[Adopted 3-6-2018 by Ord.
No. 18-03]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Forsake a cat entirely or neglect to provide appropriate
care and support for a cat.
Any live vertebrate creature including mammals, birds, reptiles,
amphibians and fish, but not humans.
Any person employed or appointed by the Borough who is authorized
and certified to investigate violations of laws and regulations concerning
animals and to issue citations in accordance with New Jersey law and
this article.
An individual or group of individuals who, with or without
salary or compensation, house, provide necessary medical care for
and feed homeless or unlicensed animals in a home or facility, with
the intent of placing the animals in a permanent home as soon as one
becomes available.
When an animal is off the property of its owner and has entered
the property of another person without that owner's authorization,
or has entered onto public property, street or right-of-way, unless
restrained by its owner, or a caretaker, with a leash of no less than
six feet in length, or other physical control device, such that the
animal is under the physical control of the owner or caretaker. Nothing
in this definition is intended to prevent dogs from being on training
leashes or retractable leashes or engaging in other appropriate activities
under adequate, responsible adult supervision where care is taken
to assure control as needed to prevent violations of this article.
Any person who provides food, water or shelter to or otherwise
cares for a cat and who has been trained and registered as an approved
caregiver. Any person who, in accordance with a community cat management/TNR
program will work to trap, sterilize, vaccinate for rabies, ear-tip
then return free-roaming cats or feral cats to the area in which they
were trapped. A caregiver shall not be considered an owner of a community
cat. A caregiver shall not possess, keep or harbor a community cat.
Any cat, which is not a community cat, reaching the age of
seven months or, if age cannot be determined, a cat which possesses
a set of permanent adult teeth.
Any free-roaming cat, which may or may not be feral, with
a caretaker known or unknown. Community cats shall be distinguished
from other cats through their ear-tip and sterilization. These cats
are exempt from licensing, stray and at-large provisions of this article.
A single community cat or group of community cats that congregate
together outside as a unit. Any nonferal cat(s) that congregate with
a colony shall be deemed part of it.
The straight-line cutting of the tip of one ear of a cat,
while the cat is anesthetized for spaying or neutering.
Distributing the peace by habitually or continually howling,
crying or screaming, or the habitual and significant destruction,
desecration or soiling of property against the wishes of the owner
of the property.
Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association,
trust, estate or any other legal entity.
A structure that:
Is sufficiently ventilated and insulated to protect an animal
from weather and provide refuge from precipitation, wind, extreme
temperature and/or direct sunlight;
Is fully enclosed with walls on three sides, with a fourth wall
having an entranceway large enough to allow the animal to enter and
exit comfortably, but not so large as to allow all heat to escape
in cold temperatures;
Has a solid, waterproof roof;
Has a solid floor that does not sag under the animal's
weight;
Has a door or flap covering the entranceway during temperatures
of 40° F. or below;
Is positioned at a sufficient elevation to prevent water from
running into the structure;
Is small enough to retain the animal's body heat in cold
weather and large enough for the animal to stand, turn around and
lay down in comfortably;
Is sturdy, structurally sound and in good repair;
If it contains bedding, such bedding shall be clean and dry;
and
Is surrounded by an area of at least five feet that is clear
of debris, feces and urine.
Trap, neuter and return.
The Borough's program as set forth in this section pursuant
to which community and stray cats are trapped, neutered or spayed,
vaccinated against rabies, ear-tipped and returned to the location
where they congregate.
Trap, neuter, vaccinate (rabies) and return.
A.
No person shall keep an animal on a property in a manner that causes
one or more of the following: unsanitary conditions, infestation by
insects or rodents; physical conditions that endanger the health or
safety of humans.
B.
No person shall maintain or feed any animal, domesticated or wild,
in a manner that causes one or more of the following: unsanitary conditions;
infestation by insects or rodents; physical conditions that endanger
the health or safety of humans.
C.
Community cat colonies shall be permitted, and caregivers shall be
entitled to maintain them, in accordance with the terms and conditions
of this chapter.
D.
Trapping of community cats by those who are not community cat caregivers
as defined in this article, an animal control officer employed by
the municipality, or members of law enforcement, is prohibited unless
the person trapping the cats is doing so for the purpose of providing
medical attention for a sick or injured cat or for the purpose of
TNR/TNVR. Persons who trap free-roaming cats for the purpose of TNR/TNVR
must comply with the provisions of this article.
E.
It shall be unlawful for any person to use inhumane methods to trap
cats. Traps and the trapping of cats must meet the following requirements:
(1)
Traps shall not be left unattended for more than two hours.
(2)
Traps shall not be left set overnight, unless traps are checked at
least every two hours.
(3)
Traps shall not be left unattended for any length of time in the
temperatures below 45° F. or above 90° F.; in rain or snow;
or in any other extreme weather.
(4)
Traps utilized to capture cats shall be humane traps.
(5)
Any person who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this
section shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $250 for each offense.
F.
No owner or person having temporary custody of any animal shall permit
the animal to be, or fail to provide physical control to restrain
the animal from being, at-large. A cat shall be considered exempt
from this provision if:
G.
