[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Knowlton 5-13-1996 by Ord. No.
96-03. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any domesticated dog or cat or house pet, four-legged and
nonswimming or nonflying, which is oriented to an outside environment,
but not including livestock or other farm animals or game animals
subject to control by the State Game Commission.
Any member of the domestic feline species; male, female or
altered.
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
A person 18 years of age or older who has satisfactorily
completed a course of study approved by the Commissioner of Health
on the control of animals and is a Township employee appointed by
the Mayor and Township Committee to implement animal control regulations
and issue licenses as required within this chapter; or, in the absence
of such officer, his designee.
A legal document, authorized by the Township, with an animal
hospital, shelter or pound for the confinement of dogs seized under
the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized under
the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
[Added 8-12-1996 by Ord.
No. 96-10]
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding
or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a
pet shop.
[Added 8-12-1996 by Ord.
No. 96-10]
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, includes every
person having a right of property in such dog and every person who
has such dog in his keeping.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or
institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
[Added 8-12-1996 by Ord.
No. 96-10]
Any dog declared potentially dangerous pursuant to the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq., as amended.
The reclaiming of an animal confined in an animal hospital,
pound or shelter by its owner upon presentation of proof of possession
by license or other documentation.
A minimum fee established by ordinance to defray boarding
and processing expenses incurred, including the time of the Animal
Control Officer in the pickup and delivery of the animal.
Any dog declared vicious pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A.
4:19-17 et seq., as amended.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing
age shall annually, in the month of January, apply for and procure
from the Animal Control Warden a license and official metal registration
tag for each dog owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon each
dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened
thereto.
A.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.3, the owners of any dog of licensing
age harbored and kept in the Township of Knowlton shall apply for
and obtain a license in the Township and pay an annual license fee
as follows:
|
Type
|
Fee
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Spayed/neutered
|
$10
| |
|
Nonspayed/neutered
|
$13
| |
|
Late fees
|
$5 per month
|
[1]
Editor's Note: This fees in this ordinance became effective
1-1-2013d.
B.
Registration and all licenses shall expire on January 31 of each
year at midnight. All registration and license fees shall be payable
in full for the entire amount regardless of when applied for or issued.
All fees shall be due and payable for dogs owned on or before January
31 of each and every year. For dogs acquired after January 31 each
year, the fee shall be paid from the date the dog was acquired.
Metal registration tags, designed by the State Department of
Health, bearing the name of the Township of Knowlton and consecutively
numbered, shall be acquired with proof of spaying and/or neutering,
if applicable, and an unexpired rabies vaccination certificate with
the required fees. No license to own, keep or harbor a dog in the
Township of Knowlton shall be issued to or in the name of a minor.
Registration numbers shall be issued in the order of the application.
A.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog shall procure and
possess a licensed veterinarian's certificate indicating inoculation
against rabies of said dog, with a vaccine approved by the State Department
of Health and setting forth the date of such inoculation and the duration
of immunity. The certificate of inoculation shall be exhibited to
the dog licensing official of the municipality when application for
a dog license is made. No dog licensing official shall grant a dog
license until said veterinarian's certificate is shown in evidence
as proof of rabies inoculation. Said certification shall also be produced
by any person owning, keeping or harboring a dog upon the request
of any dog licensing enforcement official.
B.
The dog licensing official may grant exemption to the rabies inoculation
requirement if any dog which the Board of Health, for a specified
reason or time, declares exempt upon presentation of a veterinarian's
certificate stating that, because of an infirmity, other physical
condition or regimen of therapy, the inoculation of such dog shall
be deemed inadvisable.
A.
Any dog owner or person found to be harboring an unlicensed dog after
January 31, by the Animal Control Officer, dog canvasser or other
municipal official, shall be required to pay an additional delinquent
fee of $5 and, in addition, $2 for each succeeding month thereafter,
beginning February 1, plus the required license fee as required in
this chapter.
