[Adopted 6-8-1964 (Ch. 23, Art. I, of the 1966 Code)]
This article is enacted for the public good and general welfare.
[Amended 4-26-2011 by Ord. No. 11-04]
A. The following definitions shall be applicable to this article:
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, whether male or
female.
CATTERY
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
DOG
Any member of the domestic canine species, whether male or
female.
LICENSING AGE
The age of seven months or the age at which a dog or cat
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
LICENSING AUTHORITY
The office of the Borough Clerk or any other designated department
or representative so charged with administering the issuance and revocation
of licenses under the provisions of this article.
NEUTERED
A male animal rendered permanently incapable of reproduction
as certified by a licensed veterinarian.
OWNER
Every person having a right of property or custody of a dog
or cat and every person harboring a dog or cat or knowingly permitting
a dog or 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.
RUN AT LARGE
Applies to any dog off and not on the premises of the owner.
SECURE LEASH
A leash or chain which a dog cannot break or sever and which
is not over six feet in length.
SPAYED
A female animal rendered permanently incapable of reproduction
as certified by a licensed veterinarian.
B. The singular number shall include the plural, and the plural shall
include the singular, unless the context shall indicate otherwise.
No dog shall run at large at any time in this municipality.
No person shall keep, harbor or maintain any dog which habitually
barks or cries so as to disturb the public peace.
Any dog off the premises of the person owning, keeping or harboring
it shall be accompanied by a capable person and shall be controlled
and secured by an adequate leash not more than six feet long.
Nothing in this article shall be deemed contradictory to or
at variance with Chapter 151 of the Public Laws of 1941 of the State
of New Jersey, and the provisions hereof are in addition thereto.
Dogs shall be duly licensed and shall bear evidence of such
license at all times, in accordance with the laws of the State of
New Jersey.
No dog shall wear or bear a license tag other than that issued
for him for the current year.
[Amended 9-9-1986]
In the event that the metal registration tag is lost, such tag
may be replaced upon application to the Clerk and upon the payment
of a fee of $5.
No person, firm or corporation shall at any time maintain a
kennel or similar structure for the purpose of boarding, raising,
training or otherwise dealing in dogs. The boarding, training or sale
of dogs for compensation within the limits of the Borough of Raritan
is hereby prohibited.
No license to own, keep or harbor a dog in the Borough of Raritan
shall be issued to, or in the same name of, a minor.
The conduct of a dog shall be attributed to the owner thereof,
and the owner shall be deemed to have permitted any dog who acts contrary
to the requirements of this article to act so, and such owner shall
be guilty of the violation hereof.
[Amended 7-24-1984]
A. The Mayor and Borough Council shall have the authority to enter into
a contract with one or more persons or a duly established animal control
organization to perform the duties of an animal control officer and
to enforce the provisions of this article.
B. All provisions of this article shall also be enforced by the Borough
Police Department and the Borough Board of Health's official
representatives.
The contractor, poundmaster or person responsible for such purpose
shall take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody
and impounded and thereafter destroyed or disposed of as provided
in this section:
A. Any dog running at large in this municipality.
B. Any dog off the premises of the owner or the person keeping or harboring
said dog not controlled by a leash as provided in this article.
C. Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or person
keeping or harboring said dog.
[Added 1-9-1980 by Ord. No. 80-3]
All dogs which bite any person shall be quarantined by the local
Board of Health for a ten-day period. The owner or person in charge
of such dog shall, during that ten-day period, have such dog examined
by a veterinarian and obtain a written report of such examination
and forward the same to the local Board of Health. The report of this
examination shall be delivered to the local Board of Health within
14 days of the date of the dog bite.
When any dog so seized has been detained for seven days after
notice, when notice can be given, or has been detained for seven days
after seizure, when notice cannot be given in accordance with the
laws of the State of New Jersey, and if the owner or person keeping
or harboring said dog has not claimed said dog and paid all expenses
incurred by reason of its seizure and detention, and if the dog is
unlicensed at the time of seizure and the owner or person keeping
or harboring said dog has not produced a current license and registration
tag for said dog, the contractor or poundmaster or other designated
authority may cause the dog to be destroyed in a manner causing as
little pain as possible.
The Dog Warden shall submit a weekly report to the Borough Clerk,
which report shall contain a description of each animal seized, the
license number, if any, the reason for seizure and the disposition
made of such animal.
The official representative for dog control shall render a quarterly
report to the Borough Clerk, which report shall contain the following
information:
A. The number of dogs captured.
B. The number of dogs destroyed.
C. The number of dogs redeemed and the amounts paid for redemption.
D. The number of dog bite investigations and dogs quarantined.
[Amended 5-9-2006 by Ord. No. 06-07]
Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.19, any person who violates
any provision of any article of this chapter, upon conviction thereof,
shall be subject to and punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or
by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed 90 days,
or both, and each violation of any provision of any article of this
chapter and each day the same is violated shall be deemed and taken
as a separate and distinct offense.