As used in this Article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL
Any wild or domesticated warm-blooded creature.
ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State
of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this Article.
CAT
Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female or
altered.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
CATTERY
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
HARBOR
The act of providing space or making available food or shelter
in such a manner which attracts a cat or cats to one's premises.
LICENSING AUTHORITY
The Department of Health or any designated representative
thereof charged with administering the issuance and/or revocation
of permits and licenses under the provisions of this Article.
NEUTERED
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified
by a licensed veterinarian.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, includes 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.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or
institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
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 by resolution 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 the license number shall include, but are not
limited to, breakaway or elastic collars. License tags or sleeves
are not transferable.
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 10 days after such
acquisition or age attainment. This requirement will not apply to
a nonresident keeping a cat within the Township of East Hanover for
no longer than 90 days.
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.
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 §
173-37 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.
The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay a fee for the licensing of each cat and an additional sum for the registration tag of each cat, and for each annual renewal the fee for the license and for the registration tag shall be the same as for the original license and tag. Any person who fails to apply for and procure from the Board of Health and/or its designee a license and official registration tag for each cat by January 31 of each calendar year shall be charged a late fee. See Chapter
79, Fees and Licenses, §
79-15.
If a license tag or sleeve has been misplaced
or lost, the licensing officer may issue a duplicate license and/or
registration sleeve for that particular cat at no fee.
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.
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere
with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this
Article.
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: for collecting, keeping and disposing
of cats liable to seizure: for local prevention and control of rabies;
for providing anti-rabies 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 section. At the end of 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.
Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
any person who violates or who fails or refuses to comply with this
Article shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $25 nor more
than $500 for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of
the East Hanover Board of Health or by and in the name of the Township
of East Hanover.