[Adopted 9-10-1997 by Ord. No. 11-1997]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
For the purpose of this article, "animal" shall mean cat.
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State
of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this article.
Any member of the domestic feline species; male, female or
altered/spayed.
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
The agency or department of the City or any designated representative
thereof charged with administering the issuance and/or revocation
of permits and licenses under the provisions of this article.
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified
by a licensed veterinarian.
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, shall include
every person having a right of property (or custody) in such cat and
every person who has such cat in his/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.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or
institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
A.
Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall
own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within
the City unless such cat is vaccinated and licensed. The provisions
of this section do not apply to cats held in a cattery or those held
by a state or federally 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.
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
shall be issued to the owner of each animal vaccinated on a form recommended
by the state.
D.
Exemptions. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements
of such vaccination for a specified period of time by the local 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 license number displayed. Any person
who shall own, keep or harbor a cat of licensing age 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/she resides, a license and official
registration tag with license number or a registration sleeve for
each cat so owned, kept or 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 a license number
shall include, but are not limited to, break-away or elastic collars.
License tags or sleeves are not transferable.
B.
Time for applying for license. The owner of any newly
acquired cat of licensing age or of any cat which attains licensing
age shall make application for a license tag or sleeve for such cat
within ten days after such acquisition or age attainment. This requirement
will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat within the City for
no longer than 90 days.
C.
Cats brought into the City.
(1)
Any person who shall bring, or cause to be brought
into this City, any cat licensed in another state for the current
year and bearing a registration tag or sleeve, and shall keep the
same or permit the same to be kept within the City for a period of
more than 90 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration
tag or sleeve for each such cat.
(2)
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
in to this City any unlicensed cat and shall keep same or permit same
to be kept within the City for a period of more than 10 days, shall
immediately apply for a license and registration tag or sleeve for
each such cat.
D.
Application, contents and preservation of 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 longhaired or shorthaired variety; also the name, street
and post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep
or harbor such cat. The information on said application and the registration
number issued for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three
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 or sleeves shall be furnished by the municipality and shall be
numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name
of the municipality.
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 or sleeve 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, or has been certified exempt as provided by § 86-26 of this article. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do the same.
G.
License fee schedule. A license shall be issued after
payment of a fee of $9 for each unneutered/unspayed cat and $6 for
each neutered/spayed cat.
[Amended 4-9-2008 by Ord. No. 6-2008]
H.
Fees, renewals and expiration date of license; license
from another municipality shall be accepted.
(1)
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 license and registration tag or sleeve shall be the
same as for the original, and said license, registration tag or sleeve
and renewal thereof shall expire on January 31 in the following year.
(2)
Only one license and registration tag or sleeve shall
be required in the licensing year for any cat in this City. Any valid
New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a New Jersey municipality
shall be accepted by this municipality as evidence of compliance.
I.
Loss of license. If a license tag or sleeve has been
misplaced or lost, the City Clerk may issue a duplicate license and/or
registration sleeve for that particular cat at a fee of $1.
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 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 Treasurer 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 antirabies 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 subsection. 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 municipality
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.
It is unlawful for the owner or custodian of
any cat to permit, suffer or allow such cat to discharge its excreta
upon any public or private property other than the property of the
owner or custodian unless the owner or custodian shall immediately
remove such excreta and dispose of it by placing it in a closed container
or a covered trash receptacle.
Violations of ordinance penalty. Violations
of this article of this chapter shall be punishable as follows:
