[Adopted 11-7-2007 as Ord. No. 47-2007]
ANIMAL
For the purpose of this Article, animal shall mean dog or cat.
CAT
Any member of the domestic feline species; male, female, or altered.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat which has attained the age of seven (7) months, or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
CITY
The City of Orange Township.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Department of Health of the City of Orange Township.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat shall 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, feeds, maintains a cat and knowingly permits a cat to remain on or about his or her premises.
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 (7) months of age within the city unless such 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 treatment, or licensed animal shelters; pounds, kennels, or pet shops.
B. 
Vaccination. All cats shall be vaccinated against rabies by or under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian in accordance with the latest "Compendium of Animal Rabies Vaccines and Recommendations of 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 Health Department, 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. 
Display of license number required. Any person who shall own, keep, or harbor a cat of licensing age shall annually apply for and procure from the Health Department 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, breakaway 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 ten (10) days after such acquisition or age attainment. This requirement will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat within the city for not longer than ninety (90) days. Applications shall be furnished by the Health Department.
C. 
Cats brought into the city. Any person who shall bring, or cause to be brought into this City, any cat licensed in another State for the current year, and bearing registration tag or sleeve, and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the City for a period of more than ninety (90) 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 (3) years by the Health Department.
E. 
License forms and tags. License forms and official tags or sleeves shall be furnished by the Health Department 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 certification of exemption; requirement of license. The Health Department shall not grant any such 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 Human Services, or has been certified exempt as provided by Section 80-44D. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian, or by such other permitted by law to do the same.
G. 
License fee schedule. A license shall be issued after payment of a fee of eleven dollars ($11.) for each unaltered cat, and eight dollars ($8.) for each altered 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 ten dollars ($10.).
H. 
Fees, renewals, expiration date of license. 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 January 31 or the following year.
Only one (1) 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 municipality as evidence of compliance.
I. 
Loss of license. If a license tag or sleeve has been misplaced or lost, the Health Department may issue a duplicate license and/or registration sleeve for that particular cat at a fee of two dollars ($2.).
J. 
Proof of licensing. Proof of license 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 persons.
K. 
Interfering with persons performing duties under this Article. No person shall hinder, molest, or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this Article.
L. 
Disposition of fees collected. License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provision of this Article, shall be forwarded to the Chief Financial Officer of the Township, and shall be placed in the dog license account a separate 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 animals liable to seizure for local prevention and control of rabies, providing anti-rabies treatment under the direction of the Health Department for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies, and for administering the provisions of this Article. Any unexpected 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 and at the end of each fiscal year thereafter, there shall be transferred from such special account to the general funds of the municipality any amount then in such account which is in excess of the municipality any amount then in such account which is in excess of the total amount paid into the special account during the last two (2) fiscal years next preceding.
Except as otherwise provided in this Article, any person who violates, or fails or refuses to comply with this Article shall be liable upon conviction to a penalty of not less than fifty dollars ($50.) for each offense, except that for the first offense the penalty shall be not less than fifty dollars ($50.) nor more than seventy-five dollars ($75.). Any person suspected of being a first offender shall receive a written warning that he/she will have thirty (30) days to obtain a license and if no license is obtained within that period a notice of violation will be issued.