[1]
Editor's Note: Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-1 and N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq. The Borough has entered into an agreement with the Township of Berkeley to provide animal control services.
[Ord. No. 170 § 1; Ord. No. 13-04 § 1]
As used in this article:
ANIMAL
Shall mean any live, vertebrate creature, domestic or wild.
ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER
Shall mean any person designated by the animal shelter and the Borough Council as a law enforcement officer and who qualifies to perform such duties under the laws of the State of New Jersey.
ANIMAL SHELTER
Shall mean any premises designated by the Borough Council for the purpose of impounding and caring for animals held under authority of this chapter.
COMMERCIAL KENNEL
Shall include and mean any establishment for the raising, training, boarding or selling of dogs, cats, birds, rodents or other small animals, fish and fowl, for hire or profit, or where more than five dogs or cats over the age of six months are harbored or kept.
DOG
Shall mean any member of the species generally referred to as canis familiaris.
DOG OF LICENSING AGE
Shall mean any dog which has attained the age of six months.
FAMILY GROUP
Shall mean a group of people related by blood or marriage who reside together in the same household.
OWNER
Shall mean any person, partnership or corporation owning, keeping or harboring one or more animals. An animal shall be deemed to be harbored if it is fed or sheltered for three consecutive days or more.
RESTRAINT
Shall mean any animal secured by a leash or lead, or under the control of a responsible person and obedient to that person's commands within the real property limits of its owner.
[Ord. No. 170 § 2]
Any resident who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall, in the month of January of each year, apply for and procure from the Borough Clerk or other official designated by the Borough Council to license dogs in the Borough, a license and official registration tag for each dog owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon each dog a collar or harness with the registration tag fastened thereon.
[Ord. No. 236; Ord. No. 255; Ord. No. 270; Ord. No. 7-99; Ord. No. 14-05 § 2; Ord. No. 5-08 §§ 1, 2; Ord. No. 9-08 § 1; amended 3-9-2026 by Ord. No. 2026-1[1]]
a. 
Dog License Fee. The fee set by the Borough shall not be in excess of the maximum established by State law. The registration fee for spayed and/or neutered shall be $13.80 and an additional $1.20 to be forwarded to the State Department of Health for a total of $15.00. Additional fees required by the State are: N.J. Clinic fund, $0.20 and N.J. Nonspayed/neutered fee, $3. The total for non-spayed and/or nonneutered dog license shall be $20.00. Failure of the owner to obtain a license within the time prescribed by this subsection shall be subject to a fine as follows:
1. 
Late Fees. Additional late fee of $10 shall apply to any dog license if the license is applied for after January 31 of each calendar year. The late fee shall remain with the Borough of South Toms River.
2. 
Dogs used as guides for blind persons, and commonly known as "seeing eye" dogs, shall be licensed and registered as are other dogs hereinbefore provided for except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
3. 
The owner of any newly-acquired dog shall apply for a license and registration tag for such dog within 10 days after such acquisition.
4. 
Potentially Dangerous Dogs. The owner of any potentially dangerous dog as determined by the Vicious Dog Act N.J.S.A. 4:19-17, et seq. shall obtain from the Borough of South Toms River a potentially dangerous dog registration number and identification tag along with a potentially dangerous dog license upon presentation of sufficient evidence by the owner to the Animal Control Officer that he has complied with the Municipal Court Orders. The fee for the potentially dangerous dog license and each renewal thereof shall be $700.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of 1-1-2027.
[Ord. No. 170; Ord. No. 81 § 3]
All dogs shall be kept under restraint. No dog shall be allowed to run at-large on private property or on any of the public streets or public places of the Borough unless the dog is securely confined and controlled by an adequate leash and is in the charge of a person capable of holding such dog securely or the dog is adequately muzzled.
