[Adopted 12-29-1987 by Ord. No. 927]
A. 
No person shall own, keep or harbor any cat over four months of age within the Borough of Emerson unless such cat has been licensed and 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 and Public Veterinarians.
B. 
A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of each cat vaccinated on a form recommended by the compendium.
C. 
Written application for a cat license shall be made to the Board of Health and shall include the name and address of the owner and the name, breed, color, age and sex of the cat. The applicant shall pay the prescribed licensing fee and provide proof of current rabies vaccination.
D. 
The licensing period shall be for one year commencing April 1, 1988. Licenses shall be renewed by January 31 each year thereafter. Application for a license must be made within 30 days after obtaining a cat over four months of age or after a cat has exceeded four months of age. New residents must apply for a license within 30 days of establishing residence.
E. 
Issuance; renewal.
[Amended 12-27-1990 by Ord. No. 981; 11-20-2007 by Ord. No. 1339; 6-15-2010 by Ord. No. 1408]
(1) 
A license shall be issued after payment of a fee of $10 for an altered cat or $13 for a nonaltered cat.
(2) 
Late renewal. In the event an expired license is not renewed prior to February 1 of each year, an additional charge will be imposed in the amount of $15. Furthermore, a charge of $10 will be assessed for every month thereafter accruing on the following dates; March 1, April 1, May 1, June 1, July 1, August 1, September 1, October 1, November 1 and December 1, with the maximum late fee total being $115. A court fine may be imposed by the court through the issuance of a summons after the current year has ended.
[Amended 4-23-2013 by Ord. No. 1456]
A. 
Upon acceptance of the license application and fee, the Board of Health shall issue a durable license tag including an identifying number, year of issuance, Borough, county and state. The license tag shall be attached to the collar of the cat so as to assist in the identification of a lost cat.
B. 
In case a license tag is lost or destroyed, a duplicate will be issued by the Clerk upon presentation of a receipt showing the payment of a fee of $0.25 for such duplicate.
C. 
License tags shall not be transferable from one cat to another and no refunds shall be made on any cat license fee because of the death of the cat or the owner's leaving the Borough before expiration of the license period.
D. 
The provisions of this section shall not be intended to apply to cats whose owners are nonresidents temporarily within the Borough.
Any person who violates or refuses to comply with the regulations of this article shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $10 nor more than $25 for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the Borough. The provisions of this article are supplementary and in addition to any applicable laws of the State of New Jersey.
The provisions of this article shall be enforced by the Animal Control Officer of the Borough of Emerson or the Board of Health of the Borough or its designated agent. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article.