[Amended 8-12-1996 by Ord. No. 96-10]
B.
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
hereinabove provided for, except that the owner or keeper of such
dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age shall make
application for such license and registration tag for such dog within
10 days after such acquisition or age attainment.
The Animal Control Warden shall forward to the State Department
of Health each month, on forms furnished by the State Department,
information contained within the licensing applications.
A.
License required. Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to
establish a kennel, pet shop, shelter or a pound shall apply to the
Animal Control Official for a license entitling him to keep or operate
such an establishment. Such application shall describe the premises
where the establishment is located or is proposed to be located, the
purpose for which it is to be maintained and shall be accompanied
by the written approval of the Health Officer of the Township showing
compliance with the local and state rules and regulations governing
the location of and sanitation at such establishment.
B.
Purpose; term of license; license revoked; hearing. All licenses
issued for a kennel, pet shop or shelter shall state the purpose for
which the establishment is maintained, and all such licenses shall
expire on January 31 each year and be subject to revocation by the
Township on recommendation of the State Department of Health or Health
Officer of the Township for failure to comply with the rules and regulations
of the State Department or the Health Department of the Township after
the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department
or local government.
C.
License fees. The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations
for 10 or less 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.
D.
Disposition of fees. License fees collected or received under the
provisions of this chapter, except registration fees, shall be received
and disposed of in the manner provided in this chapter.
E.
Number of kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds. There shall not
be more than a total of three licenses issued in the Township for
a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound, all combined.
The Animal Control Officer of the Township of Knowlton shall,
promptly after February 1, annually, cause a canvass to be made of
all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the Township
and shall cause a report of the result thereof to be filed with the
Township Clerk in the manner and form required by this chapter.
The Animal Control Officer of the Township of Knowlton shall
cause the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, pursuant
to all selected state laws and regulations of the New Jersey Department
of Health.
A.
Number of dogs limited.
(1)
The following shall be the limitation on keeping, harboring and maintaining
dogs at any one time within the limits of the Township of Knowlton:
(2)
There shall be an exception of the limitation of the number of dogs
for kennels, pet shops and dogs held and confined in a shelter or
pound under the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Noise disturbances. No person shall own, possess or harbor any pet
animal or pet bird that frequently or for continued duration makes
sounds that create a noise disturbance across a residential real property
line. For the purpose of this section, a noise disturbance from a
barking dog shall be defined as that created by a dog barking continually
for 10 minutes or intermittently for 30 minutes, unless the dog is
provoked.
C.
Running at large prohibited. No person owning, keeping or harboring
any dog shall suffer or permit it to be upon any of the public streets
or upon any private property in the Township (except the private property
of the person owning, keeping or harboring any such dog, or except
on premises where permission has been given by the owner thereof to
persons owning, keeping or harboring any such dog, to keep it on the
private property of the person so giving permission) unless such dog
is accompanied by a person capable of controlling it and/or such dog
is securely tied or otherwise confined within the limits of his own
property.[1]
D.
Seizure of dogs at large. It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer to apprehend and take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impound any vicious dog or any dog found running at large contrary to the provisions of Subsection C and to impound such dog in the municipal pound or other suitable place. A complete registry of all such dogs so seized shall be made, which shall include the breed, color and sex of such dogs and whether licensed. If licensed, the name and address of the owner and the number of the license tag shall be recorded.
E.
Notice of seizure. If any dog seized or impounded in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter shall wear a collar or harness having
inscribed thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any
person or a registration tag, or the owner or person keeping or harboring
said dog is known, the Animal Control Officer shall forthwith serve
upon the person whose address is given on the collar or upon the owner
or person keeping or harboring said dog, if known, notice in writing,
stating that the dog has been seized and will be liable for disposal,
to be offered for adoption or destroyed if not claimed within seven
days after the service of the notice.
F.
