[Ord. #41-35; Ord. #90-585]
As used in this chapter:
a.
ANIMAL
CONTROL AUTHORITY — Shall mean any person or agency designated
or certified by the State of New Jersey to enforce the provisions
of this chapter.
b.
CAT —
Shall mean any member of the domestic feline species; male, female,
or neutered.
c.
CAT
OR DOG OF LICENSING AGE — Shall mean any cat or dog which has
attained the age of seven months, or which possesses a set of permanent
teeth.
d.
DOG —
Shall mean any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
e.
KENNEL —
Shall mean any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding
or selling dogs or cats or breeding dogs or cats for sale is carried
on, except a pet shop.
f.
LICENSING
AUTHORITY —Shall mean the office of the township clerk or any
other designated department or representative of the township charged
with administering licenses under the provisions of this chapter.
g.
NEUTERED —
Shall mean rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified
by a licensed veterinarian.
h.
OWNER —
Shall mean every person having a right of ownership or who has custody
of a cat or dog and any person who harbors or maintains a cat or dog
on or about any premises occupied by that person.
i.
PERSON —
Shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, organization,
or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
j.
PET
SHOP — Shall mean any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition
pen, not part of a kennel, wherein dogs or cats for sale are kept
or displayed.
k.
POUND —
Shall mean an establishment for the confinement of dogs or cats seized
either under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
l.
SHELTER —
Shall mean any establishment where dogs or cats are received, housed
and distributed without charge.
[Ord. #41-35; Ord. #81-414; Ord. #83-447; Ord. #90-593; Ord.
#92-635; Ord. #93-650; Ord. #95-694; Ord. #95-697; Ord. #2004-967;
Ord. #2010-1165]
No person shall keep or harbor any dog within the township without
first obtaining a license therefor, to be issued by the township clerk
upon application by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee, and
no person shall keep or harbor any dog in the township except in compliance
with the provisions of this section.
The person applying for a license shall pay a fee of $16 for
the license of a spayed/neutered dog, said license fee to include
municipal fees and all fees and costs payable to the New Jersey Registration
Fee and New Jersey Pilot Fund. The person applying for a license shall
pay a fee of $19 for the license of a non-spayed/non-neutered dog,
said license fee to include municipal fees and all fees and costs
payable for the New Jersey Registration Fee, New Jersey Pilot Fund
and New Jersey Pet Population Control Fund. The license, registration
tags and renewal shall expire annually on January 31. If a license
tag has been misplaced or lost, the licensing authority shall issue
a replacement license upon payment of $5.
The owner of any newly-acquired dog of licensing age or of any
dog which attains licensing age, shall make application for license
and registration tag for such dog within 10 days after such acquisition
or age attainment.
a.
Dogs Licensed in Another State. Any person who shall bring or cause
to be brought into the township any dog licensed in another State
for the current year and bring a registration tag, and shall keep
the same or permit 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 each such dog.
b.
Unlicensed Dogs. Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the township any unlicensed dog and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the township for a period of more than 10 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such dog, unless such dog be licensed under section 5-4.
The application shall state the name, street address and the
post office address of the owner and/or the person keeping or harboring
the dog(s), as well as the dog's breed, sex, age, color and markings,
whether the dog is long or short haired and whether the dog is neutered
or spayed. The information on the application and the registration
number issued for the dog(s) shall be preserved for a period of five
years by the township clerk who shall forward similar information
to the State Department of Health each month. Registration numbers
shall be issued in the order of the applications.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing
age shall annually in the month of January, apply for and procure
from the township clerk a license and official metal registration
tag for each such dog so owned, kept or harbored, and shall place
upon each such dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely
fastened thereto.
License fees shall be subject to a $5 late charge for persons
applying after the expiration dates as indicated.
Dogs used as guides for blind persons commonly known as "seeing
eye" dogs and dogs used for the hearing impaired commonly known as
"hearing ear" dogs shall be licensed and registered as provided herein,
except that the owner or keeper of such dogs shall not be required
to pay any fee.
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.
[Ord. #41-35; Ord. #2006-1010]
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a
kennel, a pet shop, a shelter or a pound shall apply to the township
clerk for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment.
