[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Chesterfield as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Animal shelter — See Ch. 31, Art. III.
Animals — See Ch. 74.
Fees — See Ch. 110.
Nuisances — See Ch. 138.
Nuisance, public health — See Ch. 210.
[Adopted 11-5-1941[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance was adopted pursuant to the Laws of 1941, Chapter 151 (N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq.).
[Amended 10-9-1986 by Ord. No. 1986-12]
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall, in the month of March and annually thereafter, apply for and procure from the Clerk of the Township of Chesterfield a license and official metal registration tag for each such dog so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon each such dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereto.
[Amended 1-19-1953; 5-8-1972; 9-10-1981 by Ord. No. 1981-6; 10-11-1984 by Ord. No. 1984-3; 10-9-1986 by Ord. No. 1986-12; 5-4-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-3; 5-9-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-10; 10-8-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-17; 6-13-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-6; 12-10-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-19; 3-25-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
A. 
Persons applying for the license and registration tags shall pay fees as set forth in § 110-106.
B. 
Notwithstanding the licensing and registration provisions contained in Subsection A, the fee for issuing a special license for a potentially dangerous dog pursuant to § 106-21 hereof shall be as set forth in § 110-106 for said license, for each dog and for each annual renewal, and said license, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of March of each year. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, all fines and fees collected or received by the municipality pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-29 through 4:19-31 of the enabling statute shall be deposited in a special account and used by the municipality to administer and enforce the provisions of said statute.
[Added 5-4-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-3]
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing Eye dogs," dogs used to assist handicapped persons and commonly known as "service dogs" or "aid dogs" and dogs used to assist deaf persons and commonly known as "hearing ear dogs" shall be licensed and registered as other dogs, except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.3.
[Added 5-4-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-3]
No license or registration tag shall be granted unless the owner of the dog provides evidence that the dog 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 Health, Education and Welfare or has been certified exempt as provided by regulations of the State Department of Health.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age or of any dog which attains the licensing age, as in said Act provided, shall make application for a license and registration tag for such dog within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. Said application shall contain the information as in said Act required.
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel, pet shop, shelter or a pound shall apply to the Township Clerk for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment. Such application shall describe the premises where the establishment is located or is proposed to be located, the purpose or purposes for which it is to be maintained and shall be accompanied by the written approval of the Health Officer of the Township of Chesterfield showing compliance with the local and state rules and regulations governing the location of and sanitation at such establishment.
[Amended 10-9-1986 by Ord. No. 1986-12; 5-9-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-10]
A. 
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained, and all licenses shall expire on the last day of June of each year and be subject to revocation by the municipality on recommendation of the State Department of Health or the local Board of Health for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State Department or local Board governing the same, after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department or local Board.
B. 
Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and kept on such establishments; such licenses shall not be transferable to another for different purposes.
The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations for 10 or fewer dogs shall be $10 and for more than 10 dogs, $25. The annual license fee for a pet shop shall be $10. No fee shall be charged for a shelter.
License fees collected or received under the provisions of this article, except registration tag fees, shall be received and disposed of in the manner provided in said Act.
[Amended 5-9-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-10; 12-10-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-19]
The Chief of Police or such other person appointed for the purpose by the Township shall biennially cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the Township of Chesterfield and shall report, on or before September 1 of said year, to the Clerk or other person designated to license dogs in the Township and to the local Board of Health and to the State Department of Health the results thereof in the manner and form required by the Act.
[Amended 5-9-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-10; 10-8-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-17]
The Chief of Police of the Township of Chesterfield, and any member of the Chesterfield Township Police Department, as well as the Township's Dog Warden and/or Animal Control Officer and any other person or persons appointed for the purpose by the governing body of enforcing this Act, shall cause the provisions of said Act to be enforced as herein provided.
[Added 5-4-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-3; amended 11-10-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-9]
Except as otherwise provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-1 et seq., any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of $50 per offense. Any person convicted of violating any provisions of this article within one year of the date of a previous violation of this article and who has been fined for the previous violation shall be sentenced by the court to an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine imposed by the court upon said person for a repeated offense shall be set by the Municipal Magistrate at a fine between $100 and $200; and for a third offense, the fine shall be between $200 and $500, again subject to the discretion of the Municipal Magistrate. The fine for the first offense may be payable with the submission of a guilty plea through the Violations Bureau and without necessity for a court appearance. Any subsequent violations shall require a court appearance.
