[Adopted 10-11-2000 by Ord. No. 00-27 (Ch. 6.04 of the 2000 Code)]
[Amended by Ord. No. 01-8; Ord. No. 06-13]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Dog or cat.
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State
of New Jersey or authorized by the Raritan Township Committee or Raritan
Township Board of Health to enforce the provisions of this article.
A certified Municipal Animal Control Officer or, in the absence
of such an officer, the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the municipality
or his designee as defined in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1.
Off the premises of the owner and not under the control of
the owner and not under the control of a member of his or her immediate
family, either by leash, cord or chain.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
The Department of Health.
Any dog or dog hybrid.
Any cat, dog or livestock other than poultry.
To provide with temporary quarters, shelter or refuge and
to give nourishment on a temporary basis for a period which exceeds
10 days.
Any dog or cat which has attained the age of seven months,
or which possesses a permanent set of teeth.
The Raritan Township Board of Health or any designated representative
thereof charged with administering the issuance and/or revocation
of permits and licenses under the provisions of this article.
The cited Annotated New Jersey Statute (N.J.S.A.) as enacted
on the date of adoption of this article, including any amendments
and any subsequent amendments to the New Jersey Statute adopted hereafter.
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction, as certified
by a licensed veterinarian.
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog or cat, includes
every person having a right of property or custody in such dog or
cat, and every person who has such dog or cat in his or her keeping,
or who harbors or maintains a dog or cat or knowingly permits a dog
or cat to remain on or about any premises occupied by that person.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or
institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
Any dog or dog hybrid declared potentially dangerous by a
municipal court pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-23.
Includes the building and the plot or tract of land on which
the building stands in which the owner of a dog or cat or dogs or
cats has a place of abode or place of business in the Township.
Any dog or dog hybrid declared vicious by a municipal court
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-22.
[Amended by Ord. No. 06-16; Ord. No. 07-4; Ord. No. 07-19; Ord. No. 13-18]
A.
License required. It is the responsibility of every person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog or cat of licensing age to annually, during the months of April or May, apply for and procure from the Township Clerk a license and official metal registration tag for each such dog or cat so owned, kept or harbored. No person shall keep or harbor any dog or cat within the Township without first obtaining a license, to be issued by the Township Clerk upon application of the owner and payment of the prescribed fee. Such license shall be obtained within 10 days of a dog or cat attaining the age of seven months or permanent teeth or within 10 days of the acquisition of a dog or cat that is determined to be of licensing age. Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the State of New Jersey, Township of Raritan, a dog or cat licensed in another state for the current year shall immediately apply for a license issued by the Township. No person shall keep or harbor any dog or cat in the Township except in compliance with the provisions of this article and with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq. Failure to comply with this Subsection A of this section shall be deemed a violation and subject to a fine of $50 for each offense. Each and every day in which a violation of this subsection exists shall be considered a separate violation.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
B.
Registration required. Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Township any dog or cat licensed in another New Jersey municipality for the current year, for a period to exceed 10 days, shall, within 10 days, apply for a registration tag for each dog or cat for a registration fee as provided in Chapter 245, Fees, § 245-4. Such registration shall be valid until May 31st of the current Raritan Township licensing year.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
(1)
Applications, contents and
preservation of information. The application shall state if the dog
or cat has been neutered, the breed, sex, age, color and markings
of the dog or cat for which license and registration are sought and
whether it is of a long-, medium- or short-haired variety; also, the
name, telephone number, street and post office address of the owner
and the person who shall keep or harbor such dog or cat. The information
on the application and the registration number issued for the dog
or cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Clerk
or other local official designated to license dogs and/or cats in
the municipality.
(2)
License forms and tags. License
forms and official tags shall be furnished by the municipality, shall
be numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name
of the municipality.
(3)
Evidence of inoculation for
rabies requirement for license. The Township Clerk or official designated
by the Township Committee to license dogs or cats shall not grant
any such license and official registration tag for any dog or cat
unless the owner thereof provides evidence that the dog or cat to
be licensed and registered has been inoculated with a rabies vaccine
which cannot expire through the first 10 months of the licensing year.
C.