Disposal of unclaimed dogs. 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 the dog has not claimed such
dog and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its seizure and the
owner or person keeping or harboring the dog has not produced a current
license and registration tag for the 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, or offer the same for
adoption in accordance with N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16. Failure of the owner
of such dog to claim the animal within such seven days shall constitute
a violation of this chapter.
G.
Fees. A redemption fee is hereby established, which is payable to
the Township of Knowlton to defray the cost of the animal control
operations and shall be deposited in the Township Trust Fund. The
redemption fee is $25.
H.
Release of seized animal. No animal shall be released by the pound
without the approval of the Animal Control Officer until all appropriate
fees to the municipality and impound facility are paid, including
license costs, if applicable, and any other additional expenses incurred
in the seizure or boarding of such animal.
I.
Payment of fees. A written contract shall be made between the Township
of Knowlton and the boarding facility, which shall establish uniform
service fees and procedures. The Township shall be responsible for
payment of the daily boarding fee, any disposal fee and/or any euthanasia
fee only in the event that the owner, when known, fails to reclaim
the animal or when the owner is not known and the animal is not sold
or disposed of by other humane means. Whenever the owner is known
or the owner reclaims the animal, all fees incurred shall be the responsibility
of the owner.
A.
In the event that the provisions of this chapter are violated, the
offended party shall file a complaint, in writing, to the Animal Control
Officer of the Township.
B.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person violating
the provisions of this chapter shall be punished by a fine of $15
to $200 for the first offense and $25 to $200 for subsequent offenses
or by imprisonment for the term not exceeding 10 days, or both.
[Amended 8-11-1997 by Ord. No. 97-07]
A.
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG
VICIOUS DOG
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
Any dog declared potentially dangerous pursuant to the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq., as amended.
Any dog declared vicious pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A.
4:19-17 et seq., as amended.
B.
Registration required; conditions; fees.
(1)
It is unlawful for an owner to have a potentially dangerous dog in
the Township without an annual license issued under this section.
An annual license shall be issued by the Animal Control Officer to
the owner of a potentially dangerous dog if the owner presents to
the Animal Control Officer sufficient evidence of compliance with
any and all conditions imposed under N.J.S.A. 4:19-24, as amended.
(2)
The annual cost of such license shall be $700, payable at the time
of issuance of the license.
C.
Violations and penalties; enforcement. The owner of a potentially
dangerous dog who is found by clear and convincing evidence to have
violated this section, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant
thereto, or to have failed to comply with a 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 Municipal Court shall have
jurisdiction to enforce this section. An Animal Control Officer is
authorized to seize and impound any potentially dangerous dog.
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to respond to the rabies
epizootic within the State of New Jersey and protect the health, safety
and welfare of the citizens of the Township of Knowlton by mandating
the vaccination of cats against rabies within our municipality.
B.
Vaccination requirements. No person shall own or keep any cat over
six months of age within the Township of Knowlton unless such cat
is vaccinated against rabies. The provisions of this section do not
apply to cats held by a state or federal licensed research facility;
or a veterinary establishment where cats are received or kept for
diagnostic, medical, surgical or other treatments; or licensed animal
shelters, pounds, kennels or pet shows.
C.
Vaccination. All cats shall be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed
veterinarian in accordance with the latest Compendium of Animal Rabies
Vaccines and Recommendations for Immunization, published by the National
Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, except as provided
in section (d).
D.
Vaccination certificate. A certificate of vaccination shall be issued
to the owner of each animal vaccinated on a form recommended by the
state.
E.
Exemptions. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements of such
vaccination upon presentation of a veterinarian's certificate
stating that, because of an infirmity or other physical condition
or regimen of therapy, the inoculation of such cat shall be deemed
inadvisable.
The commercial raising of hogs in the Township is prohibited
over the number of 50 hogs and pigs. The hauling of garbage into the
Township for feeding the hogs is prohibited.
[1]
Editor's Note: This section was formerly Sec. 3-3 of
the Revised General Ordinances.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Animal
Control Officer, or designee, for the Township of Knowlton.
