[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Haddon 12-19-1966 by Ord. No. 520. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
In the interpretation of this chapter, the following
words and phrases, unless the context shows another sense to be intended,
shall be held to have the meanings hereinafter stated:
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
[Amended 4-7-1987 by Ord. No. 819]
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
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, includes every
person having a right of property in such dog and every person who
has such dog in his keeping.
Any establishment, not a kennel, wherein animals for sale
are kept or displayed.
Any establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either
under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
An agent or agents of the Township who have been designated
as enforcement officers of the provisions of this chapter.
Any establishment where dogs are received, housed and distributed.
[Amended 4-7-1987 by Ord. No. 819]
A female dog certified by a licensed veterinarian to have
been spayed.
A female dog which has not been certified by a licensed veterinarian
to have been spayed.
No person shall keep or harbor any dog within
the Township without first filing an application with the Township
Clerk, whereupon, after paying the fee hereinafter set forth to the
Clerk, a license and registration tag shall be issued by the Clerk.
No person shall keep or harbor any dog in the Township except in compliance
with the provisions of this chapter.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog
of licensing age shall annually, in the month of January, apply for
and procure in the manner above set forth a license and official metal
registration tag for each such dog so owned, kept or harbored, and
shall place upon each such dog a collar or harness with the registration
tag securely fastened thereto.
[Amended 1-3-1967 by Ord. No. 521; 8-16-1983 by Ord. No. 749; 12-26-2006 by Ord. No. 1170]
The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay the fee specified by Chapter 111, Fees, to the Township of Haddon, along with such fee as shall currently be required to be collected and forwarded to the State of New Jersey as prescribed by the statutes and regulations of the State of New Jersey with respect to spayed and neutered dogs and with respect to unspayed and nonneutered dogs. Such licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of January of the year following the year in which licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof are issued.
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly
known as "Seeing Eye" dogs shall be licensed and registered as other
dogs hereinbefore provided for, except that the owner or keeper of
such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing
age or of any dog which attains licensing age shall make application
for license and registration tag for such dog within 10 days after
such acquisition or age attainment.
The application shall state the breed, sex,
age, color and markings of the dog 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 dog. The information on the application
and the registration number issued for the dog shall be preserved
for a period of three years by the Clerk. In addition, the Clerk shall
forward similar information to the State Department of Health. Registration
numbers shall be issued in order of the application.
A.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the Township any dog licensed in another state for the current
year and carrying a registration tag and shall keep the same or permit
the same to be kept within the Township for a period of more than
90 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag
for each such dog.
B.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the Township any unlicensed dog and shall keep the same or permit
the same to be kept within the Township for a period of more than
10 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag
for each such dog.
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, nor shall any person attach
a registration tag to a dog for which it was not issued.
A.
License required. Any person who keeps or operates
or proposes to establish in the Township a kennel, a pet shop, a shelter
or a pound shall apply to the Clerk for a license entitling him to
keep or operate such establishment.
B.
Application. The application shall describe the premises
where the establishment is located or is proposed to be located and
the purpose for which it is to be maintained. Such application shall
be accompanied by the written approval of the Fire Marshal, the Construction
Code Official and the Health Inspector of the Township showing compliance
with the local and state rules and regulations governing location
of and sanitation at such establishments.
[Amended 4-7-1987 by Ord. No. 819]
C.
Purpose; expiration. All licenses issued for a kennel,
pet shop, shelter or pound 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 4-7-1987 by Ord. No. 819]
D.
Revocation. Such licenses shall be subject to revocation
by the governing body of the Township on recommendations of the State
Department of Health or the Health Inspector of the Township for failure
to comply with the rules and regulations of the State Department of
Health or the Board of Commissioners governing the same, after the
owner has been offered a hearing by either the State Department or
the Board of Commissioners.
E.
Individual licenses. Any person holding such license
shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned
by such licensee and kept at such establishment. Such licenses shall
not be transferable to another owner or different premises.
F.
Fees. The annual license fee for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall be as set forth in Chapter 111, Fees.