[Ord. No. 170 § 4]
Unrestrained dogs may be taken by the Police, the Animal Control Officer or the Code Enforcement Officer and impounded in the animal shelter and confined in the manner prescribed in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.14. Impounded dogs shall be kept for not less than seven days unless reclaimed by their owners. If by a license or by other means the owner can be identified, the Animal Control Officer or designated official shall immediately upon impoundment notify the owner by telephone or mail of the impoundment of the dog. Dogs not claimed by their owners within seven days, or placed in suitable new homes may be disposed of by methods prescribed as humane by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association by the Animal Control Officer or by a representative delegated by him to exercise that authority.
[Ord. No. 236]
An owner claiming a dog impounded under subsection 5-2.4, or any animal impounded for whatever reason shall pay a fee of $10, plus $1 or such other daily amount as the Borough is charged for the shelter of the animal, for each day that the animal has been impounded. The Borough may also take steps against the owner who is in violation of this section.
[Ord. No. 170 § 6]
In addition to, or in lieu of, impounding a dog found at large, the Animal Control Officer or Police Officer may issue to the owner of such dog a summons for a violation.
[Ord. No. 170 § 7]
Every female dog in heat shall be confined in a building or secure enclosure in such manner that such female dog cannot come into contact with another dog except for planned breeding.
[Ord. No. 170 § 8; Ord. No. 81 § 4]
No owner shall fail to exercise proper control of his dog to prevent it from becoming a public nuisance. Excessive, continuous or untimely barking, molesting passersby, chasing vehicles, habitually attacking other domestic animals, trespassing upon school grounds, or trespassing upon private or public property shall be deemed a nuisance. No person shall keep any dog which habitually barks in such a manner as to annoy other inhabitants of this Borough by interfering with their sleep or rest, or otherwise annoying them in the enjoyment of their properties in a substantial manner.
[Ord. No. 170 § 9]
No owner shall fail to provide any animal in his control with sufficient good and wholesome food and water, proper shelter and protection from the weather, veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering, and with humane care and treatment. No person shall beat, cruelly ill treat, torment, overload, overwork, or otherwise abuse any animal, or cause or permit any animals to combat between themselves, nor shall any owner abandon such animals.
[Ord. No. 170 § 10]
No person shall give away any animal as a prize for, or as an inducement to enter, any contest, game or other competition, or as an inducement to enter a place of amusement; or offer such animal as an incentive to enter into any business agreement whereby the offer was for the purpose of attracting trade.
[Ord. No. 170 § 11]
Any animal which bites a person shall be quarantined on the premises of its owner under the supervision of the authority designated by the Borough for the period of time ordered by the authority. The animal shall be securely confined and kept from contact with any other animal during quarantine. The designated authority may require, at its discretion, special confinement and order the animal surrendered to the animal shelter or veterinary hospital at the owner's expense.
[Ord. No. 170 § 12]
No Police Officer or other person shall kill, or cause to be killed, any animal suspected of being rabid, except after the animal has been placed in quarantine and the diagnosis of rabies is made by a licensed veterinarian. If a veterinarian diagnoses rabies in an animal in quarantine, then the animal shall be humanely killed and the head of such animal sent to laboratory for pathological examination and confirmation of the diagnosis. The cost pertaining to diagnosis, pathological examination and confirmation shall be paid by the owner.
[Ord. No. 170 § 13]
The Animal Control Officer shall have police powers in the enforcement of this chapter and no person shall interfere with, hinder, molest or abuse any animal control officer in the exercise of such powers.
[Ord. No. 10-99 § 2]
No person owning or having the care custody or control of any dog shall permit such dog to soil, defile, defecate on, or to commit any nuisance upon any sidewalk, street or thoroughfare in or upon any public property, or in or upon the property of persons other than the owner or person having the care, custody or control of such dog.
The owner, or custodian of any dog shall be responsible for the damages done by such dog. The quarters where dogs are kept shall be clean and sanitary at all times and such as not to create a health hazard. In addition, the owner of or any person having custody, care, or control of any dog which shall soil or defecate on any property contrary to the provisions of Section 16 of this chapter, shall forthwith remove such soil, or defecation from such property and deposit the same in a garbage can or receptacle.
Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any provision of this section shall, upon conviction therefore, be liable to a penalty of not less than $25 nor more than $500.
[Ord. No. 14-04 §§ 1 — 3; Ord. No. 4-13; amended 5-27-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-10]
a. 
No more than seven dogs shall be sheltered in any house. The quarters shall be clean and sanitary and shall as not to create a health hazard nor disturbance by reason of noise, odor or other causes.
b. 
Violations; Penalties. All violators of this subsection shall be subject to a penalty of $100 for each violation or 30 days community service, or both. Each and every day in which a violation of this section exists shall constitute a separate violation subject to penalty.
[Ord. No. 157 § 1]
Pursuant to Chapter 263, the Laws of 1973, all dog owners of the Borough shall have evidence that the dog to be licensed and registered has been inoculated with a rabies vaccine of a type approved by and administered in accordance with the recommendations of the United State Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, or has been certified exempt as provided by regulations of the State Department of Health.
[Ord. No. 157 § 2]
All dog owners who are requesting an exemption shall show proof, signed by a veterinarian, indicating why the dog should not be inoculated against rabies.
[Ord. No. 157 § 3]
The Board of Health shall serve a notice upon the owner of a dog requiring a rabies vaccination certificate. Compliance with this notice shall occur in not less than one nor more than 10 days.
[Ord. No. 236]
The penalty to be imposed under this chapter shall be as follows:
a. 
Penalty for the violation of subsection 5-2.8 Failure to Provide Control shall be a fine of $25 for the first offense and shall not require a court appearance. The penalty for the second and subsequent offenses is to be set by the Municipal Court Judge at a court hearing.
b. 
Penalty for the violation of subsection 5-2.9 Failure to Provide Care or Abandonment shall be a fine of $25 for the first offense and shall not require a court appearance. The penalty for the second offense and subsequent offenses is to be set by the Municipal Court Judge at a court hearing.
c. 
Penalty for failure to have a license shall be as heretofore provided in another section of this chapter.
d. 
Penalty for any other violation of this chapter shall be as stated in Chapter 1, Section 1-5, to be recovered in the Municipal Court by an action brought in the name of South Toms River Board of Health together with costs.
[Ord. No. 15-04 § 5-2.15]
No commercial kennels shall be permitted within the boundaries of the Borough of South Toms River.
[Ord. No. 15-04 § 5-2.15]
All violators of this section shall be subject to a penalty of $100 for each violation or 30 days community service, or both. Each and every day in which a violation of this section exists shall constitute a separate violation subject to penalty.
[Ord. No. 4-05 § 3-4.4 [a]]
This section establishes the requirements for the proper disposal of pet solid waste in the Borough of South Toms River, so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for failure to comply.
[Ord. No. 4-05 § 3-4.4 [b]]
As used in this section:
IMMEDIATE
Shall mean that the pet solid waste is removed at once, without delay.
OWNER/KEEPER
Shall mean any person who shall possess, maintain, house or harbor any pet or otherwise have custody of any pet, whether or not the owner of such pet.
PERSON
Shall mean any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.
PET
Shall mean a domesticated animal (other than a disability assistance animal) kept for amusement or companionship.
PET SOLID WASTE
Shall mean waste matter expelled from the bowels of the pet; excrement.
PROPER DISPOSAL
Shall mean placement in a designated waste receptacle, or other suitable container, and discarded in a refuse container which is regularly emptied by the municipality or some other refuse collector, or disposal into a system designed to convey domestic sewage for proper treatment and disposal.
[Ord. No. 4-05 § 3-4.4 [c]]
All pet owners and keepers are required to immediately and properly dispose of their pet's solid waste deposited on any property, public or private, not owned or possessed by that person.
[Ord. No. 4-05 § 3-4.4[d]]
Any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability assistance animal shall be exempt from the provisions of this section while such animal is being used for that purpose.
[Ord. No. 4-05 § II]
The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Borough Code Enforcement Office.
[Ord. No. 4-05 § III]
Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this section shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $100 for each violation or 30 days community service or both.