[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.
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.
[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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 5-6, Canvass of Dogs, containing portions of Ordinance Nos. 41-35 and 2015-1269 was deleted in its entirety by Ordinance No. 2015-1287.
[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.
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.
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.
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.
[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 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.