Editor's Note: See also Board of Health, Chapter BH3, Animals.
[1993 Code § 83-1; Ord. No. 1574 § I]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Shall mean any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
Shall mean any dog which has attained the age of seven months
or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
Shall mean that the pet solid waste is removed at once, without
delay.
Shall mean any person exercising control over a dog or pet,
or permitting a dog or pet to remain on premises under such person's
control.
Shall mean any establishment wherein or whereon the business
of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on,
except a pet shop.
Shall mean when applied to the proprietorship of a dog or
pet, includes every person having a right of property in such dog
or pet and every person who has such dog or pet in such person's
keeping.
Shall mean any individual, corporation, company, partnership,
firm, association, or political subdivision of this state subject
to municipal jurisdiction.
Shall mean a domesticated animal (other than disability assistance
animal) kept for amusement or companionship.
Shall mean any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition
pen, not part of a kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
Shall mean waste matter expelled from the bowels of a pet;
excrement.
Shall mean an establishment for the confinement of dogs seized
either under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
Shall mean placement in a designated waste receptacle, or
other suitable container, and discarded in a refuse container which
is regularly emptied by the municipality or some other refuse collector;
or disposal into a system designed to convey domestic sewage for proper
treatment and disposal.
Shall mean any establishment where dogs are received, housed
and distributed.
Shall mean any dog which has been declared by a Municipal
Judge to be a vicious dog, which has attacked or bitten any human
being or which habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals.
[1993 Code § 86-2A]
Licenses shall be required for the following dogs of licensing
age:
a.
Any dog owned or kept within the township by a resident of the township
on the first day of January of any calendar year.
b.
Any dog acquired by any person during the course of any calendar
year and kept within the township for more than 10 days after acquisition.
c.
Any dog attaining licensing age during the course of the calendar
year.
d.
Any unlicensed dog brought into the township by any person and kept
within the township for more than 10 days.
e.
Any dog licensed by another state brought into the township by any
person and kept within the township for more than 90 days.
[1993 Code § 83-2]
a.
Each application for a license under this chapter shall give the
following information:
b.
Registration numbers shall be issued in the order in which applications
are received.
c.
Application for licenses for dogs which are required to be licensed by the provisions of subsection 9-2.1a shall be made before the first day of February of each calendar year. In all other cases the application for licenses shall be made within 10 days of the day upon which the dog in question first becomes subject to the provisions of this chapter.
d.
Every application for such a license shall be accompanied by a certificate
from a duly authorized veterinarian or other approved agency that
the dog 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 Health, Education and Welfare
or has been certified exempt as provided by regulations of the State
Department of Health. Such vaccination shall be repeated at intervals
as provided by the regulations of the State Department of Health and
shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian or such other
veterinarian permitted by law to do the same.
[1993 Code § 83-3]
The information on all applications under this chapter and the
registration number issued to each licensed dog shall be preserved
for a period of three years by the Township Clerk/Administrator. In
addition, he shall forward similar information to the State Department
of Health each month on forms furnished by the Department.
[1993 Code § 83-4; Ord. No. 1566 § 1; Ord. No. 1614 § 1]
The person applying for a license shall pay a fee of $16.20
for each dog. He shall also pay a fee of $3 for each non-altered dog.
The person shall receive a license and registration tag for each dog.
The replacement fee for a lost registration tag will be $1. The same
fees shall be charged for the annual renewal of each license and registration
tag.
[1993 Code § 83-5]
Each dog license and registration tag shall expire on the last
day of January of the calendar year following the calendar year in
which it was issued.
[1993 Code § 83-6]
The provisions of subsections 9-2.1 through 9-2.5 shall not apply to any dog licensed under Section 9-3 of this chapter. Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs shall be licensed in the same manner as other dogs, except that the owner or keeper shall not be required to pay any fee.
[1993 Code § 83-6.1; Ord. No. 1586 § 1]
A penalty of $5 per month shall be charged for any dog license
that is not renewed prior to February 1 of the calendar year in which
the renewed license is to be issued.