[Adopted 6-5-1943]
No person who owns or shall have the custody of any dog shall permit the same to run at large in any public street or in any public place or upon property other than that of its owner.
[Amended 5-4-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-3]
No person shall harbor, keep or maintain upon his or her premises any dog which habitually howls for protracted lengths of time, after notice has been given, in writing, by the Township setting forth that such howling or barking constitute a nuisance.
[Amended 2-11-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-1]
A. 
No person who owns, harbors, or who is keeping or in charge of any dog shall permit or cause the same to do damage to any flowers, shrubbery, lawn or any other property, either real or personal, owned privately or publicly, or permit such dog to soil, defile, defecate on or commit any nuisance as well as upon or on any common thoroughfare, passageway, bypass, play area, park or any place where people congregate or walk or upon any public property whatsoever or upon any private property without that property owner's permission.
B. 
In the event that any dog shall soil, defile, defecate on or commit any nuisance contrary to the foregoing provisions, the person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of such dog shall immediately remove all feces by such dog by any sanitary method, including but not limited to implements and plastic bags, to remove any feces so deposited, and said person shall dispose of such feces in a sanitary manner.
C. 
These provisions shall not apply to dogs in the sole custody of a blind person who is using such animal for guidance.
D. 
The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Chesterfield Township Police Department, a duly appointed Animal Control Officer, the Township Property Maintenance Inspector, or a staff member of the Township Department of Public Works, and only upon witness of an act in violation of these provisions, or upon written complaint by a complaining witness who must testify as to the violating actions. Ordinance violation complaints shall be filed in the Municipal Court.
[Amended 5-4-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-3; 5-9-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-10]
A. 
Causes for impounding. Any person appointed for the purpose by the governing body or any police officer may take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded and thereafter destroyed or offered for adoption as provided in this section:
(1) 
Any unlicensed dog running at large in violation of the provisions of this article.
(2) 
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog which such official or his agent or agents has reason to believe is a stray dog.
(3) 
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog without a current registration tag on its collar.
(4) 
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog.
(5) 
Any dog or other animal which is suspected to be rabid.
(6) 
Any dog or other animal off the premises of the owner reported to be or observed to be ill, injured or creating a threat to public health, safety or welfare or otherwise interfering with the enjoyment of property.
B. 
Access to premises. Any officer or agent authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article is hereby authorized to go upon any premises to seize for impounding any dog which he may lawfully seize and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog if the owner is present and forbids the same.
C. 
Notice of seizure.
(1) 
If any animal so seized wears a collar or harness having described thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person or a registration tag or the owner of the person keeping or harboring such an animal is known, any person authorized by the governing body shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the collar or on the owner or the person keeping or harboring said animal, if known, a notice, in writing, stating that the animal has been seized and will be liable to be offered for adoption or destroyed if not claimed within seven days after the service of the notice.
(2) 
A notice under this subsection may be served either by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served or by leaving it at the person's usual or last known place of abode or at the address given on the collar or by forwarding it by post in a prepaid letter addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode or to the address given on the collar.
D. 
Destruction or adoption of unclaimed dogs.
(1) 
Any person authorized by the governing body may cause an animal to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible and consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:22-19 or offered for adoption seven days after seizure, provided that:
(a) 
Notice is given as set forth above and the animal remains unclaimed;
(b) 
The owner or person keeping or harboring the animal has not claimed the animal and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including maintenance costs not exceeding $4 per day;
(c) 
The owner or person keeping or harboring a dog which was unlicensed at the time of the seizure does not produce a license and registration tag for the dog.
(2) 
At the time of adoption, the right of ownership in the animal shall transfer to any new owner.
E. 
Availability for experimentation prohibited. No dog or other animal so caught, detained, procured, obtained, sent or brought to a pound or shelter shall be sold or otherwise made available for the purpose of experimentation. Any person who sells or otherwise makes available such dog or other animal for the purposes of experimentation shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense.
F. 
Reporting of rabid animals. After observation, any animal seized under this section suspected of being rabid shall immediately be reported to the Executive Officer of the local Board of Health or to the Department of Health.
[Amended 2-11-1988 by Ord. No. 1988-2; 5-4-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-3; 11-10-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-9]
Except as otherwise provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-1 et seq., any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this Article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of $50 per offense. Any person convicted of violating any provisions of this Article within one year of the date of a previous violation of this Article and who has been fined for the previous violation shall be sentenced by the court to an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine imposed by the court upon said person for a repeated offense shall be set by the Municipal Magistrate at a fine between $100 and $200; and for a third offense, the fine shall be between $200 and $500, again subject to the discretion of the Municipal Magistrate. The fine for the first offense may be payable with the submission of a guilty plea through the Violations Bureau and without necessity for a court appearance. Any subsequent violations shall require a court appearance.
