[Adopted 5-28-1974 by Ord. No. 628 (Ch. 31, Art. I of the 1966 Code)]
The following terms, wherever used or referred
to in this article, shall have the following respective meanings,
unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
The Borough Clerk of the Borough of Emerson.
Includes any court having jurisdiction over any offense committed
under this article, and shall include any judge, recorder, magistrate,
police judge or other officer presiding in said court.
Any dog, either male or female, over the age of six months.
The conducting of the business of harboring, raising or otherwise
dealing in and with dogs, and any person harboring more than five
dogs shall be presumed to conduct a kennel.
Includes any individual, partnership, association or corporation.
A person who owns or operates a pet store, or both.
[Added 6-14-2016 by Ord.
No. 1524]
A commercial dog-breeding facility in which the health of
the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize
profits.
[Added 6-14-2016 by Ord.
No. 1524]
A.
It shall not be lawful for any person within the limits
of the Borough of Emerson to own, keep or harbor any dog or dogs without
having the same registered or licensed in the manner hereinafter provided.
B.
It shall not be lawful for any person to maintain
a dog kennel without obtaining a license as hereinafter provided.
[Amended 2-18-2003 by Ord. No. 1218]
Any person owning, harboring or keeping any
dog or dogs within the Borough of Emerson who shall fail, neglect
or refuse to register each and every dog so owned, harbored or kept,
or any person who shall own, harbor or keep any dog or dogs which
shall have no license tag attached to the collar, as hereinafter provided,
shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to a fine of not more than
$500 or shall be imprisoned in the local or county jail for a term
not exceeding 90 days, or both.
[Amended 2-18-2003 by Ord. No. 1218]
No dog, whether licensed or unlicensed, shall
be permitted to run at large within the limits of the Borough of Emerson.
Any dog found upon any public streets or places in said Borough or
upon the property of other than the owner of said dog in said Borough
in violation of this section shall be impounded by an animal shelter,
or such other agency as may be designated by the Mayor and Council,
and destroyed, unless redeemed as hereinafter provided.
Any person desiring to have a dog registered
shall present a signed application to the Clerk upon blanks to be
furnished by him, which shall set forth:
A.
The name and address of the applicant and owner.
B.
The breed, sex, age and color markings of the dog.
C.
The place where the dog shall be kept.
D.
An agreement that the dog proposed to be registered
and licensed will be confined in the place designated in the application
and will not be permitted to run at large and, when not so confined,
that said dog will be kept under strict control of its master or other
responsible person by leash.
E.
That a metal tag with the registration number stamped
thereon shall, at all times, be fastened to a collar or harness on
said dog and that said registration tag or number is not transferable
and will be used on the registered dog only.
F.
That, should said dog so registered or licensed as
aforesaid be found at large within the Borough of Emerson and apprehended
and taken to the public pound and notice thereof sent by postal card
to the registered owner as indicated by the metal tag found on the
dog when so impounded, said owner shall redeem said dog from the pound
within seven days from the mailing of said notice and pay therefor
the sum of $4 for the use of the Borough. In the event that said owner
shall fail or neglect to redeem said dog from the public pound within
the time aforesaid, said tag or license shall be taken up and the
same shall thereupon become immediately void, and said dog may be
destroyed or disposed of as herein provided.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
When such application has been properly executed
and delivered to the Clerk, the Clerk shall issue to said applicant
a proper registration certificate, which shall be numbered in accordance
with the consecutive numbers of all such certificates, and also a
metal dog license or registration number of suitable design and bearing
the same number as the certificate, which shall at all times be affixed
to the collar or harness of said dog.
[Amended 6-14-2016 by Ord. No. 1524]
A.
License. Any person desiring to obtain a license to
conduct a dog kennel shall apply to the office of the Clerk of the
Borough of Emerson for a license entitling him to keep or operate
such establishment.
B.
Application. The application for a kennel shall set
forth the name of the owner of the proposed kennel and the location
where the same is to be conducted within the limits of the Borough
of Emerson; include an agreement that all dogs kept in said establishment
by permission of said kennel license will, at all times, be kept upon
the premises for which said license has been issued; include the number
of dogs which the owner intends to keep at said dog kennel, which
number shall not, at any time, be exceeded; and shall be accompanied
by the written approval of the Animal Control Officer of the Borough
showing compliance with the local and state rules and regulations
governing the location of any sanitation at such establishment.
C.
Content of license; expiration. All licenses for a
kennel shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained,
and all such licenses shall expire on the last day of June of the
following year.
D.
Issuance or denial of kennel license. When such application to conduct
a dog kennel has been properly executed and delivered to the Clerk,
the Clerk shall present the same to the Borough Council and, after
the Borough Council has considered the same and considered the place
where said kennel is to be located and the number of dogs which are
to be maintained therein, the Council may grant said license, or,
if the public interest demands, the Borough Council may refuse to
grant the same.
[Added 6-14-2016 by Ord.
No. 1524[1]]
No kennel shall sell, offer for retail sale, barter, auction,
or otherwise, dogs bred in puppy mills. Every kennel will comply with
the provisions of N.J.S.A. 56:8-95 (or as same may be amended) requiring
the owner or operator offering dogs for sale to post in a conspicuous
location on the cage or enclosure for each dog the following:
A.
