The purpose of this article is to respond to the growing epidemic
of rabies within the State of New Jersey and to meet such epidemic
for the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Borough
of Bound Brook by establishing an ordinance for the licensing and
control of cats in the Borough of Bound Brook.
The Borough Clerk's Office of the Borough of Bound Brook
or any designated representative charged with administering this article
and/or issuing or revoking licenses under the provisions of this article.
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat shall mean and
include 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. The owner of the cat shall be
considered the initial owner of its kittens. A person who continually
feeds a stray animal shall be considered the owner.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, or organization,
or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
[1967 Code § 28-3a]
No person shall abandon any cat no matter what its age or condition
within the Borough of Bound Brook.
[1967 Code § 28-3b]
No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within the Borough of Bound Brook unless the cat is vaccinated and licensed. (Exclusions from the requirement for licensing are set forth in Subsection 5-18.5. Exemptions from the requirement for vaccination are set forth in Subsection 5-18.6.)
[1967 Code § 28-3c]
All cats seven months of age or older shall be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with the latest "Compendium of Animals Rabies Vaccines and Recommendations for Immunization" published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians. Newly acquired cats of licensing age must be vaccinated within 10 days of acquisition and before a permit or license will be issued. (Exemptions from the requirement for vaccination are set forth in Subsection 5-18.6.)
[1967 Code § 28-3d]
A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of
each animal vaccinated, on a form recommended by the State and consistent
with the Borough of Bound Brook requirements.
[1967 Code § 28-3e]
The foregoing licensing requirements do not apply to cats held
by a State or Federal licensed research facility or a veterinarian
establishment where cats are received or kept for diagnostic, medical,
surgical, or other treatments, or licensed animal shelters, pounds,
kennels or pet shops.
[1967 Code § 28-3f]
Any cat may be exempted from the requirements of vaccination
for a specified period of time by the Bound Brook Board of Health
or its authorized agent upon presentation of a veterinarian's certificate
stating that because of an infirmity or other physical condition,
regimen or therapy, the inoculation for the cat is deemed inadvisable.
[1967 Code § 28-4a]
Any person who owns, keeps or harbors a cat of licensing age,
must annually apply for and procure from the Licensing Authority a
license and official registration tag with license number, for each
cat, so owned, kept or harbored. The owner shall prove licensure of
any such cat by producing the registration tag upon the request of
the Licensing Authority, its authorized representatives or a Police
Officer. Licenses are not transferable.
[1967 Code § 28-4b; Ord. No. 2016-11 § 3]
Cat Licenses shall be acquired between January 1 and January 31 of each year. The owner of any newly acquired cat of licensing age, or any cat that attains licensing age, must purchase a license within 10 days of such acquisition or age attainment, except as set forth in Subsection 5-18.5, Exclusions. This requirement will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat in the Borough of Bound Brook for less than 90 days.
Any person who brings or causes to be brought into the Borough of
Bound Brook, any cat of licensing age for the Borough of Bound Brook,
licensed in another state for the current year and bearing a registration
tag, and keeps the same or permits the same to be kept within the
Borough for a period of more than 90 days, shall immediately apply
for a license and registration tag for such cat.
Any person who brings or causes to be brought into the Borough any
unlicensed cat of licensing age, and keeps the same or permits the
same to be kept within the Borough for a period of more than 10 days,
shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each
such cat.
Any valid New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a New Jersey
municipality shall be accepted by this municipality as evidence of
compliance.
[1967 Code § 28-4d]
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings
of the cat for which license and registration are sought, and whether
it is of a long or short haired variety; also the name, street, and
post office address of the owner, and the person who shall keep or
harbor such cat. The information on said application and the registration
number issued for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three
years by the Licensing Authority.
[1967 Code § 28-4e]
License forms and official tags shall be furnished by the Licensing
Authority and shall be numbered serially, and shall bear the year
of issuance and the name of the municipality.
[1967 Code § 28-4f]
The Borough Clerk or other person designated by the Licensing Authority to license cats shall not grant a license for any cat, unless the person provides a written proof that the cat to be licensed 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 Human Services, or has been certified exempt as provided by Subsection 5-18.5. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian.