The application shall describe the premises where the establishment
is located or is proposed to be located, the purpose or purposes for
which it is to be maintained, and shall be accompanied by the written
approval of the township health officer showing compliance with the
State and township rules and regulations governing location of and
sanitation at such establishments. Each license issued for a kennel,
pet shop, shelter or pound shall state the purpose for which the establishment
is maintained. Each such license shall expire annually on June 30.
Each such license shall be subject to revocation by the township committee
on recommendation of the State Department of Health or the Township
Board of Health for failure to comply with State or township rules
and regulations after the owner has been afforded the opportunity
for a hearing by the State Department of Health or the Township Board
of Health.
Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure
individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and kept at such
establishments; such licenses shall not be transferable to another
owner or different premises.
The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations
for 10 or less dogs shall be $10 and for more than 10 dogs, $25. The
annual license fee for a pet shop shall be $10. No fee shall be charged
for a shelter or pound.
No dog kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall be
permitted off such premises, except on leash or in a crate or other
safe control.
[Ord. No. 41-35; Ord. No. 2015-1269 § 1]
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the
provisions of this chapter, except for fees that are required to be
transmitted to the State on a monthly basis, shall be forwarded to
the Treasurer of the Township within 48 hours after collection or
receipt and shall be placed in a special account separate from any
of the other accounts of the township and which shall be used for
the following purposes only; for collecting, keeping and disposing
of dogs liable to seizure under this chapter; for local prevention
and control of rabies; for 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; for all other purposes prescribed
by the statutes of New Jersey governing the subject and for administering
the provisions of this ordinance.
[Ord. No. 41-35]
The township clerk 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 therefore are issued, which list
shall include the name and address of the licensee and the kind of
license issued.
[Ord. No. 41-35]
The township committee shall have power to appoint a poundmaster,
whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
The township committee shall also have power to appoint one or more
persons to be known as dog catchers, who may impound unlicensed dogs
running at large in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
[Ord. No. 41-35]
The poundmaster of the township shall take into custody and
impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, and thereafter
destroyed or disposed of as provided in this section:
a.
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or
harboring the dog which an official or his agent have reason to believe
is a stray dog;
b.
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or
harboring the dog without a current registration tag on his collar;
c.
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or of the
person keeping or harboring the dog.
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If any dog so seized wears a collar or harness having inscribed
thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person or
a registration tag, or the owner or the person keeping or harboring
the dog is known, the poundmaster shall forthwith serve on the person
whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or the person
keeping or harboring the dog, if known, 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 the service of
the notice.
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A notice under this section 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 post 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.
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When any dog so seized has been detained for seven days after
notice, when notice can be given as above set forth, or has been detained
for seven days after seizure, when notice has not been and cannot
be given as above set forth, and if the owner or person keeping or
harboring the dog has not claimed the dog and paid all expenses incurred
by reason of its detention, including maintenance not exceeding $1
per day, and if the dog be unlicensed at the time of the seizure and
the owner or person keeping or harboring the dog has not produced
a license and registration tag for the dog, the poundmaster may cause
the dog to be destroyed in manner causing as little pain as possible.
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[Ord. No. 41-35]
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 or dogs which he may lawfully seize
and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog
or dogs, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog if the owner
is present and forbids the same.
[Ord. No. 41-35]
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this section.
[Ord. No. 64-168]
No person shall keep, harbor or maintain any dog which habitually
barks or cries.
[Ord. No. 41-35]
No person owning, possessing, keeping or harboring a dog, whether
such dog is licensed or unlicensed, shall allow, suffer or permit
such dog to run at large on or about any place, public or private
within the township, except upon the premises of its owner. For the
purpose of this section the term 'at large' shall apply
to a dog whether licensed or unlicensed found off the premises of
its owner and not in the custody and under the control of either its
owner or some other responsible person.
[Ord. No. 41-35]
No person owning, possessing, keeping or harboring a dog, whether
such dog is licensed or unlicensed, shall allow, suffer or permit
such dog, whether on or off the premises of its owner, to attack or
bite any human being without provocation or to habitually attack other
dogs or domestic animals without provocation.
[Ord. No. 90-593 § 2; Ord. No. 2015-69 § 4]
Pursuant to Chapter 307, PL 1989 (N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 to 19- 37),
which statute is made a part hereof without inclusion of the text,
the following provisions are established concerning vicious or potentially
dangerous dogs:
a.