No person may desert or abandon any animal at any public or private
location. The practice of TNR and the provision of care to a community
cat in accordance with the provisions of this article do not constitute
desertion or abandonment of the community cat. However, the placement
of a cat at a community cat colony by a person other than the community
cat caregiver constitutes abandonment. Any person who is found to
be in violation of the provisions of this section shall be subject
to a fine not to exceed $250 for each offense.
A.
The caregiver shall provide community cats with sufficient food;
sufficient water; proper shelter and protection from weather; veterinary
care as needed to prevent suffering; and humane care and treatment.
B.
The caregiver shall exercise reasonable care to guard against the
animal creating a nuisance.
A.
The Borough of Runnemede believes that the safest place for pet domesticated
cats is indoors. The Borough of Runnemede also recognizes that feral
and community cats, as defined in this chapter, are not, in the majority
of cases, suitable to be taken indoors and kept as pets because their
home is outdoors. The Borough of Runnemede further recognizes the
need for innovation in addressing the issues presented by feral or
community cats. To that end, the Borough of Runnemede finds that properly
managed community cat colonies are part of the solution to reducing
the numbers of feral cats in the Borough of Runnemede and the rate
of cats euthanized in area shelters.
B.
Community cat colonies shall be permitted in the Borough of Runnemede
as part of a community cat management/TNR program in accordance with
the following provisions.
(1)
Community cat caregivers must ensure community cats are sterilized,
vaccinated against the threat of rabies and ear-tipped, and must cooperate
with the Borough of Runnemede to abate any nuisance.
(2)
The location of community cat colonies must be maintained in compliance
with trespassing and property laws.
(3)
To be exempt from certain provisions of this chapter all cats that
are part of an approved TNR/community cat program pursuant to this
article must be sterilized, vaccinated against the threat of rabies,
and ear-tipped for easy identification. If these requirements are
met the community cat is exempted from licensing, stray and at-large
provisions of this article.
C.
Community cat colony material, i.e. shelters, food, water, bowls,
plates, and feeding stations, shall be protected from removal, but
maintained in a clean fashion.
D.
An animal control officer who has trapped a cat whose car has been
tipped shall release the cat unless the cat is injured or sick and
requires medical attention.
E.
The Borough of Runnemede shall have the following rights:
(1)
The right to seize or remove cats from a colony which have not been
vaccinated against rabies and which are demonstrating signs of the
disease.
(2)
The right to seize or remove a cat from a colony which is creating
a nuisance as defined in this article, after the community cat caregiver
has been given 60 days to abate the nuisance or remove and relocate
the cat and failed to do so.
(3)
The right to seize or remove a cat or colony of cats when the community
caregiver regularly fails to comply with the colony care requirements
of this article and the caregiver has not been able to obtain a replacement
or substitute caregiver within 30 days of the Borough of Runnemede
or animal control officer having given notice to the caregiver. If
one or more cats are in danger due to a caregiver's lack of compliance,
the caregiver or owner may work with other local caregivers to find
a suitable replacement caregiver or relocate the cats.
F.
The Borough of Runnemede may utilize funds derived from cat licensing
fees to pay for spaying/neutering and vaccination of cats in the TNR
program.
A.
An animal control officer who has trapped a cat whose left ear has
been tipped or which bears some other distinguishing mark indicating
that it belongs to a community cat colony shall transport the cat
to the contract municipal shelter, where the cat will be scanned for
a microchip. If a registered microchip is found, the registered owner
or caregiver will be contacted and advised that the cat is located
at the municipal shelter.
B.
The owner or caregiver shall be responsible for retrieving the cat
from the municipal shelter within 10 business days or advising the
shelter if the owner or caregiver does not intend to retrieve the
cat. If no identification, microchip or information of caregiver is
available to the receiving shelter at the minimum of stray hold period
of seven days, then it is at the sole discretion of the receiving
shelter to determine the outcome of the cat retrieved which may include
transfer, euthanasia, foster care, and/or adoption.
C.
If a trapped community cat is suspected of being rabid, the animal
shall be immediately reported to the executive officer of the local
Board of Health and to the Department of Health and Senior Services,
and shall be quarantined, observed and otherwise handled and dealt
with as appropriate for an animal suspected of being rabid or as required
by the Department of Health and Senior Services for such animals.
A.
The requirements of this article notwithstanding, animal control
officers and police officers may investigate any nuisance complaint.
If an animal control officer determines that an ear-tipped community
cat is causing a nuisance as defined by this article, the animal control
officer or police officer shall attempt to contact the caregiver or
owner. The caregiver or owner shall begin nuisance abatement procedures
within 48 hours and make all reasonable efforts to resolve the nuisance
as quickly as possible, not to exceed 60 days. If an animal control
officer removes a community cat, the receiving municipal shelter or
animal control must notify the community cat caregiver and allow the
caregiver to retrieve the cat from the pound for adoption or relocation.
If an animal control officer or police officer reasonably determines
that a cat is injured or poses a significant threat to public health,
the officer may reduce the time that the owner or caregiver has to
resolve the complaint, as necessary to protect the cat and public
health, before taking further action. In the case of an emergency,
the animal control officer or police officer may remove the cat, but
within 24 hours the animal control officer must provide the caregiver
or owner with notice of the cat's whereabouts and allow the caregiver
or owner an opportunity to retrieve the cat for treatment, return
or relocation.
B.
Facts to be considered during the nuisance abatement process shall
include:
