[Ord. #72-6; Ord. #98-11; Ord. #00-18; Ord. #2005-06]
As used in this chapter:
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 any establishment wherein or whereon the business
of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on,
except a pet shop.
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog shall mean and
include every person having a right of property in such dog and every
person who has such a dog in his keeping.
Shall mean any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition
pen, not part of a kennel, wherein domestic animals for sale are kept
on display.
Shall mean an establishment for the confinement of dogs seized
either under the provisions of this section or otherwise.
Shall mean an animal standard to their breed with or without
"papers" or documents verifying the animal is of a specific breed.
Shall mean any establishment where dogs are received, housed,
or distributed without charge.
[Ord. #72-6; Ord. #78-16; Ord. #81-10; Ord. #98-11]
No person shall own, keep, harbor or have control of any dog
within the township or obtain a license from the township pursuant
to the provisions of this section unless such dog has been vaccinated
against rabies, within one year if formalized vaccine is used, or
within three years if avianized vaccine was used. Such person shall
obtain a dog license for each dog which will be issued by the township
clerk or certified animal control officer upon application by the
owner and payment of the prescribed fee. No person shall keep or harbor
any dog except in compliance with the provisions of this section.
Evidence of vaccination pursuant to the provisions of this section
shall be provided by the certificate of a duly licensed veterinarian
or an official township anti-rabies vaccination tag.
A dog may be exempted from the requirements for vaccination
set forth herein for a specified period of time where a certificate
is presented from a duly licensed veterinarian of the State of New
Jersey stating that by reason of age, infirmity or other physical
condition, vaccination of such dog against rabies for such a specified
period is dangerous to the dog's health.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing
age, shall in the month of January of each year and annually thereafter,
apply for and procure from the township clerk or certified animal
control officer 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.
The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay a fee as set in Chapter 21, "Fees," section 21-3, for dogs of licensing age. The township shall forward to the State department of health such portion of the license fee as required by current State statute. The balance of the license fees collected shall be turned over to the township treasurer. The licenses, registrations, tags and renewals shall expire on the last day of January in each year.
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as
"seeing eye" dogs shall be licensed and registered as other dogs as
hereinabove provided for, except that the owner or keeper of such
dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
Any person harboring a dog found to be unlicensed after February 1st by the township animal control officer, dog canvassers or any other township official authorized to enforce Township Ordinances, shall be required to pay a late fee as provided for in Chapter 21, "Fees," section 21-3, in addition to the required license and registration tag fee as provided in subsection 5-2.5. Additionally, the person harboring the unlicensed dog may be subject to a fine for failure to obtain a dog license before May 1st.
The owner of a newly-acquired 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.
The application shall state: breed, sex, age, color, and markings
of the dog for which license and registration are sought; whether
it is of long- or short-haired variety; and the name, street, and
post-office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or
harbor the dog.
b.
The information on the application and the registration number issued
for the dog shall be preserved for a period of three years by the
township clerk. Registration numbers shall be issued in the order
of applications.
c.
The township clerk shall forward to the State department of health
each month, on forms furnished by the department, an accurate account
of registration numbers issued or otherwise disposed of.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the township any dog licensed in another state for the current year, and bearing 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, unless a license for such is not required under section 5-3.
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 for a period of more than 10 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such dog, unless a license for such dog is not required under section 5-3.
a.
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.
b.
No licensed dog shall be allowed off the premises of the person harboring
or keeping the dog, without the metal registration tag attached to
its harness or collar.
[Ord. #72-6; Ord. #98-11; Ord. #2003-12; Ord. #2007-04]
a.
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a commercial
for-profit kennel, pet shop, shelter, pound, organization promoting
the sport of fox hunting or any other commercial activity requiring
the keeping of more than two dogs of either sex shall apply to the
township clerk for a license entitling him to keep or operate such
an establishment. All licenses issued for such establishments shall
state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained; shall
expire on January 31st each year and shall not be transferable to
another owner or different premises.
b.
Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual
licenses for dogs owned by such licensees and kept at such establishments.
The application shall describe the premises where the establishment
for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound is located, the purpose of
which it is to be maintained, and shall be accompanied by written
approval of the township sanitarian showing compliance with the local
and State rules and regulations governing the location and sanitation
at such establishments.
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound
shall be subject to revocation by the township committee on recommendation
of the State department of health or the township department of health
for failure to comply with the applicable provisions of this article,
or the rules and regulations of health governing the same, after the
licensee has been afforded a hearing by either the State department
of health or the township committee.
a.
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.
b.
License fees for dog establishments shall be paid with the application.
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 under
other safe control.
License or other fees collected under the provisions hereof,
except those paid to the State, shall be turned over to the treasurer
within 30 days of collection. The fees collected shall be accounted
for and spent in accordance with R.S. 4:19-15:11, as amended.
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 therefor are issued, which list
shall include the name and address of the licensee and the kind of
license issued.
The animal control officer shall, either annually or biennially,
at the direction of the governing body, cause a canvass to be made
of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits the township
and shall report, on or before September 1 of the year in which the
census is taken, to the municipal clerk or other person designated
to license dogs in the municipality and to the local board of health,
and to the State department of health the result thereof, setting
forth in separate columns the names and addresses of persons owning,
keeping or harboring unlicensed dogs, the number of unlicensed dogs
owned, kept or harbored by each of said persons, together with a complete
description of each of said unlicensed dogs.
