As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL RESCUE ORGANIZATION
A nonprofit organization incorporated under the law of any
state and exempt from federal taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of
the federal Internal Revenue Code, as amended, and whose principal
purpose is the prevention of cruelty to animals and whose principal
activity is to rescue sick, injured, abused, neglected, unwanted,
abandoned, orphaned, lost, or displaced animals and to adopt them
to good 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 4-10-2024 by Ord. No. 24-01]
ANIMAL SHELTER or SHELTER
A facility, whether located in or outside the State of New
Jersey, that is operated by or under contract with the Town for the
purpose of impounding or caring for seized, stray, homeless, abandoned,
unwanted, or surrendered animals.
[Added 4-10-2024 by Ord. No. 24-01]
CAT
A member of the species of domestic cat, Felis catus.
[Added 4-10-2024 by Ord. No. 24-01]
DOG
A member of the species of domestic dog, Canis familiaris.
[Amended 4-10-2024 by Ord. No. 24-01]
DOG OF LICENSING AGE
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
HOBBY BREEDER
A person that barters, offers for sale, displays for sale,
or sells, cats, dogs, or both, only from the premises on which they
were bred or reared, resulting in no more than a total of one litter
per calendar year whether or not the animals in such litter are offered
for sale or other transfer, and is in compliance with the Zoning Regulations
of this Code.
[Added 4-10-2024 by Ord. No. 24-01]
KEEPER
Any person exercising control over a dog or permitting a
dog to remain on premises under his control.
KENNEL
Any establishment where the business of boarding, selling
or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a pet shop.
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 4-10-2024 by Ord. No. 24-01]
PET SHOP
A retail establishment where dogs and cats are sold, exchanged,
bartered or offered for sale as pet animals to the general public
at retail. Such definition shall not include an animal care facility
or animal rescue organization, as defined.
[Added 4-10-2024 by Ord. No. 24-01]
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG
Any dog which has been declared potentially dangerous by
a Municipal Judge pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-23.
[Added 3-12-2013 by Ord.
No. 13-02]
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either
under the provisions of this article or otherwise.
VICIOUS DOG
Any dog which has been declared vicious by a Municipal Judge
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-22.
[Amended 3-12-2013 by Ord. No. 13-02]
[Added 4-10-2024 by Ord. No. 24-01]
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary and subject to the exemptions provided in Subsection
C below, it is unlawful for a pet store, as defined in §
64-1 of the Code, or any other retail store or shop to sell or offer for sale a dog or a cat.
B. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a pet store or any other retail store or shop within the Town of Clinton from providing space to an animal rescue organization or an animal shelter, as defined in §
64-1 of the Code, to publicly showcase dogs or cats available for adoption.
C. Exemptions. The following shall not be considered pet stores and
shall be exempt from the prohibitions of this section:
(2) An animal rescue organization; and
[Added 4-10-2024 by Ord. No. 24-01]
A. A retail pet store that sells or offers for sale a dog or cat in violation of §
64-3.1 shall be fined by a sum of $500. Each sale or offer for sale in violation of §
64-3.1 shall constitute a separate offense.
B. The Town
of Clinton Police Department, Zoning Officer, and/or Animal Control
Officer shall be empowered to enforce this section.
[Amended 3-12-2013 by Ord. No. 13-02]
The Chief of Police of the Town or his or her
designee shall annually cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned,
kept or harbored within the limits of the Town and shall report to
the Clerk, the Board of Health and the State Department of Health
the results thereof, setting forth in separate columns the names and
addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring dogs and the number
of licensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person, together
with a complete description of each unlicensed dog.
[Amended 3-12-2013 by Ord. No. 13-02]
A. Complaint; investigation. It shall be the duty of
the Police Department and the Animal Control Officer to receive and
investigate complaints against dogs.
B. Impoundment and determination. The Animal Control
Officer shall seize and impound any dog as authorized by N.J.S.A.
4:19-19. Having seized and impounded a dog, the Animal Control Officer
shall follow the procedure set forth in N.J.S.A. 4:19-20 for determination
by the Municipal Judge of whether the dog is vicious or potentially
dangerous unless the matter is resolved by agreement between the owner
of the dog and the Town as authorized by N.J.S.A. 4:19-21.1.
C. Control of potentially dangerous dogs. Any person
owning or charged with the care of a dog declared by the Municipal
Judge to be potentially dangerous shall comply with all orders of
the Municipal Court for housing and handling the dog.