[1993 Code § 83-7A]
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a
kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall apply to the Township Clerk/Administrator
for a license entitling him to keep or operate the establishment.
A license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for
dogs owned by him and kept at such establishment. Such licenses shall
not be transferable to another owner or different premises.
[1993 Code § 83-7B]
The application shall contain the following information:
a.
The name and permanent and local address of the applicant.
b.
The street address where the establishment is located or proposed
to be located, together with a general description of the premises.
c.
The purposes for which it is to be maintained.
d.
The maximum number of dogs to be accommodated by such establishment
at any one time.
[1993 Code § 83-7C]
No license shall be issued until the proposed licensee submits
a written statement from the Health Officer of the Board of Health
that the establishment or proposed establishment complies with local
and state rules governing the location of and sanitation at such establishment.
[1993 Code § 83-7D]
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound
shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained,
and all such licenses shall expire on the last day of January of each
year.
[1993 Code § 83-7E]
The annual license fees for kennel and pet shop licenses shall
be as follows:
[1993 Code § 83-7F]
a.
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall
be subject to revocation by the Council on recommendation of the State
Department of Health or the Board of Health for failure to comply
with the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health or
the Board of Health, after the owner has been afforded a hearing by
either the State Department of Health or the Board of Health.
b.
Any person holding a license to establish, keep or operate a kennel,
pet shop, shelter or pound shall comply with township ordinances and
the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health
governing the sanitary conduct and operation of kennels, pet shops,
shelters and pounds, the preservation of sanitation therein and the
prevention of the spread of rabies and other diseases of dogs within
and from such establishments.
[1993 Code § 83-7G]
The Township Clerk/Administrator shall forward to the State
Department of Health a list of all kennels, pet shops, shelters and
pounds licensed within 30 days after the licenses therefor are issued,
which list shall include the name and address of the licensee and
the kind of license issued.
[1993 Code § 83-7H]
No dog kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall be
permitted off such premises, except on a leash or in a crate or other
safe control.
[1993 Code § 83-8]
a.
License
fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of
this chapter, except registration tag fees, shall be forwarded to
the Township Treasurer within 30 days after collection or receipt
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 dogs liable to
seizure under this chapter; 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; all other purposes prescribed by the statutes of New Jersey
governing the subject and for administering the provisions of this
chapter. Any unexpended balance remaining in such special account
shall be retained therein until the end of the third fiscal year following
and may be used for any of the purposes set forth in this section.
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 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.
b.
The
registration tag fee of $1 for each dog shall be forwarded within
30 days after collection by the Township Clerk/Administrator to the
State Department of Health.
[1993 Code § 83-9]
The Chief of Police of the township may annually cause a canvass
to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of
the township and shall report to the Township Clerk/Administrator,
the Board of Health and the State Department of Health the results
thereof, setting forth in separate columns the names and addresses
of persons owning, keeping or harboring dogs, the number of licensed
dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person, together with the registration
number of each dog, and the number of unlicensed dogs owned, kept
or harbored by each person, together with a complete description of
each unlicensed dog.
[1993 Code § 83-10A]
It shall be the duty of the Police Department and the Dog Warden to receive and investigate complaints against dogs. If they deem any dog complained of to be a vicious dog, as defined in Section 9-1, they shall report their findings in writing to the Municipal Judge.
[1993 Code § 83-10B]
The Municipal Judge shall notify in writing the owner or keeper
of an allegedly vicious dog that a complaint has been made and require
such person to appear before him at a stated time and place for a
hearing. The Judge shall conduct the hearing in the same manner as
he would conduct the trial of a criminal case. If the Judge decides
that the dog complained of is a vicious dog, he shall so notify the
owner or keeper of the dog.
[1993 Code § 83-10C]
No person owning or keeping a vicious dog shall permit such
dog to be off the property of the owner or keeper without being securely
muzzled.
[1993 Code § 83-11A]
The Dog Warden shall take into custody and impound or cause
to be taken into custody and impounded any of the following dogs:
a.
Any unlicensed dog running at large in violation of the provisions
of this chapter.
b.
Any dog off the premises of the owner of or the person keeping or
harboring such dog which the Dog Warden or his agent has reason to
believe is a stray dog.
c.
Any dog off the premises of the owner of or the person keeping or
harboring such dog without a current registration tag on its collar.
d.
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner of or the
person keeping or harboring such dog.
[1993 Code § 83-11B]
Any officer or agent authorized or empowered to perform any
duty under this chapter is hereby authorized to go upon any premises
to seize for impounding any dog which he may lawfully seize and impound
when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog, except upon
the premises of the owner of the dog if the owner is present and forbids
same.
[1993 Code § 83-11C]
a.
If any dog so impounded or seized wears a registration tag, collar
or harness having inscribed thereon or attached thereto the name and
address of any person or the owner of or the person keeping or harboring
the dog is known, the Dog Warden shall immediately serve on the person
whose address is given on the collar, or on the person owning, keeping
or harboring the dog, a notice in writing stating that the dog has
been seized and will be liable to be disposed of or destroyed if not
claimed within seven days after service of the notice.
b.
A notice under this subsection may be served either by delivering
it to the person on 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 on the collar or by forwarding it by mail in a prepaid letter
addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode
or to the address given on the collar.
[1993 Code § 83-11D]
The Dog Warden is authorized and empowered to cause the destruction
of any unclaimed dog, in as humane a manner as possible, under any
of the following contingencies:
a.
When any dog so seized has not been claimed by the person owning, keeping or harboring such dog within seven days after notice or within seven days of the dog's detention when notice has been or cannot be given, as set forth in subsection 9-7.3 above.
b.
If the person owning, keeping or harboring any dog so seized has
not claimed the dog and has not paid all expenses incurred by reason
of its detention, including maintenance, not to exceed $4 for the
first day and $1 per day for each additional day.
c.
If the seized dog is unlicensed at the time of its seizure and the
person owning, keeping or harboring such dog has not produced a license
and registration tag as provided in this chapter.
No person shall own, keep or harbor a dog in the township except
in compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the following
regulations:
[1993 Code § 83-12A]
All dogs which are required by the provisions of this chapter
to be licensed shall wear a collar or harness with the registration
tag for such dog securely fastened thereto.
[1993 Code § 83-12B]
No person, except an officer in the performance of his duties,
shall remove a registration tag from the collar of any dog without
the consent of the owner, nor shall any person attach a registration
tag to a dog for which it was not issued.
[1993 Code § 83-12C]
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this chapter.
[1993 Code § 83-12D]
No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any dog which
habitually barks or cries between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00
a.m.
[1993 Code § 83-12E]
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer
or permit it to run at large upon the public streets or in any public
park, public buildings or other public place within the township.
[1993 Code § 83-12F; New]
a.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit
it to be upon the public streets or in any of the public places of
the township unless such dog is securely confined and controlled by
an adequate leash not more than eight feet long. No dogs are permitted
within any public park or school playground within the township.
[1993 Code § 83-12G]
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit or
suffer it to do any injury or to do any damage to any lawn, shrubbery,
flowers, ground or property.
[1993 Code § 83-12H; Ord. No. 1574 § II]
a.
Prohibition. No person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of
any dog or pet shall cause, suffer or allow the dog or pet to soil,
defile, defecate on or commit any nuisance on any common thoroughfare,
sidewalk, passageway, bypath, play area, park or any place where people
congregate or walk or upon any public property whatsoever or upon
any private property without the permission of the owner of such property.
b.
Compliance with Health Regulations. The restriction in this subsection
shall not apply to those persons who shall comply with the following
conditions:
1.
The person in charge of such shall immediately remove any pet solid
waste deposited by such dog or pet by any sanitary method approved
by the Board of Health and its duly authorized Health Officer.
2.
The pet solid waste removed from the aforementioned designated area shall be disposed of by the person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any dog or pet in accordance with the proper disposal provisions set forth in Section 9-1 of this chapter.
3.
