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Township of Warren, NJ
Somerset County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (1) Index
ANIMAL
For the purpose of this chapter, animal shall mean dog or cat.
ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY
Shall mean any person or agency designated or certified by the State of New Jersey or the licensing authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
AUTHORIZED AGENT
Shall include the Health Officer, Registered Environmental Health Specialist and Animal Control Officer of the Warren Township Board of Health.
[Amended 1-8-2020 by Ord. No. BH2020-2]
CAT
Shall mean any member of the domestic feline species; male, female, or altered.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Shall mean any cat which has attained the age of seven months, or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
CATTERY
Shall mean any room or group of rooms, cage, or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
LICENSING AUTHORITY
Shall mean the Warren Township Board of Health or any designated representative charged with administering this chapter and/or issuing or revoking licenses under the provisions of this chapter.
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 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.
PERSON
Shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, organization, or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
a. 
Vaccination and licensing requirements. No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within Warren Township unless the cat is vaccinated and licensed. (Exclusions from the requirement for licensing are set forth in section BH13-2, paragraph d of this chapter. Exemptions from the requirement for vaccination are set forth in section BH13-2, paragraph e, of this chapter.)
b. 
Vaccination. All cats seven months of age or older 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. 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 section BH13-2, paragraph e, of this chapter.)
c. 
Vaccination certificate. A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of each animal vaccinated, on a form recommended by the state and consistent with Warren Township requirements.
d. 
Exclusions. The foregoing licensing requirements do not apply to a cattery or 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.
e. 
Exemptions. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements of vaccination for a specified period of time by the Warren Township 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.
a. 
Owners must obtain license number. 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.
b. 
Time to apply for license. Cat licenses shall be acquired between January 1st and January 31st of each year. The owner of any newly acquired cat of licensing age, or of any cat which attains licensing age, must purchase a license within 10 days of such acquisition or age attainment, except as set forth in section BH13-2, paragraph d, "Exclusions," of this chapter. This requirement will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat in Warren Township for less than 90 days.
[Amended 1-8-2020 by Ord. No. BH2020-2]
c. 
Cats brought into jurisdiction. Any person who brings or causes to be brought into this township, any cat of licensing age for Warren Township, 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 township 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 this township any unlicensed cat of licensing age, and keeps the same or permits the same to be kept within the township for 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.
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, state, 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.
e. 
License forms and tags. 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.
f. 
Evidence of inoculation with rabies vaccine or certification of exemption; Requirement for license. The board of health clerk or other person designated by the licensing authority to license cats shall not grant a license for any cat, unless the owner 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 section BH13-2, paragraph e, of this chapter. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian and shall be valid for the entirety of the licensing year per state guidelines.
[Amended 1-8-2020 by Ord. No. BH2020-2]
g. 
(Reserved)
h. 
Fees, renewals, expiration date of license. The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay the fee fixed or authorized. The fee for the 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 January 1st, in the following year.
[Amended 1-8-2020 by Ord. No. BH2020-2]
i. 
Loss of license. If a license tag has been misplaced or lost, the Clerk of the Warren Township Board of Health or other person designated by the licensing authority may issue a duplicate license tag for that particular cat at a fee fixed or authorized.
[Amended 1-8-2020 by Ord. No. BH2020-2]
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 authorized agent or police officer.
k. 
Interfering with persons performing duties under this chapter. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this chapter.
l. 
Disposition of fees collected. License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this chapter, shall be forwarded to the Warren Township Treasurer under the provisions of this chapter and shall be placed in a trust 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, local prevention and 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, for administering the provisions of this chapter and for any other purposes now authorized or hereafter to be authorized by law or regulation for such fund.
a. 
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 as provided within this section:
1. 
Any cat which is required to be licensed and for which the owner does not produce a current registration tag;
2. 
Any cat which is suspected to be a stray, abandoned, diseased, injured or to have bitten a person or other animal.
b. 
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.
c. 
A notice under section BH13-4, paragraph b, of this chapter 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.
d. 
Any person authorized by the Warren Township 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 R.S. 4:22-19, seven days after seizure, provided that:
1. 
The cat was not wearing a valid registration tag at the time of seizure and the owner is unknown, or
2. 
A notice was issued as required by section BH13-4, paragraph b, of this chapter and the cat was not claimed, or
3. 
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.
e. 
Whether or not the cat is claimed, the owner is responsible for:
1. 
All maintenance charges for that cat.
[Amended 1-8-2020 by Ord. No. BH2020-2]
2. 
All expenses involved in euthanizing and preparing the cat for submission to the authorities at Trenton.
f. 
No cat caught, and impounded, shall be sold or otherwise made available for the purpose of experimentation.
g. 
After observation, any cat impounded under this section suspected of being rabid shall be immediately reported to the Health Officer of the Warren Township Board of Health.
h. 
If any 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).
[Amended 1-8-2020 by Ord. No. BH2020-2]
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person who violates, or fails or refuses to comply with this chapter, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $50, nor more than $500, for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the Warren Township Board of Health, or by and in the name of the Township of Warren.