[Amended 3-26-1985 by Ord. No. 85-4; 12-12-1989 by Ord. No. 89-12; 3-12-2013 by Ord. No. 13-02]
A. Appointment. The Council shall appoint a certified
Animal Control Officer. If the Animal Control Officer is an employee,
his or her salary shall be as set forth in the Town’s salary
ordinance.
B. Responsibilities. The Animal Control Officer shall
enforce and abide by the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16 and the
provision of this article as to impounding or seizing of dogs, notice
of impoundment or seizure, and disposition of impounded or seized
dogs. The Council will designate the licensed shelter, pound, kennel,
or veterinarian’s office to be used by the Animal Control Officer
for the holding of impounded animals. The Animal Control Officer shall
follow Hunterdon County Board of Health animal bite confinement procedures.
C. Emergency care. When the Animal Control Officer observes
an ill or injured animal off the premises of the owner outside of
normal working hours, the Animal Control Officer shall transport the
ill or injured animal to an emergency veterinary care facility.
D. Animal abuse or cruelty. The Animal Control Officer
shall refer all suspected cases of animal abuse or cruelty to the
New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
E. Access to premises. The Animal Control Officer is
hereby authorized to go on any premises to seize for impounding any
dog which the Animal Control Officer may lawfully seize and impound
when the officer is in immediate pursuit of the dog, except on the
premises of the owner of the dog if the owner is present and forbids
same.
F. Records. The Animal Control Officer shall keep written records of
all calls responded to and shall keep records of all animals impounded
in accordance with the specifications of the New Jersey State Department
of Health.
No person shall own, keep or harbor a dog in
the Town except in compliance with the provisions of this article
and the following regulations:
A. Wearing of registration. All dogs which are required
by the provisions of this article to be licensed shall wear a collar
or harness with the registration tag for the dog securely fastened
thereto.
B. Use of registration tags. No person except an officer
in the performance of his duties shall remove a registration tag from
the collar of any dog without the consent of the owner, nor shall
any person attach a registration tag to a dog for which it was not
issued.
C. Interference with official duties. No person shall
hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to
perform any duty under this article.
D. Disturbing the peace. No person shall own, keep, harbor
or maintain any dog which habitually barks or cries between the hours
of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
E. Running at large. No person owning, keeping or harboring
any dog shall suffer or permit it to run at large upon the public
streets or in any public park, public building or other public place
within the Town.
F. Leashing of dogs. No person owning, keeping or harboring
any dog shall suffer or permit it to be upon the public streets or
in any of the public places of the Town unless such dog is accompanied
by a person over the age of 12 years and is securely confined and
controlled by an adequate leash not more than eight feet long.
G. Property damage. No person owning, keeping or harboring
a dog shall permit or suffer it to do any injury or to do any damage
to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property.
Where it has been determined by a physician
that a person has been bitten by a dog, the individual, or his parent
or guardian if he is a minor, shall immediately notify the police.
When the owner or keeper of any dog is notified by the police that
the dog has bitten any individual or individuals, the owner or keeper
of the dog shall comply with the following procedures:
A. Have the dog examined by a licensed veterinarian within
12 hours.
B. Have the dog kept in quarantine in the owner's home
or at a kennel for a period of 10 days.
C. At the end of 10 days, have the dog reexamined by
a veterinarian and a written report of the dog's state of health sent
to the Board of Health.
The Council may by proclamation require all
dogs and cats to be quarantined during any period in each year which
may seem advisable to it.
[Added 5-11-1993 by Ord. No. 93-7]
A. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to protect
the health, safety and welfare of all those frequenting this municipality
by preventing the needless health hazards and nuisances causes by
dog feces upon public and private property located within the Town.
B. Nuisances prohibited; curbing of dogs; responsibility
of owner.
(1)
No person, agency or institution owning, harboring,
keeping or in charge of any dog shall cause, suffer or allow such
dog to soil, defile, defecate or commit any nuisance upon any public
or private property whatsoever, except with the express authority
or permission of the owner of said property.
(2)
The restriction in this section shall not apply
to the portion of the street lying between the curblines, which may
be used to curb such dogs under the following conditions:
(a)
The person who so curbs such dog shall immediately
remove all feces deposited by such dog by any sanitary method (shovel,
container, disposal bag, etc.).
(b)
The feces removed from the aforementioned designated
area shall be disposed of by the person owning, harboring, keeping
or in charge of any dog curbed in accordance with the provisions of
this section, in a sanitary manner on said person's own property.
(3)
No person, agency or institution owning, harboring,
keeping or in charge of any dog shall cause, suffer or allow such
dog to soil, defile, defecate upon or commit any nuisance upon the
following public properties: