[2000 Code § 12:16-1]
As used in this Article:
shall mean dog or cat.
shall mean any person or agency designated or certified by
the State of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
shall mean any member of the domestic feline species; male,
female, or altered.
shall mean any cat which has attained the age of seven (7)
months, or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
shall mean any room or group of rooms, cage, or exhibition
pen, or part of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
shall mean the agency or department of the Borough of Avalon
or any designated representative thereof charged with administering
the issuance and/or revocation of permits and licenses under the provisions
of this chapter.
shall mean rendered permanently incapable of reproduction
as certified by a licensed veterinarian.
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.
shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, organization,
or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
[2000 Code § 12:18-1]
Any person who shall own, keep, or harbor a cat of licensing
age shall annually apply for and procure from the Borough Clerk, or
other official designated by the Borough Council thereof to license
cats in the Borough in which he/she resides, 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.
[2000 Code § 12:18-2]
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 Borough of Avalon for no longer than ninety
(90) days.
[2000 Code § 12:18-3]
a.
Cats Licensed in Another State. Any person who shall bring, or cause
to be brought into the Borough of Avalon. 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 Borough
of Avalon for a period of more than ninety (90) days shall immediately
apply for a license and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat.
b.
Unlicensed Cats. Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the Borough of Avalon any unlicensed cat, and shall keep same
or permit same to be kept within the Borough of Avalon for a period
of more than ten (10) days, shall immediately apply for a license
and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat.
[2000 Code § 12:18-4]
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
(3) years by the Borough Clerk or other local official designated
to license cats in the municipality.
[2000 Code § 12:18-5]
License forms and official tags or sleeves shall be furnished
by the Borough and shall be numbered serially and shall bear the year
of issuance and the name of the Borough.
[2000 Code § 12:18-6]
No Borough Clerk or other official designated by the governing
body to license cats therein shall 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 Agriculture
and the United States Department of Human Services, or has been certified
exempt. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed
veterinarian, or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do
the same.
[2000 Code § 12:18-7]
A license shall be issued after a payment of a fee of five ($5.00)
dollars for each unneutered cat and three ($3.00) dollars for each
neutered cat, plus fifty ($.50) cents for a registration tag for each
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 five ($5.00) dollars.
[2000 Code § 12:18-8]
a.
Licenses 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 said license, registration tag or sleeve and renewal thereof shall
expire on January 31, in the following year.
b.
Only one (1) license and registration tag or sleeve shall be required
in the licensing year for any cat in the Borough of Avalon. Any valid
New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a New Jersey municipality
shall be accepted by this municipality as evidence of compliance.
[2000 Code § 12:18-9]
If a license tag or sleeve has been misplaced or lost, the Borough
Clerk may issue a duplicate license and/or registration sleeve for
that particular cat at a fee of one ($1.00) dollar.
[2000 Code § 12:18-10]
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.
[2000 Code § 12:18-12; New]
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the
provisions of this Article, shall be forwarded to the Chief Financial
Officer and shall be placed in a special 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 prevention and control of rabies, providing
anti-rabies treatment under the direction of the local Board of Health
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 said
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 Borough 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.
[2000 Code § 12:17-1]
No person shall own, keep, harbor, or maintain any cat over
seven (7) months of age within the Borough of Avalon, 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 treatments,
or licensed animal shelters, pounds, kennels or pet shops.
[2000 Code § 12:17-2]
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 Veterinarian.
[2000 Code § 12:17-3]
A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of
each animal vaccinated on a form recommended by the State.
[2000 Code § 12:17-4]
Any cat may be exempted from the requirements of such vaccination
for a specified period of time by the local Board 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.
[2000 Code § 12:18-B; Ord. No.
765-2017]
The Borough of Avalon, like many communities throughout the
State of New Jersey and the United States, has an obligation to effectively
and humanely control feral cat populations within its borders. The
Borough believes it is in the interest of the health, safety and welfare
of the citizens of Avalon to institute a Trap, Neuter and Return Program
(TNR) in an effort to reduce the feral cat population over time without
the necessity of wholesale capture and euthanization. The Borough
recognizes that this approach must be balanced against the Borough's
obligations to protect shorebirds and other listed wildlife species
from predation. In keeping with those obligations, the Borough has
crafted this section to provide for the reduction of certain feral
cat colonies through TNR while limiting the number and location of
colonies in an effort to protect avian populations. The Borough initially
incorporated a "sunset provision" in order that the TNR Program could
be properly evaluated and reassessed after an appropriate period of
time. (2000 Code § 12:18-B). Such a "sunset provision" is
no longer deemed necessary since the TNR Program has been effective
and is functioning appropriately to manage abandoned and feral cats.
In addition, the Borough has in place a Beach Management Plan (BMP)
which is periodically reviewed and updated in consultation with both
Federal and State Regulatory Agencies and the Borough's Environmental
Commission. During that process there is ample consideration given
and safeguards instituted to protect certain avian populations as
well as other threatened and endangered species protected by either
the Federal or State regulations or both, as outlined in the BMP,
IV Management issues, B Predator Management.