[Ord. #72-6; Ord. #72-12; Ord. #98-11; Ord. #2002-15; Ord.
#2007-04]
The township committee shall appoint a certified animal control
officer as required by New Jersey Public Law 1997, Chapter 247 as
same may be amended from time to time, whose duties shall be those
provided for by State statute and ordinances. The certified animal
control officer shall have all powers provided for by law including,
but not limited to, powers to investigate and sign complaints or otherwise
act as an officer, for detection of offenders against the animal control,
animal welfare, or any animal cruelty laws of the State and ordinances
in the township, provided the officer has completed the training required
by law.
a.
The certified animal control officer or other persons designated
by the township committee shall take into custody or impound or cause
to be taken into custody and impounded, and thereafter destroyed or
disposed of as hereinafter provided in this section:
1.
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or
harboring the dog which the official or his agent have reason to believe
is a stray dog.
2.
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or of the
person keeping or harboring the dog.
3.
Any dog upon the public or private streets or on any public or private property other than that of the owner, not accompanied by a person over the age of 12 and not confined or controlled as prescribed by subsection 5-4.7.
4.
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.
5.
Any dog kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound and off such establishment and not confined or controlled as prescribed by subsection 5-3.5.
7.
Any dog declared vicious or potentially dangerous as determined by
the municipal court.
8.
Any dog which the owner or persons keeping or harboring the dog wishes
to dispose of and to which he renounces ownership, custody and control,
in writing.
b.
If any dog so seized wears a collar or harness having inscribed thereon
or attached thereto the name and address of any persons or a registration
tag, or the owner or the person keeping or harboring the dog is known,
a certified animal control officer or anyone authorized by the township
committee 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.
c.
A notice under paragraph "b" of 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 pre-paid letter
addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode,
or to the address given on the collar.
d.
When any dog so seized has been detained for seven days after notice,
when notice can be given as above set forth in this section, or has
been detained for seven days after seizure, when notice has not been
and cannot be given as above set forth in this section, 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, and, if
the dog is 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 certified animal control officer
may cause the dog to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain
as possible.
e.
When any dog shall be delivered under subsection 5-4.2(a)(8), no notice to the owner shall be required unless the person delivering the dog is someone other than the owner, in which event the foregoing procedure shall be followed: if the person delivering the dog is the owner, the certified animal control officer or any person so authorized may forthwith destroy the dog in a manner causing as little pain as possible.
There shall be charged to the owner of each dog which is impounded, pursuant to subsection 5-4.2a, of the revised Wantage Township Ordinances, the sums contained in Chapter 21, "Fees," section 21-7, for taking into custody each dog or cat plus the maintenance fee for each day or part thereof that the animal has been impounded, plus redemption fee, which fees shall be paid when the animal is released. For any animal which is impounded, pursuant to subsection 5-4.2a, 8, the owner shall also be responsible for the disposal fee contained in Chapter 21, section 21-7.
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.
No person shall hinder, molest, or interfere with anyone authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this chapter.
a.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit
it to run at large upon the public or private streets or in any public
park or in any public building or in any other public place, or on
any private property except with the expressed consent and permission
of the person in possession of or the owner of the private property
within the township.
b.
When a dog has been impounded for running at large, the certified
animal control officer shall file a complaint of this violation in
the municipal court.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer
or permit it to be upon the public or private streets or in any public
park, or in any public building, or in any other public place, or
on any private property except with the expressed permission and consent
of the person in possession of or the owner of the private property
unless such dog is accompanied by a person over the age of 12 years
and is securely confined and controlled by an adequate leash not more
than six feet long.
If the municipal court shall determine, after a hearing, that a dog impounded in accordance with subsection 5-4.2 is declared "vicious" or "potentially dangerous," the disposition of said dog shall be controlled by relevant State law.
All dogs which bite any person shall be examined by a veterinarian
within 24 hours after such incident, for the purpose of determining
whether such dog is affected by any disease, and shall hereafter be
quarantined for a ten-day period.
Where a dog habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals,
a complaint may be made against the owner thereof for keeping and
harboring the dog.
a.
No person shall allow any dog in their keeping, custody, control
or ownership to bark, howl, cry or make other noises for any period
longer than one-half hour between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00
a.m. or allow a dog on two or more occasions to make noise for intervals
of more than one half-hour at any time of the day or night.
b.
Prior to a complaint being filed in municipal court against any person
for violating this subsection, the person shall receive a warning
from the township animal control officer advising of the violation
of this subsection and that if another violation occurs within a six-month
period, a complaint will be filed with the municipal court.
c.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any facility owned or operated by
the Township of Wantage including, but not limited to, the dog pound,
shall be exempt from this subsection.
[Added 2-23-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
It shall be deemed unlawful and a public nuisance for there
to be kept or maintained six or more dogs in or upon any residentially
zoned property in the Township of Wantage. This section shall not,
however, be applicable to a litter of pups kept or maintained in or
upon any such property within six calendar months of birth. Any owner
or occupant of such residentially zoned property wherein six or more
dogs are kept shall be deemed to have violated this section.
[Added 2-23-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
If on the effective date[1] of this § 5-5, six or more dogs are being kept or maintained in or upon any residentially zoned property, the dogs then being kept or maintained on the residentially zoned property may continue to be kept or maintained. No new or additional dogs will be permitted to be kept or maintained except in conformance with this § 5-5.
[1]
Editor's Note: Adopted 2-23-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03.