Any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability assistance
animal shall be exempt from the provisions of this section while such
animal is being used for that purpose.
[1993 Code § 83-12I]
A person wishing to report a violation of any of the provisions
of this section shall sign and file a formal complaint with the Municipal
Court of the Township of West Caldwell.
[Ord. No. 1574 § II]
The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Police
Department and the local Board of Health of the Township of West Caldwell.
[1993 Code § 83-13]
Where it has been determined by a physician that a person has
been bitten by a dog, such individual, or his parent or guardian if
he is a minor, shall immediately notify the police. When the owner
or keeper of any dog shall be notified by the police that the dog
has bitten any individual or individuals, the owner or keeper of the
dog must comply with the following procedures:
a.
Have
the dog examined by a licensed veterinarian within 12 hours.
b.
Have
the dog kept in quarantine in the owner's home or at a kennel
for a period of 10 days.
c.
At
the end of 10 days have the dog reexamined by a veterinarian and a
written report of the dog's state of health sent to the Board
of Health.
[1993 Code § 83-14]
The Township Council may, by proclamation, require all dogs
and cats to be quarantined during such period in each year as may
seem advisable to the Council.
[1993 Code § 83-15]
The township may appoint a suitable person as Dog Warden. He
shall assist in the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
The Dog Warden and such assistants as may be appointed shall be subject
to the supervision and direction of the Township Clerk/Administrator
and the Chief of Police of the township.
[1993 Code § 83-16]
a.
Any person violating the provisions of subsections 9-2.1, 9-3.1, 9-3.8, 9-8.1, 9-8.2 and 9-8.3 shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not less than $5 nor more than $50 for each offense, except that for first offenses against subsection 9-2.1 the penalty shall be an amount not less than $1 nor more than $50, to be recovered by and in the name of the Director of Health of the State of New Jersey.
[Ord. No. 1576 § I; Ord. No. 1752 § 2]
The purpose of this section is to prohibit the feeding of unconfined
wildlife in any public park or any other property owned or operated
by the Township of West Caldwell so as to protect public health, safety
and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for failure to comply, subject
to the exception(s) set forth herein.
[Ord. No. 1576 § II; Ord. No. 1688]
For the purpose of this section, the following terms, phrases,
words, and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein
unless their use in the text of the section clearly demonstrates a
different meaning. When not consistent with the context, words, used
in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural
number include the singular number, and words used in the singular
number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory
and not merely directory.
a.
FEED - Shall mean to give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or
scatter any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting
or enticing wildlife. Feeding does not include baiting on the legal
taking of fish and/or game.
b.
PERSON - Shall mean any individual, corporation, company, partnership,
firm, association, or political subdivision of this state subject
to municipal jurisdiction.
c.
WILDLIFE -Shall mean all animals that are neither human nor domesticated,
including all feral animals.
d.
BIRD - Shall mean a warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrate characterized
by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings.
e.
BIRDFEEDER - Shall mean any outdoor container for birdfeed, or any
item construed as birdfeed, used to attract wild birds.
[Ord. No. 1576 § III; Ord. No. 1688; Ord. No.
1752 § 2]
a.
No person shall feed, in any public park or any other property owned
or operated by the Township of West Caldwell, any wildlife, excluding
confined wildlife (for example, wildlife confined in zoos, parks or
rehabilitation centers, or unconfined wildlife at environmental education
centers, or feral cats as part of an approved Trap-Neuter-Release
program) and except as authorized under a deer management program
approved by the Governing Body.
b.
No person shall purposely or knowingly leave or store any refuse,
garbage, food product, pet food, salt, seed, birdseed, fruit, or grain
in a manner that would constitute an attractant to any wildlife.
c.
Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the feeding of wild
birds using birdfeeders, provided such feeding does not create an
unreasonable interference to surrounding property owners or become
an attractant for rodents or other wildlife. Birdfeeders shall be
placed at least five feet above the ground and the areas in and around
any birdfeeder shall be kept free and clear of birdfeed, or any item
construed as birdfeed.
[Ord. No. 1576 § IV]
