G.
Any such animal running at large during the time of
the proclamation shall be seized and impounded, unless noticeably
infected with rabies.
H.
All dogs or cats or other animals so noticeably infected
with rabies and displaying vicious propensities shall be killed by
the Animal Control Officer or Chief of Police, or any other authorized
person, after a written diagnosis of infection by a veterinarian of
the State of New Jersey.
[Amended 7-31-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-15]
I.
The Animal Control Officer or Chief of Police, or
any other authorized person, shall promptly notify, in writing, the
Borough Board of Health and the owner, if known, of the killing and
the reason for the killing of any dog, cat or other animal in accordance
with the provisions of this section.
[Amended 7-31-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-15]
A.
The owner of any dog, cat or other animal that shall
have bitten, scratched or caused injury to any person, or shall have
otherwise violated the provisions of this chapter, shall be issued
a complaint in violation under this section, and it shall be deemed
a separate violation for each animal and each incident and shall not
be considered as the same offense for any other section herein.
B.
Upon the evidence presented and after an examination
by a licensed veterinarian, if the Municipal Court Judge or other
Judge authorized by law shall deem it necessary for the safety of
the public, he may order the animal destroyed or muzzled and/or confined,
and he may impose a penalty as set forth in ~ 79-25. However, upon
a conviction of a third offense, the animal shall be destroyed.
The Borough Clerk shall forward to the State
Department of Health a list of all kennels, pet shops, shelters or
pounds licensed by the borough 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.
[Added 10-25-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-20]
It shall be unlawful for any person(s), whether
on public land or private, to attract or feed or to attempt to attract
or feed pigeons which are not their personal property by offering,
placing, throwing, scattering or providing, by any means whatsoever,
food for the pigeons. This provision, however, shall not be construed
to prohibit the use of passive bird-feeding devices.
[Amended 5-31-1978 by Ord. No. 1978-9; 8-28-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-17; 6-30-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-8]
Any person violating any provision of this chapter
shall, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000
or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or a period of community
service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof.