Display of license number. Every
person who shall own, keep or harbor any dog or cat of licensing age
shall place upon such dog or cat a collar or other device with the
license number securely fastened or displayed thereon. Acceptable
methods of displaying the license number shall include, but are not
limited to, breakaway or elastic collars. Registration tags are not
transferable. Failure to comply with this subsection shall be deemed
a violation and subject to a fine of $50 for each offense. Each and
every day in which a violation of this subsection exists shall constitute
a separate violation.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
D.
Fees. The fee for a license and registration tag for all dogs and cats which are spayed or neutered shall be as provided in Chapter 245, Fees, § 245-4. For any dog or cat which is to be licensed which is not spayed or neutered, the fee for a license and registration tag shall be as provided in Chapter 245, Fees, § 245-4. Every dog and cat shall be required to have a separate license and registration tag. The license and registration tag shall be effective for the period beginning on June 1 and ending on the succeeding May 31.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
E.
Late fees. Any license and registration tag issued for a dog or cat previously registered with the Township beginning on June 1 shall have an additional fee as a late charge as provided in Chapter 245, Fees, § 245-4. Dogs or cats which are new pets and being licensed for the first time after June 1 shall be permitted to be licensed without the additional charge as a late fee, provided that the licensing is done as soon as the dog reaches seven months of age or, if the dog is older, within 30 days of having obtained the dog or cat. If an owner of a new dog or cat fails to secure the license within the 30 days after the dog or cat attains the age of seven months or fails to secure a license within the thirty-day period after having obtained the dog or cat, he or she will incur the late fee.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
F.
Loss of license. If a registration tag has been misplaced or lost, the Township Clerk may issue a duplicate license and/or registration tag for that particular dog or cat for a fee as provided in Chapter 245, Fees, § 245-4.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
G.
Proof of licensing. Proof of licensing
shall be produced by any person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring
a dog or cat, upon the request of any health officer, police officer,
Animal Control Officer, or other authorized person.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
H.
Disposition of fees collected.
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions
of this article shall be forwarded to the State of New Jersey and
the Treasurer of the municipality and shall be placed in a special
account separate from any of the other accounts of the municipality
and shall be used for the following purposes only: collecting, keeping
and disposing of dogs or cats liable to seizure for local prevention
and control of rabies; providing antirabies treatment under the direction
of the local Board of Health for any person known or suspected to
have been exposed to rabies; conducting rabies inoculation clinics;
and for administering the provisions of this article. For any unexpended
balance remaining until 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 municipality,
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.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
I.
Unauthorized removal or attachment
of registration tags. No person, except an officer in the performance
of his or her duties, shall remove a registration tag from the collar
of any dog or cat without the consent of the owner, nor shall any
person attach a registration tag to a dog or cat for which it was
not issued.
J.
Waiver of licensing and registration
fees. Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as
"Seeing Eye" dogs, or dogs used to assist deaf persons and commonly
known as "hearing ear" dogs, shall be licensed and registered as other
dogs herein above provided for, except that the owner or keeper of
such dog(s) shall not be required to pay any fee therefor. Cats used
on a legitimate working farm shall be licensed and registered as other
cats herein above provided for, except that the owner or keeper of
such cat(s) shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
A.
License required. Any person who
keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel, a shelter, a
pet shop or a pound shall apply to the clerk for a license entitling
him or her to keep or operate such establishment. Such application
shall comply with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq. and
conform to the requirements as set forth herein.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
The Township Committee shall have power by resolution to appoint
and fix the compensation of an Animal Control Officer or any person
or persons whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions of this
article as well as the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq. The
Animal Control Officer or other person appointed by the Township to
enforce this article shall also have the rights and powers granted
by N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq.
[Amended by Ord. No. 06-28; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art.
II)]
The duties of the Animal Control Officer or other person appointed
by the municipality pursuant to this article to impound animals, notice
to be given, the destruction or adoption of such animals, prohibition
against sale or availability for experimentation, and the reporting
of rabid animals shall be undertaken in accordance with the requirements
of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16. The costs of sheltering, caring for, or treating
any animal, including veterinary expenses, until the animal is returned
to its owner, forfeited, liberated, or disposed of shall be borne
by the owner of the animal.
[Amended by Ord. No. 01-8]
The Animal Control Officer or other person duly authorized by
this article, when in immediate pursuit of a dog or dogs which he
may lawfully seize or impound under the provisions of this article
or under the Statutes of the State of New Jersey, is authorized to
go upon or into any premises, but not into an inhabited dwelling house
without the permission of the owner, to seize for impounding such
dogs or dogs for impoundment, and such entry shall not be deemed trespassing,
except that he may not go upon any premises if the owner thereof or
the owners representative is present and forbids him to do so.
[Amended by Ord. No. 01-8]
A.
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, 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 prior permission of the owner of
such property.
(1)
Any person owning, harboring,
keeping or in charge of any dog which soils, defiles, defecates on
or commits any nuisance on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway,
bypath, play area or any public property whatsoever, or upon any private
property without the prior permission of the owner of the property,
shall immediately remove in a sanitary manner as may be established
by the Board of Health, all feces deposited by such dog, and thereafter
properly dispose of same.
(2)
Any person owning, harboring,
keeping or in charge of any such dog shall have in their possession
at all times appropriate sanitary means, including but not limited
to shovels or other implements and containers or disposal bags, to
immediately remove and dispose of all feces and droppings deposited
by the dog.
B.
Exclusion. This section shall
not apply to blind persons using dogs as guides.
C.
Enforcement/filing of complaints.
For violation of any of the provisions of this section on either public
or private property, complaints may be filed by either citizens, police
officers or the Animal Control Officer of the Township.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
D.
Violations and penalties. Any
person who violates, fails or refuses to comply with the provisions
hereof shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $5 or more than
$50 for each violation and to be recovered in the name of the local
Board of Health or by and in the name of the municipality.
No person shall permit any dog owned, harbored, possessed or
controlled by him or her to run at large within the limits of the
Township.
A.
Whenever the Township Committee
shall deem that the public safety may so require, it may, by resolution,
authorize the Township Clerk to issue a proclamation authorizing the
immediate killing of any dog found running at large within the limits
of this Township without being properly muzzled.
B.
The Township Committee, by resolution, may appoint and fix the compensation for one or more persons to kill any dog or dogs running at large after the issuance of the proclamation as provided in Subsection A of this section. Any such person or persons so appointed shall have full power and authority to immediately kill any dogs found running at large. No dog shall be killed until notice of the proclamation aforesaid has been given at least once in a newspaper printed or circulating in this Township.
A.
Vaccination required. No person
shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any dog or cat over seven months
of age within Raritan Township unless such dog or cat is vaccinated
against rabies. The provisions of this section do not apply to cats
held in a cattery, or those held by a state- or federally licensed
research facility, or a veterinary establishment where dogs or cats
are received or kept for diagnostic, medical, surgical or other treatments,
or licensed animal shelters, pounds, kennels or pet shops.
B.
Method. Except for any applicable exemption pursuant to Subsection D of this section, all dogs or cats shall be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with the latest Compendium of Animal Rabies Vaccines and Recommendations for Immunization, published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians.
C.
Certification of vaccination.
A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of each
animal vaccinated on a form recommended and approved by the Raritan
Township Board of Health.
D.
Exemptions. Any dog or cat may
be exempted from the requirement of vaccination for a specified period
of time, within the discretion of the Raritan Township Board of Health,
upon presentation to the Board of a veterinarian's certificate stating
that, because of an infirmity or other physical condition or regimen
of therapy, the inoculation of such dog or cat shall be deemed inadvisable.[1]
[Amended by Ord. No. 06-16; Ord. No. 13-18; at time of adoption
of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
Any person who violates any section or provision of this article, with the exception of §§ 188-2 and 188-7, for which a specific penalty is established, shall be liable upon the first conviction to a fine of not less than $75 nor more than $2,000 and, upon a second conviction, to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $2,000, imprisonment for a period not to exceed 90 days and/or serving a period of community service not exceeding 90 days. Each and every day in which a violation of any provision of this article exists shall constitute a separate violation.