[Added 2-11-1988 by Ord. No. 1988-2; amended 5-9-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-10]
A. 
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER
A certified municipal animal control officer or, in the absence of such an officer, the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality or his designee.
DEPARTMENT
New Jersey State Department of Health.
DOG
Any dog or dog hybrid of either sex, whether or not neutered or spayed.
DOMESTIC ANIMAL
Any cat, dog or livestock other than poultry.
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG
Any dog or dog hybrid declared potentially dangerous by a municipal court pursuant to Section 7 of P.L. 1989, c. 307 (N.J.S.A. 4:19-23).
VICIOUS DOG
Any dog or dog hybrid declared vicious by a municipal court pursuant to Section 6 of P.L. 1989, c. 307 (N.J.S.A. 4:19-22).
B. 
Complaint procedure.
(1) 
It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer to receive and investigate complaints involving attacks or bites by dogs, dogfighting activities and the training or encouragement of dogs to make unprovoked attacks upon persons or domestic animals.
(2) 
It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer to seize and impound a dog when he has reasonable cause to believe the dog:
(a) 
Attacked a person and caused death or serious bodily injury to the person.
(b) 
Caused bodily injury to a person during an unprovoked attack and poses a serious threat of harm to persons or domestic animals.
(c) 
Engaged in dogfighting activities.
(d) 
Has been trained, tormented, badgered, baited or encouraged in unprovoked attacks upon persons or domestic animals.
(3) 
It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer and all appropriate Township officials to enforce the provisions of the enabling statute.
C. 
Costs and expenses. The owner of any dog declared vicious or potentially dangerous shall be liable to the Township for costs and expenses of impounding and destroying the dog. In the event that any dog is impounded pursuant to the enabling statute in a facility other than the Township pound, the owner shall be responsible for all actual costs and expenses of impounding the dog whether the dog is ultimately found to be vicious or potentially dangerous.
D. 
Licensing required. No person shall keep or harbor within the Township of Chesterfield any dog which has been declared potentially dangerous without obtaining from the Township Clerk a special municipal license and complying with all requirements of the enabling statute, this section and the order of the Municipal Court. The fee for a license to keep in the municipality a potentially dangerous dog shall be as set forth in § 106-2B of this chapter. The Township Clerk, when issuing such a license, shall assign a municipal registration number in accordance with the uniform statewide municipal registration system established by the regulations of the Department, together with a red identification tag. Prior to the issuance of such a license, the Animal Control Officer shall verify to the Township Clerk that the owner of the dog has complied with the Municipal Court's order.
E. 
Seizure and impoundment. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, the seizure and impoundment of dogs pursuant to the enabling statute and as provided for in this section shall be governed by the provisions of the statute cited.
F. 
Disposal of impounded dogs. Any dog that has been impounded pursuant to the provisions of this section and the statute herein cited who remains unclaimed for seven days after notice or for seven days after seizure, when it is not possible to serve notice, shall be subject to disposal, except as may be otherwise required by the enabling statute and this section. The Animal Control Officer may cause any dog subject to disposal to be humanely put to death in a manner causing the least possible pain to the dog and consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:22-19.
G. 
Penalties. The owner of a potentially dangerous dog who is found by a preponderance of the evidence to have violated the statute herein cited or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto or to have failed to comply with the Municipal Court's order shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 per day of the violation, and each day's continuance of the violation shall constitute a separate and distinct violation. The Chesterfield Township Municipal Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce this penalty. An Animal Control Officer is authorized to seize and impound any potentially dangerous dog whose owner fails to comply with the provisions of the statute or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto or a Municipal Court's order. The Municipal Court may order that the dog so seized and impounded be destroyed in an expeditious and humane manner.
H. 
Entry on premises to seize dog. Any officer or agent authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this section is hereby authorized to go upon any premises to seize for impounding any dog which he may lawfully seize and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog or dogs, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog if said owner is present and forbids the same.
I. 
Interference with enforcement. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone performing any duty which he is authorized or empowered to perform under this section.
J. 
Humane care of dogs. Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog shall provide it with proper and adequate food and water, proper shelter and protection from the weather and with humane care and treatment. No person shall inhumanely beat, ill-treat, torment or otherwise abuse a dog.