The date and place of birth of each dog, and the actual age, or approximate
age as established by a veterinarian, of the animal;
B.
The sex, color markings, and other identifying information of the
animal, including any tag, tattoo, collar number, or microchip information;
C.
The name and address of the veterinarian attending to the animal
while the animal is in the custody of the kennel, and the date of
the initial examination of the animal;
D.
The first and last name of the breeder of the animal, the full street
address of where the breeder is doing business, an email address,
if available, by which to contact the breeder, the breeder's USDA
license number, and, if the breeder is required to be licensed in
the state in which the breeder is located, the breeder's state license
number;
E.
If the broker is different from the breeder, the first and last name
of the broker of the animal, the full street address of where the
broker is doing business, an email address, if available, by which
to contact the broker, the USDA license number of the broker, and,
if the broker is required to be licensed in the state in which the
broker is located, the broker's state license number; and
F.
The statement "know your rights" in bold type face and no less than
twelve-point type, followed by the statement in no less than ten-point
type, "state law requires that every shop offering dogs for sale post
in a conspicuous location on or near each dog's cage or enclosure
the USDA inspection reports for the breeder and broker of each dog
for the two years prior to the first day that the dog is offered for
sale. If you do not see a required inspection report, please request
the report from the shop. If you have any concerns, please contact
the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, 124 Halsey St., Newark,
NJ 07102, (973) 504-6200. You may also view these and other USDA inspection
reports for the breeder and broker of each dog on the USDA Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website. You are entitled
to receive additional information from APHIS about the breeder's or
broker's history through the federal Freedom of Information Act."
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former § 140-8,
Issuance or denial of kennel licenses.
[Amended 12-23-1975 by Ord. No. 656; 12-28-1976 by Ord. No. 665; 12-8-1981 by Ord. No. 789; 12-14-1982 by Ord. No. 811; 8-23-1983 by Ord. No. 830; 12-18-1990 by Ord. No. 977]
A.
License fees.
(1)
The annual fee for registering each dog shall be the
sum of $10. This total shall include the following:
[Amended 11-20-2007 by Ord. No. 1339; 6-15-2010 by Ord. No. 1408]
(2)
Effective January 1, 2011, the municipal dog license
official shall collect $13 for any dog of reproductive age which has
not had its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization
in accordance with P.L. 1983, c. 172.[2] Of this sum, $3 shall be designated for the Animal Population
Control Fund. Rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provision
of this subsection are to be in accordance with those promulgated
by the State of New Jersey, Community Health Services, Consumer Health
Services.
[Amended 6-15-2010 by Ord. No. 1408]
[2]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.3b.
B.
Renewal of licenses. All licenses, registration tags
and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of January in each
year and shall be applied for and procured from the officer authorized
to issue the same during the month of January in each year.
C.
Late renewal. In the event an expired license is not
renewed prior to February 1, there will be a grace period until February
10 of each year. If your payment is not postmarked by February 10
or delivered by hand and marked received by the Borough with a date
stamp of February 10, an additional charge will be imposed in the
amount of $25. A court fine may be imposed by the court through the
issuance of a summons after the current year has ended.
[Amended 11-20-2007 by Ord. No. 1339; 6-15-2010 by Ord. No. 1408; 4-23-2013 by Ord. No. 1456; 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1657-22]
[Added 2-18-2003 by Ord. No. 1218[1]]
Animal services may be contracted for by the
Mayor and Council for a period not to exceed three years.
[Amended 2-18-2003 by Ord. No. 1218; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
Any owner of any dog which has been licensed
and which may be impounded shall pay the sum of $4, which sum is to
be paid to the animal shelter, to redeem any dog so impounded. All
impounded licensed dogs shall be destroyed by humane methods within
not less than seven days after notification of such impounding shall
have been given by the animal shelter to the registered owner of said
dog. All impounded unlicensed dogs shall be destroyed by humane methods
within not less than seven days after such impounding, unless the
owner thereof shall procure a license therefor, as herein provided,
and pay, in addition thereto, a fee of $4 for redeeming said dog,
and such owner of such unlicensed dog shall also be subject to the
other provisions of this article violated by such owner.
[Amended 2-18-2003 by Ord. No. 1218; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
It shall be the duty of the animal shelter,
immediately following the taking and impounding of any dog, pursuant
to the provisions of this article, to cause a notice, in writing,
to be mailed to the registered owner of said dog of the taking and
impounding of any such dog and that the same will be destroyed unless
claimed by said owner within seven days from the mailing of said notice.
The procedure for impoundment of dogs shall be as prescribed by N.J.S.A.
4:19-15.16.
The Clerk shall report monthly to the Council
the number of dog licenses or kennel licenses issued by him.
[Amended 2-18-2003 by Ord. No. 1218]
The animal shelter shall report monthly to the
Council the number of dogs impounded, redeemed or destroyed by him,
together with fees collected by him, and the same shall be paid by
said animal shelter to the Treasurer of the Borough.
[Amended 2-18-2003 by Ord. No. 1218; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
Except as otherwise provided in § 140-3, any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to a fine not to exceed $500 or to confinement in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both, in the discretion of the court before which said complaint shall be heard and conviction obtained.