[2000 Code § 12:18B-1; Ord. No.
765-2017]
As used in this section:
shall mean the person appointed annually by the Borough Council,
either directly or pursuant to a uniform shared services agreement,
pursuant to the New Jersey Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation
Act, N.J.S.A. 40A: 65-1 et seq., or pursuant to a contract awarded
in accordance with the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1
et seq., to handle the animal control needs of the Borough of Avalon.
[Ord. No. 765-2017]
shall mean the person appointed annually by the Mayor with
the advice and consent of Council, to maintain records of feral cats;
to recommend caregivers, encourage adoption, if appropriate, and to
do such duties specified in this section.
[Ord. No. 765-2017]
shall mean a volunteer, uncompensated person who agrees to
serve to facilitate the TNR program within the Borough in accordance
with this section and any rules and regulations that may be established
by Borough Council. A caregiver shall not be deemed an employee of
the Borough and shall hold such volunteer position at the pleasure
of Borough Council and may be removed from or precluded from holding
such volunteer position in the sole discretion of Borough Council.
shall mean the marking of a cat's ear through a surgical
procedure performed by qualified personnel.
shall mean any cat that is not licensed in accordance with
Borough Ordinances and is free roaming as part of an identifiable
colony of such cats, which may consist of several cats or a single
cat.
[2000 Code § 12:18B-2]
The Borough may establish a fund or provide services to offset
the costs of trapping, neutering, and vaccinating captured feral cats
that can be returned to an appropriate, controlled, protected and
registered colony site. Caregivers for such colonies, whether one
or several animals, may be aided by the Borough in providing traps
for the capture of the cat, transportation to a spay/neuter facility
and offsetting costs, to the extent that funding is available.
[2000 Code § 12:18B-3]
Each feral cat colony shall be registered by the caregivers
with the Borough's Animal Coordinator. The Animal Coordinator will
serve as a clearinghouse for information on current caregivers, provide
education for new caregivers, and assist with persons found in violation
of this section.
[2000 Code § 12:18B-4]
Ear tipping shall be used on feral cats in order to be identified
as a spayed or neutered and vaccinated member of a managed colony.
[2000 Code § 12:18B-5; Ord. No.
765-2017]
Any person or Caregiver determined to be in violation of this
section shall be issued a written warning and be allowed a period
of time in the discretion of the Animal Control Officer, but not longer
than ninety (90) days, to come into compliance, or provide satisfactory
evidence of working to achieve compliance. Failure to comply shall
result in a violation of this section, which may result in the issuance
of a citation and upon a finding of guilty by the Municipal Court
in a fine not to exceed one hundred ($100.00) dollars. Caregivers
of feral cat colonies shall implement proper management and sterilization
practices, as well as seek the assistance of the Animal Control Officer
and/or Animal Coordinator as follows:
a.
Sterilize (spay/neuter) all adult cats that can be captured;
c.
Make every attempt to remove kittens from the colony before eight
(8) weeks of age for domestication and placement.
d.
Make every attempt to remove sick or injured cats from the colony
for immediate veterinarian care or humane euthanasia.
e.
Assure responsibility and arrangements for feeding the cat colony
regularly throughout the year, including weekends, holidays. Assure
that vaccinations which are the responsibility of the feral cat caregiver
are provided for. Feeding on Caregiver's property of feral cats managed
by such Caregiver shall not constitute a violation of the prohibition
against the feeding of wild animals in this chapter.
f.
Make every attempt to "ear tip" all cats with a single cut preferably
on the left ear and arrange for the implantation of an identification
microchip for each cat in the colony. If this is not practicable under
the circumstances, photographic documentations adequate to identify
the cat shall be obtained.
g.
Maintain proof of sterilization, vaccination, ear tipping and implantation
of microchip and medical records for all cats to the maximum extent
practicable. These records must be provided to the Animal Coordinator
upon request.
[Ord. No. 765-2017]
h.
Register the feral cat colony with the Animal Coordinator for the
Borough of Avalon.
i.
Execute all documents required by the Borough which may be established
by this section or by Resolution of the Borough Council.
[2000 Code § 12:18B-6]
No feral cat colony shall be permitted to be established in
any area designated by State or Federal agencies as areas reserved
for protected or endangered species of birds. Additionally, if after
proper study and presentation to the Borough Council, the Avalon Environmental
Commission shall determine that the perpetuation of a feral cat colony
is outweighed by greater environmental concerns, the Borough Council
shall conduct a public hearing on the issue and determine whether
such colony should be disallowed.
[2000 Code § 12:18B-6]
The Borough Council shall have the authority to adopt further
rules and regulations applicable to the TNR Program to the extent
that the same are consistent with and do not modify the provisions
of this section.
[2000 Code § 12:18B-7]
[2000 Code § 12:18B-7; Ord. No.
604-2008; Ord. No. 648-2011; Ord. No. 714-2014; Ord. No. 765-2017]
