As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State
of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this section.
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.
Any room or group of rooms, cage, or exhibition pen, not
part of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
The agency or department of the Township of Lawrence or any
designated representative thereof charged with administering the issuance
and/or revocation of permits and licenses under the provisions of
this section.
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.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization, or
institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
A.
Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall own, keep,
harbor, or maintain any cat over seven months of age within the Township
unless the cat is vaccinated and licensed. The provisions of this
section do not apply to cats held in a cattery, or those 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 shops.
B.
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 for in Subsection D.
C.
Vaccination certificate. A certificate of vaccination shall be issued
to the owner of each animal vaccinated on a form recommended by the
state.
D.
Exemptions. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements of such
vaccination for a specified period of time by the Division of Health,
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.
A.
Cats must have license number displayed. Any person who owns, keeps,
or harbors a cat of licensing age shall annually apply for and procure
from the Township Clerk or other official designated by the governing
body to license cats in the Township, a license and official registration
tag with license number or a registration sleeve for each cat so owned,
kept, or harbored, and shall place upon such cat a collar, or other
device with the license number securely fastened or displayed thereto.
Acceptable methods of displaying license number shall include, but
are not limited to, break-away or elastic collars. License tags or
sleeves are not transferable.
B.
Time for applying for license. The owner of any newly acquired cat
of licensing age, or of any cat which attains licensing age, shall
make application for license tag or sleeve for such cat within 20
days after such acquisition or age attainment. This requirement will
not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat within the Township of Lawrence
for no longer than 90 days.
C.
Cats brought into the Township of Lawrence.
(1)
Any person who shall bring, or cause to be brought into the Township
of Lawrence any cat licensed in another state for the current year,
and bearing registration tag or sleeve, shall keep the same or permit
the same to be kept within the Township for a period of no more than
90 days. A Lawrence Township license shall be applied for within the
ninety-day period.
(2)
Any person who brings or causes to be brought into the Township any
unlicensed cat, and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept
within the Township of Lawrence for a period of more than 20 days,
shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag or sleeve
for each such cat.
D.
Application, contents, preservation of information. 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 the application and the registration number
issued for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three years
by the Clerk or other official designated to license cats in the Township.
E.
License forms and tags. License forms and official tags or sleeves
shall be furnished by the Township and shall be numbered serially,
and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the municipality.
F.
Evidence of inoculation with rabies vaccine or certificate of exemption; requirement for license. The Township Clerk or other official designated by the Township Committee to license cats shall not grant any license and official registration tag or sleeve for any cat, unless the owner thereof provides evidence that the cat to be licensed and registered 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 Agriculture and the United States Department of Humane Services, or has been certified exempt as provided by § 89-26. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a licensed veterinarian, or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do the same.
H.
Fees, renewals, expiration date of license.
(1)
License from another municipality shall be accepted. The person applying
for the license and registration tag and/or sleeve shall pay the fee
fixed or authorized. The fee for the renewal of license and registration
tag or sleeve shall be the same as for the original, and the license,
registration tag or sleeve and renewal thereof shall expire on September
30 in the following year.
(2)
Only one license and registration tag or sleeve shall be required
in the licensing year for any cat in this Township. Any valid New
Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a New Jersey municipality shall
be accepted by this Township as evidence of compliance.
I.
Loss of license. If a license tag or sleeve has been misplaced or
lost, the Township Clerk may issue a duplicate license and/or registration
sleeve for that particular cat at a fee of $1.
J.
Proof of licensing. Proof of licensing shall be produced by any person
owning, keeping, maintaining, or harboring a cat, upon the request
of any Health Official, Police Officer, Animal Control Officer, or
other authorized person.
K.
Interfering with persons performing duties under this section. No
person shall hinder, molest, or interfere with anyone authorized or
empowered to perform any duty under this section.
L.
Disposition of fees collected. License fees and other monies collected
or received under the provisions of this section, shall be forwarded
to the Treasurer of the Township, and shall be placed in a special
account separate from any of the other accounts of the Township and
shall be used for the following purposes only: collecting, keeping,
and disposing of cats liable to seizure, for local prevention and
control of rabies, providing anti-rabies treatment under the direction
of the Division of Health for any person known or suspected to have
been exposed to rabies, and for administering the provisions of this
section. Any unexpected balance remaining in such special accounts
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 paragraph.
At the end of the third fiscal year following, and at the end of each
fiscal year thereafter, there shall be transferred from the special
account to the general funds of the Township 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.
[Amended by Ord. No. 1444-96]
Violations; penalty. Except as otherwise provided in this section,
any person who violates, or who fails, or refuses to comply with this
section, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $50, nor more
than $100, for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of
the Division of Health or by and in the name of the Township the following
penalty fees:
