[Adopted 7-9-1991 as Ord. No. 91-14 (Ch. 4, Art. 2, of the Revised Ordinances of 1972)]
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this Article.[1]
ANIMAL RESCUE ORGANIZATION
Any nonprofit organization that has tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, whose mission and practice is, in whole or in significant part, the rescue and placement of animals in permanent homes. "Animal rescue organization" does not include any entity that breeds animals or that: (1) is located on the same premises as; (2) has any personnel in common with; (3) obtains, in exchange for payment or any other form of compensation, dogs or cats from; or (4) facilitates the sale of dogs or cats obtained from a person that breeds animals.
[Added 11-9-2023 by Ord. No. 23-18]
CAT SHELTER
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
HOBBY BREEDER
A noncommercial establishment where one or more breeds of dog are kept for personal breeding and where the consumer can directly view the conditions in which the dogs are bred and can confer directly with the hobby breeder concerning those conditions.
[Added 11-9-2023 by Ord. No. 23-18]
LICENSING AUTHORITY
The agency or department of the Borough of Hillsdale or any designated representative thereof charged with administering the issuance and/or revocation of permits and licenses under the provisions of this Article.
OFFER FOR SALE
To sell, offer for sale or adoption, advertise for the sale of, barter, auction, give away or otherwise dispose of a dog or cat.
[Added 11-9-2023 by Ord. No. 23-18]
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, includes every person having a right of property (or custody) in such cat and every person who has such a cat in his or 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.[2]
PET SHOP
A commercial retail establishment where dogs and cats are sold, exchanged, bartered or offered for sale to the general public. Such definition shall not include an animal rescue organization, hobby breeder, kennel, or shelter.
[Added 11-9-2023 by Ord. No. 23-18]
SHELTER
An animal control center, shelter or pound 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.
[Added 11-9-2023 by Ord. No. 23-18]
SPAYED-NEUTERED
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified by a licensed veterinarian.
[1]
Editor's Note: The definition of "Animal," which immediately preceded this definition, and the definition of "Cat," which immediately followed this definition, were deleted 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8.
[2]
Editor's Note: The definition of "Person," which immediately followed this definition, was deleted 5-13-1997 by Ord.No. 97-8.
A. 
No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over four (4) months of age, or younger if so prescribed by New Jersey State Department of Health guidelines in a rabies emergency, within the Borough of Hillsdale unless such cat is vaccinated and licensed. The provisions of this section do not apply to cats held in a cat shelter or those held by a state or federal licensed research facility or a veterinary establishment where cats are received or kept for diagnostic, medical, surgical or other treatments, or licensed animal shelters, pounds, kennels or pet shops.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
B. 
Vaccination: All cats shall be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with the latest "Compendium of Animal Rabies Vaccines and Recommendations for Immunization" published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, except as provided for in Subsection D.
C. 
Vaccination certificate: A certificate of vaccination, on a form recommended by the state, shall be issued to the owner of each animal vaccinated.
D. 
Exemptions: Any cat may be exempt from the requirements of such vaccination for a specified period of time by the Hillsdale Board of Health, upon presentation of a veterinarian's certificate stating that, because of an infirmity or other physical condition or regimen of therapy, the inoculation of such cat shall be deemed inadvisable.
A. 
Cats must have a license number displayed. Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a cat of the minimum age or older set forth in § 96-30A of this Article shall annually apply for and procure from the Clerk of the municipality, or other official designated by the governing body thereof to license cats in the municipality in which he or she resides, a license and official registration tag with license number for each cat so owned, kept, 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 license number shall include but are not limited to breakaway or elastic collars. License tags are not transferable.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
B. 
Time to apply for license. The owner of any newly acquired cat which is the minimum age set forth in § 96-30 of this Article or older shall make application for license tag for such cat within ten (10) days after such acquisition or age attainment. This requirement will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat within the Borough of Hillsdale for no longer than ninety (90) days. A thirty-day period for licensing hereunder shall apply when a rabies emergency has been declared by New Jersey Department of Health.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
C. 
Cats brought into jurisdiction. Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough of Hillsdale any cat licensed in another state for the current year and bearing registration tag and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Borough of Hillsdale for a period of more than ninety (90) days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such cat. A thirty-day period for licensing hereunder shall apply when a rabies emergency has been declared by New Jersey Department of Health.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
D. 
Application, contents, preservations or information. 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 long- or shorthaired variety; also the name, street, post office address and telephone number of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such a cat. The information on said application and the registration number issued for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three (3) years by the Clerk or other local official designated to license cats in the municipality.
E. 
License forms and tags. License forms and official tags shall be furnished by the municipality and shall be numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the municipality.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
F. 
Evidence of inoculation with rabies vaccine or certification of exemption; requirement for license. No Municipal Clerk or other official designated by the governing body of any municipality to license cats therein shall grant any such license and official registration tag 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, current recommendations of the New Jersey State Department of Health or has been certified exempt as provided by § 96-30 of this Article II. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian, or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do so.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
G. 
License fee schedule. Fees shall be as provided in Chapter 138, Fees.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
H. 
Fees, renewals, expiration date of license.
(1) 
Licenses from another municipality shall be accepted. The person applying for the license and registration tag and/or sleeve shall pay the fee fixed or authorized. The fee for the renewal of the license and registration tag or sleeve shall be the same as for the original license, registration tag or sleeve and renewal thereof shall expire on January 31 of the following year. Owners who have complied with the registration fee provisions of this Article for 1991 shall be exempt from the Borough's 1992 registration fee requirements when reregistering their cat(s).
(2) 
Only one (1) license and registration tag shall be required in the licensing year for any cat in the Borough of Hillsdale. Any valid New Jersey license tag issued by a New Jersey municipality shall be accepted by this municipality as evidence of compliance, provided that proof of inoculation of appropriate duration in accordance with the current recommendations of the New Jersey Department of Health is presented.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
(3) 
Should the applicant fail to apply for and procure a license in the month of January of each year, the applicant shall be charged a fee as provided in Chapter 138, Fees, in addition to the fees set forth in Subsection G. Said late charge shall be payable to the Clerk of the Borough.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
I. 
Loss of license. Replacement of misplaced or lost license/issuance of duplicate shall be free.
J. 
Proof of licensing. 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, Sanitary Inspector or other authorized person.
K. 
Interfering with persons performing duties under this Article. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this Article.
L. 
Disposition of fees collected. License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this Article shall be forwarded to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality 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 anti-rabies treatment under the direction of the local Board of Health 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 the said third 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 (2) fiscal years next preceding.
[Amended 5-13-1997 by Ord. No. 97-8]
Any person who violates or fails or refuses to comply this article 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 to prevent the spread of rabies and other diseases of dogs within and from such establishments, shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 226, Penalties.