[Adopted 11-2-1995 by Ord. No. 264]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CAT
Any member of the domestic feline species.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat that has attained the age of six months.
DOG
A carnivorous domesticated mammal (canis familiaris), whether male or female.
DOG OF LICENSING AGE
Any dog that has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
FEED
To give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any edible material with an intention of feeding, attracting or enticing stray or feral cats.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord. No. 06-2016]
FERAL CAT
A cat that exists in a wild or untamed state either due to birth or reversion to a wild state from domestication. The usual and consistent temperament of a feral cat is extreme fear and resistance to contact with humans. Feral cats are completely or substantially unsocialized to humans.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord. No. 06-2016]
HARBOR
To allow or accommodate the continuing presence of any cats or dogs on a premises, whether or not claiming ownership or other property right over the same.
NUISANCE
For purposes of this article, "nuisance" means conduct by a stray or feral cat(s) that disturbs the peace by (a) habitually or continually howling, crying or screaming, or (b) the habitual and/or significant destruction, desecration or soiling of public property or private property against the wishes of the owner of the property.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord. No. 06-2016]
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog or cat, every person having a property right in such dog or cat in his or her keeping.
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG
Defined and provided for in Chapter 307 of the Public Laws of New Jersey, 1989, as defined in N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq.
STRAY CAT
A cat that is regularly off the property of the owner, is not under the physical control and restraint of the owner and is regularly provided with food by persons other than its owner.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord. No. 06-2016]
A. 
Every person who shall own, possess, keep or harbor any cat, dog or potentially dangerous dog of licensing age within the limits of the Borough shall obtain an annual license for the same and shall have the same registered and numbered with the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator and shall pay the fees together with a sum now or hereafter required by the State of New Jersey to be charged for the same.
(1) 
The annual license fee for a dog license shall be $9 for spayed and neutered dogs and $12 for nonspayed and nonneutered dogs. Said license fee shall take effect January 1, 2007.
[Amended 12-13-2006 by Ord. No. 14-2006]
(2) 
The annual license fee for a cat license shall be $9 for spayed/neutered cats and nonspayed/nonneutered cats.
[Amended 12-13-2006 by Ord. No. 14-2006]
(3) 
The annual license fee for a potentially dangerous dog shall be $700.
B. 
Any owner of a dog or cat of licensing age who shall bring the same into the Borough, which dog or cat has been licensed in another state for the current year and bears a registration tag, and who shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Borough for a period of more than 90 days, shall immediately after the 90th day apply for a license and registration tag for the same. Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough any unlicensed dog or cat of licensing age and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Borough for a period of more than 10 days shall immediately after the 10th day apply for a license and registration tag for such dog or cat.
[Amended 5-20-2004 by Ord. No. 9-2004]
A. 
All applications for cat or dog licenses shall be made to the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator, who shall provide a book for the purpose of registering the name of the person owning, keeping, possessing or harboring any cat or dog, and the name of each animal registered and its number shall be entered in such book. Numbers for each application for registration of the same shall be in the order in which the applications are made.
B. 
The applications shall state the breed, sex, age, color and distinctive markings of the dog or cat for which license and registration are sought and, as to dogs, whether it is of a long- or short-haired variety. It shall also state the name of the street, post office address, and phone number of the owner or the person who shall keep or harbor same.
C. 
The information on the application and the registration number issued for the dog or cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator. In addition, the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall forward similar information to the State Department of Health each month on forms furnished by the Department. Identifying information and proof of rabies vaccination shall be available for public inspection upon request.
A. 
The owner of every dog or cat shall pay the license fee to the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator on or before the last day of January in each year, and upon presentation of a current rabies certificate the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall issue to each person paying such license fee a license for the keeping of such cat or dog, which shall contain the name and address of the owner of such cat or dog, a short description of the cat or dog, indicting the name, breed, sex, age, color, markings, the number of such license and which shall bear the signature of the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator. After March 31st, of each year an additional late charge of $5 shall be charged for each dog or cat license purchased thereafter.
B. 
All licenses shall expire on the last day of January each year.
C. 
The Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall also issue for each dog licensed a numbered tag designated as a registration tag, which tag shall be securely attached to each dog so licensed and shall have marked thereon the words "licensed dog, Folsom Borough" with the year for which it is issued.
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs or dogs used to assist deaf persons and commonly known as "hearing ear" dogs shall be licensed and registered as other dogs under the provisions of this article except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee.
Every person who shall own, keep, possess or harbor any cat or dog in the Borough and who shall neglect or refuse to cause such cat or dog to be licensed as provided in this article shall be guilty of a violation of this article. A violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of $50 and $30 court cost, payable through the Violations Bureau in the Borough of Folsom, unless court appearance required is noted by an officer in the performance of his duties.
A. 
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this article shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Borough within 30 days after collection or receipt and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the Borough, which funds shall be used for the following purposes only: for collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs and cats liable to seizure under this article; for local prevention and control of rabies; to provide for annual canvass of all dogs and cats in the Borough; for providing antirabic treatment under this article; for providing antirabic treatment under the direction of the Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; to administer and enforce the regulation contained in N.J.S.A. 4:19-1 et seq.; and for payment of damage to or losses of poultry or domestic animals, except dogs and cats, caused by a dog or cat. Any unexpended balance remaining in such special account shall be retained therein 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 the 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 Borough 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.
B. 
Any fees required to be charged by the State of New Jersey, or any department thereof, collected in conjunction with the licensing fees provided hereof shall be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator to such state agency as required by law.
Any person who harbors or possesses any dog or cat for a period of 10 days or more shall, for the purpose of this article, be deemed to be an owner of the dog or cat so harbored or possessed.