There is hereby created in the township the position of animal control
officer, who shall be the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality
of his or her designee.
b.
The municipal officer who shall select a panel and conduct a hearing
in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-21 shall be the
municipal health officer.
c.
The owner of the dog shall be liable to Branchburg Township for the
costs and expenses of impounding the dog, regardless of whether the
dog is ultimately found to be vicious or potentially dangerous and
of destroying the dog, in accordance with the schedule of costs and
expenses as established by the facility contracted by the Township
for Animal Control Services such other facility as may be used by
the Township for impounding and destroying the dog.
d.
The telephone number for reporting violations of this section and
The Vicious or Potentially Dangerous Dogs Act (N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et
seq.) shall be the number of the Branchburg Township Police Department,
526-3830.
e.
The annual fee for the license and registration of a potentially
dangerous dog and each renewal thereof shall be $400.
f.
All fines and fees collected or received by the municipality pursuant
to this section and N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq., shall be deposited in
a special account and used by the municipality to administer and enforce
the provisions of said section and statute.
[Ord. #92-633, S1; Ord. #92-635, S2]
No person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any dog
shall cause, suffer, or allow such dog to soil, defile, defecate on
or commit any nuisance on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway,
bypass, play area, park or any place where people congregate or walk,
or upon any public property whatsoever, or upon any private property
without permission of the owner of said property. It shall be the
duty of each dog owner to remove and dispose of in a sanitary manner
any feces left by his or her dog on the aforementioned areas.
No person in charge of a seeing eye or hearing ear dog shall be subject to the provisions of this subsection 5-8.7.
[Ord. #41-35; Ord. #92-633, S2]
Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any part of any of the following sections, namely, subsections 5-2.1, 5- 2.2, 5-2.4, 5-2.6, 5-2.7, 5-3.1, 5-3.2, 5-3.5 and 5-8.2, or with the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health governing the sanitary conduct and operation of kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds, to preserve sanitation therein and prevent the spread of rabies and other diseases of dogs within and from such establishments, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $5 nor more than $50 for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the township. A person who refuses or neglects to pay forthwith the amount of a judgment rendered against him and the costs and charges incident thereto shall be committed by the court to the county jail for a period not exceeding 10 days in the case of a first conviction and in the case of a conviction for a second, subsequent or continuing violation, for a period not exceeding 30 days.
Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any part of
any of the following subsections, namely, subsections 5- 8.3, 5-8.4,
5-8.6, and 5-8.7 shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $50 or to
be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 30 days, or to both in the
discretion of the court.
[Ord. No. 49-59]
No person shall permit any horse, sheep, goats, cows, or meat
cattle or swine, to run at large upon any streets, sidewalks, alleys,
squares, or public ground within the township or pasture same in such
places, whether in charge of any person or not.
[Ord. No. 49-59]
No person shall drive or ride any horse or other animal on any
street within the township at a dangerous or excessive speed, and
no person shall drive or ride any horse or other animal on any sidewalk
within the township.
[Ord. #90-585; Ord. #2004-968]
[Ord. No. 90-585 § 2]
No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat of licensing age within the Township of Branchburg, unless such cat is vaccinated and licensed. The provisions of this section do not apply to cats held in a veterinary establishment where cats are received or kept for diagnostic, medical, surgical or other treatments, or shelters, pounds, kennels or pet shops licensed under section 5-3 of this chapter.
All cats required to be licensed shall be vaccinated against
rabies with a 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. The rabies inoculation
shall be administered by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with
the latest "Compendium of Animal Rabies Vaccines and Recommendation
for Immunization" published by the National Association of State Public
Health Veterinaries.
A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of
each animal vaccinated on a form recommended by the State or approved
by the Branchburg Health Officer.
Any cat may be exempted from the requirements of such vaccination
for a specified period of time by the Board of Health of the Township
of Branchburg 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.
Any owner of a cat of licensing age shall annually apply for
and procure from the licensing authority a license and official registration
tag with license number for each cat owned and shall place upon each
cat a collar, or other device with the license number securely fastened
or displayed thereto. Acceptable methods of displaying the license
shall include, but are not limited to, break-away or elastic collars.