A license shall be issued after payment of a fee of $10 for each unneutered cat, and $5 for each neutered cat. Persons who fail to obtain a license as required within the time period specified in this section, will be subject to a delinquent fee of $5 to obtain the license and such other penalties as prescribed in § 5-22.
[1967 Code § 28-4h; Ord. No. 2011-17]
The person applying for the license and registration tag shall
pay the fee fixed or authorized. The fee for renewal of license and
registration tag shall be the same as for the original, and the license
and registration tag or renewal thereof shall expire on the last day
of January of each year.
[1967 Code § 28-4i; Ord. No. 2009-15]
If a license tag has been misplaced or lost, the Borough Clerk
or other person designated by the Licensing Authority may issue a
duplicate license tag for that particular cat at a fee of $5.
[1967 Code § 28-4j]
Proof of licensing shall be produced by any person owning, keeping,
maintaining or harboring a cat, upon the request of any authorized
agent of the Borough of Bound Brook, Sanitarian, Health Officer, authorized
agent of the Bound Brook Board of Health, or Police Officer.
[1967 Code § 28-4k]
No person shall hinder, molest, or interfere with anyone authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this article.
[1967 Code § 28-4l]
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the
provisions of this article shall be forwarded to the Borough of Bound
Brook Treasurer, and shall be placed in an account separate from any
of the other accounts of the municipality and shall be used for the
following purposes only: collecting, keeping and disposing of cats
liable to seizure for local control of rabies, providing anti-rabies
treatment under the direction of the Board of Health for any person
known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies and for administering
the provisions of this article. Any unexpended 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 article. At the end of the third fiscal year following,
there shall be transferred from such special account to the general
funds of the municipality amounts in excess of the amounts anticipated
by the Board of Health to be necessary for such purposes for the next
fiscal year.
[1967 Code § 28-4.1]
No person or group of persons shall be permitted to keep more
than four cats outdoors on any residential property. It shall be presumptive
that a person has violated this article if more than four cats are
kept on the property for more than a forty-eight-hour period. Any
person violating this article shall be subject to a monetary fine
of up to $1,000 for each day of such violation.
[1967 Code § 28-5a]
An authorized agent or the Police, may take the following cats
into custody and impound and later destroy them, release them to the
owner or offer them for adoption provided within this section:
Any cat which is suspected to be a stray, abandoned, diseased, injured
or to have bitten a person or other animal pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:4-82.
[1967 Code § 28-5b]
If any cat is taken into custody whose owner is known or is
wearing a registration tag, as a first step, an Authorized Agent will
attempt to contact the owner who shall claim the animal. If the cat
is not claimed by the owner or contact cannot be made with the owner
within 24 hours of seizure, a notice in writing will be sent to the
owner stating that the cat 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.
[1967 Code § 28-5c]
A notice under Subsection 5-21.2 may be served either by delivering it to the person to 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 when the cat was registered or by forwarding it by post in a prepaid letter addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode.
[1967 Code § 28-5d]
Any person authorized by the Bound Brook Board of Health may
cause an animal to be offered for adoption or destroyed in a manner
causing as little pain as possible and consistent with the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 4:22-19, seven days after seizure, provided that:
The owner or person keeping or harboring a cat which was unlicensed
at the time of seizure does not within a reasonable period of time
produce a valid license and registration tag for the cat.
[1967 Code § 28-5e]
Whether or not the cat is claimed, the owner is responsible
for:
After observation, any cat impounded under this section suspected
of being rabid shall be immediately reported to the Health Officer
of the Borough of Bound Brook Board of Health.
[1967 Code § 28-5h]
If an owner requests pickup of an animal, including kittens
born to the parent cat, the owner is responsible for all expenses
in disposing of the unwanted animal(s).
[1967 Code § 28-6; Ord. No. 2016-11 § 4]
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 $5 or more than $50 for each
offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the Borough of Bound
Brook Board of Health or in the name of the Borough of Bound Brook.