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.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any cat or dog, whether the same is licensed or unlicensed, shall allow the same to run in or about the streets, highways or public places of the Borough, or to run upon lands and premises of another without his or her permission.
[Amended 5-20-2004 by Ord. No. 9-2004]
All persons in control of a dog under leash when upon public property, any sidewalk or the property of another shall have with them a means of retrieving and storing animal feces. Such person shall immediately retrieve and remove to their own property any fecal matter passed by the dog on to public property, any sidewalk or the property of another. The parent or guardian of any juvenile shall be responsible for the failure of such juvenile to comply with the provisions of this section. The aforementioned restrictions shall not apply to Seeing Eye dogs or dogs specifically trained for the assistance of handicapped persons.
No person shall abandon or leave without proper care any dog, cat or other domestic animal upon the streets, highways, public places in the Borough or upon private lands and premises. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog or cat shall perform or fail to perform any act that would jeopardize the health and welfare of the animal.
[Added 10-12-2011 by Ord. No. 09-2011]
A. 
Dogs must be able to freely move when chained or tethered and shall be chained or tethered for a total of no more than nine hours within a twenty-four-hour period. The size of the tether or chain must be a minimum of 15 linear feet and shall remain tangle-free. Dogs must be equipped with properly fitted harness- or buckle-type collars. The tether or chain shall be constructed of suitable light-weight cable.
B. 
No dogs shall be chained or tethered after the hour of 11:00 p.m. or before 7:00 a.m.
C. 
A doghouse shall be accessible to any dog that is chained or tethered. Doghouses shall contain bedding, such as straw or other absorbent material, in a clean and sufficient quantity to provide adequate insulation for the house. Bedding shall be maintained in a dry condition and renewed or changed as necessary.
D. 
Dogs that are not spayed or neutered shall not be tethered or chained for any period of time and must be in a completely enclosed yard or housed indoors.
[Added 10-12-2011 by Ord. No. 09-2011]
A. 
No owner, caretaker, guardian or handler shall withhold proper shelter, protection from weather, veterinary care and immune care from any animal. No owner, caretaker, guardian or handler shall fail to provide an animal with sufficient food and drinkable water on a daily basis. Food and water must be in an animal food consumption or water consumption type container, feeder or waterer.
B. 
No animal shall be subjected to unnecessary suffering and cruelty, such as subjecting the animal to prolonged fear, injury, pain or physical abuse.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall allow the same to be upon the public streets or in any public places of the Borough unless the dog is controlled by a person of such mental and physical capacity that he or she is able to control the dog in any circumstances. A leash of not more than six feet in length shall be used to restrain a dog traveling in a public place.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord. No. 06-2016]
No person shall feed or otherwise provide, permit or maintain to be permitted, food to any stray and/or feral cats. No food for cats, licensed or unlicensed, shall be placed outside a residence or place of business where a stray and/or feral cat may have access to the food.
Any person owning, keeping or harboring a dog or cat, which dog or cat causes injury to persons or property of another, shall be subject to the sanctions set forth in this article, including the obligation to make restitution for damage to property or medical expense.
A. 
All persons owning, keeping, harboring or possessing any dog or cat shall confine or restrain such dog or cat such that any barking, howling, whining or other animal sounds shall be inaudible to persons in dwellings on adjoining properties between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
B. 
Between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., no person owning, keeping, harboring or possessing any dog or cat shall allow such dog or cat to emit repetitive sounds that are audible to adjoining property owners or tenants for unreasonable periods. It shall not be a defense to a violation of this section that the person(s) in control of the dog or cat was not present when the repetitive sounds were produced, nor shall it be a prerequisite to a prosecution that an adjoining property owner or dweller gave notice of a violation. Notice and opportunity to cure shall be considered by the court when imposing sanctions.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 134, Noise.
Any dog or cat not licensed pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be subject to seizure by the person appointed for this purpose by the Borough Council or County Freeholders, and if not redeemed, such dog or cat may be destroyed by any approved humane method or otherwise disposed of; any dog who shall not have securely fixed or fastened to its neck a numbered tag issued with the license for such dog shall be deemed unlicensed and subject to seizure.
No person shall in any way hinder or interfere with any police officers, officials, canvassers or any other peace officers in the performance of their duty under the provisions of this article, nor shall they refuse to give information or give false information to any person making the canvass provided for in this article.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord. No. 06-2016]
No person shall tamper with or disable any trap which has been placed and set up by the Folsom Animal Control Officer or other public officer or their designee for the capture of stray and/or feral cats. Any person convicted of tampering or disabling a trap shall be subject to the penalties as set forth at § 74-29 herein.
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 or cat which he may lawfully seize or impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such cat or dog, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog or cat if the owner is present and forbids the same.
Any person appointed for this purpose by the Borough Council shall annually cause a canvass to be made of all dogs and cats owned, kept or harbored within the Borough and shall report on or before September 1 of each year to the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator and to the local Board of Health and to the State Department of Health the result thereof, setting forth the names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring unlicensed dogs and cats, the number of unlicensed dogs and cats owned, kept or harbored by each said person, together with a complete description of each of said unlicensed dogs or cats and the approximate age thereof.
[Amended 5-20-2004 by Ord. No. 9-2004]
Any person found guilty of violating any of the provisions of this article, except § 74-15, unless court appearance is required for § 74-15, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,250, imprisonment for up to 90 days and/or community service for up to 90 days, and shall be ordered, where appropriate, to make restitution, cease an offending act, comply with the provisions of this article, or surrender his or her dog or cat for examination. The continuation of such violation for each successive day shall constitute a separate offense.