License tags are not transferable. Any cat of licensing age who does
not bear a valid registration tag shall be deemed a "stray." Stray
cats may be confiscated by any person authorized to perform such act.
Any owner of a cat of licensing age shall, in the month of September
of each year and annually thereafter, apply for and procure from the
authorized licensing official, a license which shall expire annually
on September 30 of each year.
The owner of any newly acquired cat of licensing age, or any
cat which attains licensing age, shall make application for a license
for such cat within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment.
This requirement will not apply to a nonresident owner keeping a cat
within the Township of Branchburg for no longer than 90 days.
Any owner who shall bring or cause to be brought into the township
any cat and shall keep same or permit same to be kept within the Township
of Branchburg for a period of more than 10 days, shall immediately
apply for a license and registration tag for each such cat.
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, name, 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 person who shall
keep or harbor such cat.
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 township.
The licensing authority shall grant such license and official
registration tag for any cat only if the owner thereof provides evidence
that the cat to be licensed and registered has been inoculated with
a rabies vaccine.
Upon registration by the owner of a cat of licensing age and proof of rabies inoculation and a valid license and registration tag issued by a New Jersey municipality, the licensing authority shall issue a Branchburg Township license and registration tag for the cat, which license shall expire on September 30 of each year. An owner making application for a license under this subsection shall be exempt from the license fee contained in subsection 5-13.2. The owner shall thereafter comply with the licensee renewal provisions of subsection 5-12.5.
The owner of a cat shall produce proof of licensing or exemption
upon request by any health official, police officer, animal control
officer or other authorized person.
Any person who violates, or refuses to comply with this section,
shall upon conviction thereof pay a penalty of not less than $25 nor
more than $100 for each offense. Each and every day in which a violation
of the provisions of this section exists shall constitute a separate
violation. Complaint shall be made in the municipal court of the township
or before such other judicial officer having authority under the laws
of the State of New Jersey.
[Ord. #90-585; Ord. #95-697; Ord. #2004-968; Ord. #2010-1166]
The person applying for a license shall pay a fee of $16 for
the license of a spayed/neutered cat. The person applying for a license
for a non-spayed, non-neutered cat shall pay a fee of $19. The license,
registration tags and renewal shall expire on September 30 of each
year.
Owners who fail to obtain a license as required within the applicable
time periods specified in this section shall be subject to a delinquent
fee of $5.
If a license tag has been misplaced or lost, the licensing authority
shall issue a replacement license registration tag upon payment of
$5.
[Ord. #2002-898]
No person shall purposely or knowingly, as said terms are defined
in Title 2C of the New Jersey Revised Statutes, feed wild white-tailed
deer in the township, on lands either publicly or privately owned.
It shall be presumed that the person is purposely or knowingly feeding
deer unless the feed is placed on a platform that is raised at least
four feet off the ground or is placed in a feeder whose opening is
sufficiently restricted so as to prevent deer from accessing the feed.
Nothing in this section shall apply to (i) any agent of the
township authorized to implement an alternative control method set
forth in any approved community based deer management plan and possessing
a special deer management permit issued by the New Jersey Division
of Fish and Wildlife in accordance with the provisions of Title 23
of the New Jersey Revised Statutes or (ii) any hunter engaging in
baiting for the purpose of hunting pursuant to a valid hunting license
issued in accordance with the provisions of Title 23 of the New Jersey
Revised Statutes.
Any person who violates, or refuses to comply with this section
shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a penalty of not less than $25
nor more than $100 for each offense. Each and every day in which a
violation of the provisions of this section exists shall constitute
a separate violation. Complaint shall be made in the municipal court
of the township or before such other judicial officer having authority
under the laws of the State of New Jersey.
[Ord. #2006-1019]
As used in this section:
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 in 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.
No person shall feed, in any public park or on any other property
owned or operated by the Township of Branchburg, any wildlife, excluding
confined wildlife (for example, wildlife confined in zoos, parks or
rehabilitation centers, or unconfined wildlife at environmental education
centers).
Any person who violates, or refuses to comply with this section
shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a penalty of not less than $25
nor more than $100 for each offense. Each and every day in which a
violation of the provisions of this section exists shall constitute
a separate violation. Complaint shall be made in the municipal court
of the township or before such other judicial officer having authority
under the laws of the State of New Jersey.