[Amended 12-26-2006 by Ord. No. 1170]
G.
Information sent to state. The Clerk shall forward
to the State Department of Health a list of all kennels, pet shops,
shelters 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.
H.
Control of dogs. No dog kept in a kennel, pet shop,
shelter or pound shall be permitted off such premises except on leash
or in a crate or other safe control.
I.
Certain sales prohibited.
[Added 3-22-2016 by Ord.
No. 1352]
(1)
ANIMAL CARE FACILITY
ANIMAL RESCUE ORGANIZATION
CAT
DOG
OFFER FOR SALE
PET SHOP
Definitions. When used herein, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
An animal control center or animal shelter, maintained by
or under contract with any state, county, or municipality, whose mission
and practice is, in whole or significant part, the rescue and placement
of animals in permanent homes or rescue organizations.
Any not-for-profit organization which has been granted tax-exempt
status under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue
Code and whose mission and practice is, in whole or in significant
part, the rescue and placement of animals in permanent homes.
A member of the species of domestic cat, Felis Catus.
A member of the species of domestic dog, Canis Familiaris.
To sell, offer for sale or adoption, advertise for the sale
of, barter, auction, give away or otherwise dispose of a dog or cat.
A retail establishment where dogs and cats are sold, exchanged,
bartered or offered for sale as pet animals to the general public
at retail. Such definition shall not include an animal care facility
or animal rescue organization, as defined.
(2)
Restrictions on the sale of animals.
[Amended 8-16-1983 by Ord. No. 749]
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this chapter, except registration tag fees,
shall be forwarded to the Department of Revenue and Finance of the
Township 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 which shall be used for the following purposes only:
for collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs liable to seizure under
this chapter; for local prevention and control of rabies; for providing
antirabic treatment under the direction of the Bureau of Health for
any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; and
for all other purposes prescribed by the statutes of New Jersey governing
the subject and for administering the provisions of this chapter.
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 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. The current state
fee applicable to each dog registered hereunder shall be forwarded
to the State Department of Health within 30 days of collection by
the Clerk.
The governing body of the Township shall have
power to enter the necessary contracts with some proper person, who
shall be known as the "Poundmaster," who shall catch and impound dogs
running at large in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
A.
Dogs not licensed pursuant to this chapter or found
not under restraint or abandoned may be seized and impounded by any
police or humane officer or other authorized person. Impoundment may
be in any pound or shelter designated by the Township. The place of
impoundment shall be open for public inspection on a regular schedule.
B.
If the dog wears a license tag or if the owner can
in any other reasonable way be located, the owner shall, within 12
hours, be notified by telephone, if possible, and otherwise by mail
to his last known address that the dog has been impounded.
C.
If a dog is not redeemed by the owner within seven
days after impoundment, the dog may be disposed of in one of the following
ways, but in no other way: euthanasia, using a method approved by
the Humane Society of the United States, or release for adoption by
a new owner who shows evidence of ability and intention to provide
the dog with an appropriate home and humane care, provided that no
unspayed female dog shall be released for adoption unless a licensed
veterinarian certifies in writing that he has been paid in full for
spaying the dog and will perform the operation within 10 days if over
5 1/2 months old or at the age of 5 1/2 months if a puppy.
D.
An owner redeeming a dog from impoundment shall pay,
before release of such dog, an impoundment fee and boarding charge
in the amount stipulated in the Township's current contract with the
shelter or as set by resolution of the Board of Commissioners.
[Amended 4-7-1987 by Ord. No. 819]
E.
Any new owner adopting an impounded dog from the pound
or shelter, when applicable, shall first obtain a license for the
dog.
F.
When dogs are found running at large and their ownership
is known to the Poundmaster, such dogs need not be impounded, but
the agent may, at his discretion, first warn the owner and upon next
violation cite the owner of such dogs to appear in court to answer
to charges of violation of this chapter.
G.
For each dog or other animal impounded under the terms
of this chapter, a record shall be kept stating the date of impoundment,
description of animal, license number, breed, age, sex, name and address
of person from whom acquired, date disposed of, method of disposal
and name and address of person to whom animal is transferred. These
records shall be available for public inspection.
