[Adopted 7-18-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-12]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ANIMAL
Any live vertebrate creature including mammals, birds, reptiles,
amphibians and fish, but not humans.
ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER or ACO
A person 18 years of age or older who has satisfactorily
completed the course of study approved by the Commissioner of Health
and Senior Services of the State of New Jersey and the Police Training
Commission as prescribed by Paragraphs (1) through (3) of Subsection
a of Section 3 of N.J. P.L. 1983, c. 525 (N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16a); or
who has been employed in the State of New Jersey in the capacity of,
and with similar responsibilities to those required of, a Certified
Animal Control Officer pursuant to the provisions of N.J. P.L. 1983,
c. 525, for a period of three years before January 17, 1987.
ANIMAL RESCUE ORGANIZATION
An individual or group of individuals who, with or without
salary or compensation, house and care for homeless animals in the
home of an individual or in other facilities, with the intent of placing
the animals in responsible, more permanent homes as soon as possible.
ANIMAL SHELTER
The County of Gloucester facility where dogs, cats or other
animals are received, housed, given medical and other care, offered
for adoption, or transferred to animal rescue organizations.
AT LARGE
That an animal is off the property of its owner and: (i)
the animal has entered upon the property of another person without
authorization of that person; or (ii) the animal has entered onto
public property, street or right-of-way, unless that animal is restrained
by its owner, or a person caring for the animal on behalf of the owner,
with a leash of no less than six feet in length, or other physical
control device, such that the animal is under the physical control
of the owner or person caring for the animal on behalf of the owner.
Nothing in this definition is intended to prevent dogs being on training
leashes or on retractable leashes or being engaged in other appropriate
activities under adequate, responsible adult supervision where care
is taken to assure control as needed is available to prevent violations
of this article.
CAT
A member of the species Felis catus.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat which is not a community cat which has attained the
age of seven months or, if age cannot be determined, a cat which possesses
a set of permanent teeth. (only if local code requires cat licensing)
COMMUNITY CAT
Any free-roaming cat that may be cared for by one or more
residents of the immediate area who is/are known or unknown; a community
cat may or may not be feral. Community cats shall be distinguished
from other cats by being sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, microchipped,
ear tipped. Community cats are exempt from licensing, as well as stray
and at large provisions of this article but are subject to nuisance
provisions herein.
COMMUNITY CAT CAREGIVER
Any organization or person authorized by the municipality
or sponsor who, in accordance with a Community Cat Colony Program
to trap, neuter, vaccinate for rabies, ear tip and return community
cats:
(1)
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Neuters, vaccinates for rabies, microchips, ear tips and returns
one or more community cats;
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(2)
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Provides care, including food, shelter or medical care to the
cat; or
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(3)
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Has temporary custody of the cat.
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(4)
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Monitors the authorized cat colony for new cats and maintains
overall awareness of the status of the cat colony and the condition
of the cats therein.
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A community cat caregiver shall not be considered to own, possess,
keep or harbor a community cat.
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COMMUNITY CAT COLONY
A single community cat or a group of community cats that
congregate together outside as a unit. Although not every cat in a
colony may be feral, any nonferal cats that congregate with a colony
shall be deemed part of it. A community cat colony is sponsored and
maintained by a community cat caregiver authorized by the municipality.
EAR TIPPING
The straight-line cutting of the tip of one ear of a cat
while the cat is anesthetized. Ear tipping the left ear is the best
and universally accepted practice; although in the past, cats may
have been ear-tipped on the right ear.
FERAL CAT
A cat that is unsocialized to humans and has a temperament
of extreme fear of, and resistance to, contact with humans. Feral
cats are included in the definition of "community cats" as community
cats may or may not be feral. Feral cats are:
(1)
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Born in the wild;
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(2)
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Offspring of socialized or feral cats and not socialized; or
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(3)
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Formerly socialized cats that have been abandoned and have reverted
to an unsocialized state.
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HARBOR
The act of caring for and keeping an animal or the act of
providing a premises or residence to which the animal returns for
food, shelter or care, where the caregiver is providing the primary
source of sustenance for the animal for at least 10 days, whichever
time is shorter. Community cat caregivers do not harbor community
cats for the purposes of this article, but are subject to the provisions
of the article pertaining to community cats.
HUMANE TRAP
Any trap used to capture stray dogs or cats that is constructed
so that it does not harm the animal.
