[Adopted 3-3-1958 as Ord. No. 1958-4]
[Amended 7-1-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-16]
A.
License required. No person shall keep or harbor any
dog and/or cat within the Township of Mount Laurel, County of Burlington,
without first obtaining a license therefor to be issued by the Animal
Registrar of the township upon application by the owner and payment
of the prescribed fee, and no person shall keep or harbor any such
dog and/or cat in said township except in compliance with the provisions
of this Article.
B.
Rabies vaccination. It shall be unlawful for the owner
or custodian of any dog and/or cat to keep, harbor or have in his
or her custody or control any dog and/or cat 12 weeks of age or older
for longer than 10 days unless such dog and/or cat has been vaccinated
with a rabies vaccine approved by the State of New Jersey, Department
of Health, and the vaccination is not beyond the expiration for such
vaccination. After the initial vaccination, each dog and/or cat shall
be periodically vaccinated so as to ensure that said dog and/or cat
has, at all times, an effective vaccination approved by the State
of New Jersey, Department of Health.
C.
Certificate of vaccination. Rabies inoculation receipts,
issued by a veterinarian at the time of vaccination, shall be carefully
preserved by the owner or custodian of any dog and/or cat and exhibited
promptly upon request for inspection by any animal control warden,
law enforcement officer or the Animal Registrar of the Township of
Mount Laurel. Such certificate shall be presented to the Animal Registrar
in connection with the licensing of the animal pursuant to this section.
[Amended 7-1-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-16]
A.
Time for applying for license at beginning of 1992.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor any dog and/or cat of licensing
age shall, in January of each year beginning January 1992, apply for
and procure from the Animal Registrar of the township a license and
official metal registration tag for each dog and/or cat so owned,
kept and/or harbored and shall place upon such dog and/or cat a collar
or harness with such registration tag securely fastened thereto.
B.
Time for applying for license in 1991.
(1)
Dogs. During the calendar year 1991, all dog registrations which have been accomplished for calendar year 1991 prior to the effective date of this Article shall be valid until January of 1992, when § 70-2A shall apply. All dogs registered in the Township of Mount Laurel in 1991 and subsequent to the effective date of this Article shall be so registered using the fee schedule set forth in § 70-3 of the Mount Laurel Township Code.
[Amended 1-14-1960 by Ord. No. 1960-1; 12-19-1966 by Ord. No.
1966-10; 11-3-1975 by Ord. No. 1975-11; 12-19-1979 by Ord. No.
1979-28; 12-7-1981 by Ord. No. 1981-29; 7-1-1991 by Ord. No.
1991-16]
A.
Fees; expiration; exception.
[Amended 8-18-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-22; 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-31[1]; 6-1-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-11; 2-11-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1]
(1)
Dogs.
The persons applying for the license and registration tag shall pay
the following fees for each dog:
(a)
Twelve
dollars if issued between January 1 and March 31 of each year.
(b)
Three
additional dollars for any dog of reproductive age which has not had
its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization
(required state surcharge).
(c)
A
late fee of $10 will be charged for any renewal licenses issued after
March 31.
(2)
Cats.
The persons applying for the license and registration tag shall pay
the following fees for each cat:
(a)
Twelve
dollars if issued between January 1 and March 31 of each year.
(b)
Three
additional dollars for any cat of reproductive age which has not had
its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization.
(c)
A
late fee of $10 will be charged for any renewal licenses issued after
March 31.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided that
said fees shall take effect for the 2006 licensing year.
B.
Surcharges.
(1)
Dogs. Pursuant to provisions of New Jersey law, there
is a surcharge of $3 for each dog which is registered pursuant to
this Article, which dog has not been spayed or neutered, as the case
may be. Such surcharge shall be collected by the Animal Registrar
unless proof of such spaying or neutering is presented at the time
of application for the license.
(2)
Cats. As of the effective date of this subsection,
there is presently no surcharge required by the State of New Jersey
for cats which are registered and not either spayed or neutered. Such
surcharge will be collected, nevertheless, by the Animal Registrar
in the event that such surcharge is ever required by the State of
New Jersey.
C.
Said license and registration tags and the renewals
thereof shall expire on the last day of December in the year of issuance.
D.
Exceptions. Dogs used as guides for blind persons
and commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs shall be licensed and registered
as other dogs hereinabove provided for, except that the owner or keeper
of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
[Amended 7-1-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-16]
The owner of any newly acquired dog and/or cat of licensing age or of any dog and/or cat which attains licensing age shall make application for license and registration tag for such dog and/or cat within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. If the application is made within said time, the fees provided for in § 70-3A(1)(a) (for dogs) or 70-3A(2)(a) (for cats) hereof shall be paid; otherwise the fees provided for in § 70-3A(1)(b) or 70-3A(2)(b) shall be paid.