H.
The manner in which animals are kept shall be in conformance
with all rules and regulations prescribed by state law.
[Amended 4-7-1987 by Ord. No. 819]
There shall not be permitted more than two dogs
of three months of age or over to be kept or maintained in or on the
premises of any home, dwelling, apartment, residential unit or business
place; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to premises
for which a license has been obtained, as provided in this chapter,
for the operation of a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound.
No person owning or having charge, care, custody
or control of any dog shall cause, permit or allow the same to be
or to run at large upon any street, alley or other place or upon any
private property or premises other than that of the person owning
or having charge, care, custody or control of such dog within the
Township unless such dog is restrained by a substantial chain or leash
and is in the charge and control of a competent person.
Any officer or agent authorized or empowered
to perform any duty under this chapter is hereby authorized to go
on any premises to seize for impounding any dog which he may lawfully
seize and impound when such officer or agent is in immediate pursuit
of such dog, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog if such
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.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog
shall suffer or permit it to be upon the public streets or in any
of the public places of the Township unless such dog is accompanied
by a responsible person and is securely confined and controlled by
an adequate leash not more than six feet long.
Any dog which has attacked or bitten any human
being or which habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals is
hereby defined to be a vicious dog. For the purpose of this section,
it shall be the duty of the Police Department to receive and investigate
complaints against such dogs, and when any dog complained against
shall be deemed by such Police Department to be a vicious dog as herein
defined, the Police Department shall report the facts to the Municipal
Judge of the Township, who shall thereupon cause the owner or person
harboring such dog to be notified in writing of the complaint against
such dog and to appear before the Municipal Judge at a stated time
and place. The Judge, at the time set for the hearing, shall inquire
into the facts and give all interested parties and persons an opportunity
to be heard under oath and to be represented by counsel, and the Judge
shall decide in accordance with the evidence before him, and if the
Judge shall decide that such dog complained of is a vicious dog as
defined by this section, notice of such decision shall be given to
the owner or person harboring such dog. No dog which has been so determined
to be a vicious dog shall be permitted to run at large or be upon
any street or public place in the Township except while securely muzzled
and under leash as provided in this chapter, and the owner or person
harboring any such vicious dog who shall suffer or permit such dog
to run at large or be upon any street or public place in the Township
while not securely muzzled and under leash shall be guilty of a violation
of this chapter.
[Added 4-7-1987 by Ord. No. 819]
A.
No person who owns, keeps, harbors, walks or has custody
of a dog shall permit, cause, suffer or allow such dog to defecate
upon, soil, defile or commit any nuisance of any kind on any public
or private property without the express permission of the owner of
such property.
B.
In the event a dog shall soil, defile or defecate
upon any public or private property, the owner, keeper, harborer and/or
person having custody of said dog shall immediately remove and sanitarily
dispose of said dog's feces and droppings deposited by such dog, which
removal shall be by a shovel, container, disposal bag or any other
sanitary manner.
C.
Disturbing noises. No person within the limits of
the Township of Haddon shall keep, harbor or maintain any dog which
shall disturb the neighborhood by excessive barking, whining, howling
or making other disturbing noises.
[Amended 2-18-1992 by Ord. No. 929]
Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any part of any section of this chapter or with the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health governing the sanitary conduct and operation of kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds, to preserve sanitation therein and prevent the spread of rabies and other diseases of dogs within and from such establishments, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $5 nor more than $50 for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the Township; except that for the first offense in cases of violation of §§ 104-2, 104-3, 104-6 and 104-8 of this chapter, the penalty shall be not less than $1 nor more than $50, to be recovered in the same manner. A person who refuses or neglects to pay forthwith the amount of a judgment rendered against him and the costs and charges incident thereto shall be committed by the court to the county jail for a period not exceeding 10 days in the case of a first conviction, and in the case of a conviction for a second, subsequent or continuing violation, for a period not exceeding 30 days.