MICROCHIP
An electronic animal identification device that is inserted
into an animal, typically on the back between the shoulder blades,
by a veterinarian in accordance with professional medical standards.
NEUTER
To neuter an animal means to have a licensed veterinarian
surgically sterilize the animal. For the purposes of this article,
"neuter" shall mean to neuter a male animal or spay a female animal.
NUISANCE
A.
Disturbing the peace by:
(1)
Habitual or continuous howling, barking, crying or screaming;
(2)
The habitual and significant destruction, accumulation of feces,
desecration or soiling of property against the wishes of the owner
of the property, in particular, the creation of conditions leading
to the breeding of fleas or flies, odors or noises;
(3)
Habitually chasing or otherwise molesting passersby;
(4)
Habitually trespassing upon public or private grounds;
(5)
As defined and prohibited herein and below; or
(6)
As the case may be under existing local ordinance defining a
nuisance.
B.
For the purpose of this article, "habitually" means occurring
on at least two separate occasions within a time period of one month;
except that barking, howling, crying, or screaming habitually means
making the sound persistently or continuously for at least 30 minutes
occurring at least three separate times within a period of eight hours.
For the purpose of this article, "persistently" or "continuously"
shall mean nonstop utterances for 30 consecutive minutes with interruption
of less than 30 seconds at a time.
OWNER
A.
Any person, household, firm, corporation, or other organization
who:
(1)
Possesses, harbors, keeps, has control of, a legal title to,
a property interest in, or permanent custody of any animal regulated
by this article; or
(2)
For three days or more has temporary custody of, keeps, possesses,
regularly feeds or provides shelter, or exercises control over any
cat.
B.
A person must be age 18 or older to be considered the legal
owner of an animal. If a person under age 18 is considered the custodian
or caretaker of the animal, the parent or legal guardian shall be
considered the legal owner of the animal.
C.
A community cat caregiver is not an owner of community cats
for the purposes of this article but is subject to the provisions
pertaining to community cat caregivers.
SPONSOR
An individual or group of individuals or a not for profit
animal welfare organization which, after recognition by the municipal
governing body, oversees the implementation and management of community
cat colonies, exercises oversight of community cat colonies authorized
by the municipality, coordinate caregivers, offers services to caregivers
and community cat colonies, and works to resolve community cat nuisance
complaints in accordance with the provisions of this article, and
keeps both the municipality and Gloucester County Animal Control advised
regarding the condition of the colonies under their oversight.
STRAY
Any animal that is found to be at large, whether lost by
its owner or otherwise, or that is on public or private property,
the common areas of apartments, condominiums, mobile home parks or
other multiresidential premises, and that does not have an identification
tag and for which there is no identifiable owner. The term "stray"
shall not be applied to community cats managed in accordance with
this article.
TRAP-NEUTER-VACCINATE-RETURN PROGRAM (TNVR)
A program pursuant to which community cats are humanely trapped,
spayed or neutered, vaccinated against rabies utilizing the three-year
vaccine, and returned to the exact location at which they were trapped.
A cat will receive a microchip as part of a TNVR program.
VETERINARIAN
An individual who is licensed to engage in the practice of
veterinary medicine in the State of New Jersey.
The municipality may select a nonprofit 501(c)(3) animal welfare
organization to serve as the sponsor of the community cat program.
The sponsor shall oversee the activities of community cat caregivers
in accordance with a memorandum of understanding between the municipality
and the community cat caregivers. Individuals and organizations may
apply to the sponsor to serve as caregivers.
A. Sponsor requirements. It shall be the duty of the sponsor to: (1)
review and approve of colony caregivers; (2) help to resolve any complaints
over the conduct of a colony caregiver or of cats within a colony;
(3) maintain records provided by colony caregivers on the size and
location of the colonies as well as the vaccination and spay/neuter
records of cats in the sponsor's colonies; and (4) report annually
to the municipality and the Gloucester County Animal Shelter on the
following: (a) number of colonies in the municipality; (b) total number
of cats in colonies; (c) number of cats and kittens spayed and neutered
pursuant to the TNVR program; and (d) number of cats and kittens placed
in permanent homes (5) use due consideration to avoid the taking of
rare, threatened or endangered species under the Endangered and Non-Game
Species Conservation Act, N.J.S.A. 23:2A-1 et seq.