[Amended 7-1-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-16]
The application shall state the breed, sex,
age and color and markings of the dog and/or cat 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 and/or cat. The information
on said application and registration number issued for the dog and/or
cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Animal Registrar
of the Township. In addition, he or she shall forward similar information
to the State Department of Health, as applicable, each month on the
form furnished by said Department. Registration numbers shall be issued
in the order of the applications.
[Amended 7-1-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-16]
A.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the Township of Mount Laurel in the County of Burlington any
dog and/or cat licensed in another state for the current year and
bearing 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 and/or cat.
B.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the township any unlicensed dog and/or cat 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 and/or cat and comply with the rabies inoculation
actions of this Article.
[Amended 7-1-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-16]
No person except an officer in the performance
of his duties shall remove a registration tag from the collar of any
dog and/or cat without the consent of the owner, nor shall any person
attach a registration tag to a dog and/or cat for which it was not
issued.
[Amended 4-19-1971 by Ord. No. 1971-7; 12-7-1981 by Ord. No.
1981-29; 7-1-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-16]
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this Article shall be forwarded to the Treasurer
of the township within 30 days after collection or receipt and shall
be placed in a special account separate from any other accounts of
the township and which shall be used for the following purposes only:
for collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs and/or cats liable to
seizure under this Article; for local prevention and control of rabies;
for providing antirabic treatment under the direction of the local
Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed
to rabies; for all other purposes prescribed by the statutes of New
Jersey governing the subject; and for administering the provisions
of this Article. 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 said 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 said special account during the last two fiscal years next
preceding. The registration tag fee of $1 for each dog and/or cat
shall be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the Township
Clerk to the New Jersey State Department of Health.
[Amended 10-7-1983 by Ord. No. 1983-31; 7-1-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-16]
The Animal Registrar of the Township shall promptly
after March 15, 1958, and after February 1 of all subsequent years,
cause a canvass to be made of all dogs and/or cats owned, kept or
harbored within the limits of the Township and shall report to the
Clerk of the Township, the Board of Health Division of the Township
and to the State Department of Health, as applicable, the result thereof,
setting forth in separate columns the names and addresses of persons
owning, keeping or harboring such dogs and/or cats, the number of
licensed dogs and/or cats owned, kept or harbored by each of said
persons, together with the registration number of each of said dogs
and/or cats, and the number of unlicensed dogs and/or cats owned,
kept or harbored by each of said persons, together with a complete
description of each of said unlicensed dogs and/or cats.
[Amended 12-7-1981 by Ord. No. 1981-29; 7-1-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-16]
The Township Council shall have power to appoint an Animal Registrar, whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions of Article II. The Township Council shall also have the power to appoint one or more persons, to be known as "Dogcatchers," "Dog Wardens" or "Animal Control Wardens," who may impound unlicensed dogs and/or cats running at large in violation of the provisions of Article II.
No persons shall hinder, molest or interfere
with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this
article.
[Amended 1-21-1980 by Ord. No. 1980-3; 12-7-1981 by Ord. No.
1981-29; 10-1-1984 by Ord. No. 1984-33]
Any person who shall violate any of the terms
or provisions of this article or do any act or anything therein prohibited,
or neglect, fail or refuse to do any act or thing herein required
to be done, shall be subject to a fine not exceeding the sum of $1,000
or be imprisoned for a term not exceeding 90 days. Any member of the
Police Department shall only file a complaint with respect to a violation
of this article if said member personally observed the violation.
Citizens who complain to the Division of Police with respect to a
violation of this article shall file the complaint with the Municipal
Court as to any violation.
[Added 12-22-2014 by Ord.
No. 2014-7]
A.
Licensing.
(1)
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a
kennel, a pet shop, a shelter or a pound shall apply to the Clerk
for a license. The application is on file in the office of the Clerk.
(2)
Along with the application, the person applying must submit
written approval from the County Board of Health showing compliance
with local and state rules and regulations governing location and
sanitation of such establishments.
(3)
Additionally, if a pet shop, each applicant must submit annually,
and no later than May 1 of each year, the total number of dogs and
cats, respectively, sold by the pet shop each year to the Clerk.
(4)
All licenses will expire in June of each calendar year.
(5)
Licenses are revocable at will with a recommendation from the
Department of Health or local Board of Health.