B. Community cat caregivers. Community cat caregivers must ensure community
cats are sterilized, vaccinated against the threat of rabies, microchipped,
and eartipped, and must cooperate with the municipality and the sponsor
to abate any nuisance.
C. Caregiver requirements. Caregivers are responsible for the following:
(1) registering the community cat colony with the sponsor; (2) taking
steps that are reasonably likely to result in the vaccination of the
colony population for rabies utilizing the three-year vaccine and
making reasonable efforts to update the vaccinations on cats that
can be recaptured; (3) taking steps that are reasonably likely to
result in the spay/neuter, by a licensed veterinarian, of at least
90% of the colony population; (4) providing the sponsor with pictures
of each cat in the colony and records evidencing that the cats have
been vaccinated and spayed/neutered; (5) providing food, water and,
if feasible, shelter for colony cats; (6) observing the colony cats
at least twice per week and keeping a record of any illnesses or unusual
behavior noticed in any colony cats; (7) obtaining the approval of
the owner of any property, to which the caregiver requires access
to provide colony care; (8) in the event that kittens are born to
a colony cat, the caregiver shall take reasonable steps likely to
result in the removal of the kittens from the colony after they have
been weaned, and the placement of the kittens in homes or foster homes
for the purpose of subsequent permanent placement; (9) reporting annually
to the sponsor on the status of the colony, including data on the
number and gender of all cats in the colony, the number of cats that
died or otherwise ceased being a part of the colony during the year;
the number of kittens born to colony cats and their disposition and
the number of cats and kittens placed in permanent homes as companion
cats; and (10) obtaining proper medical attention to any colony cat
that appears to require it.
D. Location of community cat colonies. All managed community cat colonies
must be maintained in compliance with trespassing and property laws.
Community cat colonies shall not be located in an area where the establishment
of a community cat colony would likely create a nuisance for adjacent
property owners; or proximate to environmentally sensitive areas critical
to endangered or threatened wildlife species.
E. Requirements for exemptions from certain provisions of this article.
All cats that are part of an municipally approved TNVR or community
cat colony program pursuant to this article must be sterilized, vaccinated
against the threat of rabies, microchipped, and ear-tipped for easy
identification. If these requirements are met the community cat is
exempted from licensing, stray and at-large provisions of this article.
The municipality and Gloucester County Animal Control shall
have the following rights:
A. The right to seize or remove cats from a colony or the release location
which have not been vaccinated against rabies and which are demonstrating
signs of rabies or other zoonotic diseases.
B. The right to seize or remove a cat from a colony or release location,
which is creating a nuisance, as defined in this article, after the
community cat caregiver and sponsor have been given 30 days to abate
the nuisance or remove and relocate the cat and have failed to do
so. The caregiver must begin nuisance abatement procedures within
48 hours after being notified of a nuisance by an ACO and must take
all reasonable steps to resolve the nuisance in as short a time as
possible, not to exceed 30 days.
C. The right to seize or remove a cat or colony of cats when the community
cat caregiver regularly fails to comply with the colony care requirements
of this article and the sponsor has not been able to obtain a replacement
or substitute caregiver within 30 days of the notice to the caregiver
and sponsor of the failure to comply with this article. If one or
more cats are in danger due to a caregiver's lack of compliance, the
sponsor may work with other local caregivers to find a suitable replacement
caregiver or relocate the cats.
D. Ordinance enforcement. The municipality shall have the following
rights: (1) the right to seize or remove cats from a colony that have
not been vaccinated against rabies and which are demonstrating signs
of the disease; (2) the right to seize or remove a cat from a colony
that is creating a nuisance, as defined above, and the caregiver and
sponsor have been given 30 days to remove and relocate the cat and
have failed to do so; (3) the right to seize or remove a colony of
cats when the caregiver regularly fails to comply with the requirements
of this article and the sponsor has not been able to obtain a replacement
or substitute caregiver within 30 days of the municipality's notice
to the sponsor of the caregiver's failure to comply with this article.
The requirements of this article notwithstanding, Animal Control Officers
and police officers may investigate any nuisance complaint and take
enforcement action they deem necessary to protect the public health
and safety.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person found to be in violation or found to have failed to comply with any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the penalty in §
1-15, Violations and penalties, of the Code of the Township of West Deptford. Each day of such violation or failure to comply shall constitute a separate offense and, therefore, are not subject to merger either for the purposes of the violation or imposition of fines and penalties.