As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the
meaning indicated:
For the purpose of this Article, "animal" shall mean dog
or cat.
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State
of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this Article.
Any member of the domestic feline species; male, female or
altered.
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months, or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
Any room or group of rooms, cage, or exhibition pen, not
part of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
The agency or department of the City of South Amboy or any
designated representative thereof charged with administering the issuance
and/or revocation of permits and licenses under the provisions of
this Article.
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified
by a licensed veterinarian.
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, includes every
person having a right of property (or custody) in such cat and every
person who has such cat in his or her keeping, or who harbors or maintains
a cat or knowingly permits a 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.
A.
Requirement. No person shall own, keep or harbor any cat of the age
of seven months or over within the city without registering and obtaining
a license therefor, to be issued by the licensing authority upon application
by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee.
B.
Application. The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color
and marking of the cat for which license and registration are sought
and whether it is of a long- or short-haired variety. The application
shall also state the name, street and post office address of the owner
and of the person who will keep or harbor such cat. It shall also
list any bodily marking applied to the cat for identification purposes.
The information on the application and the registration number issued
for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the
Clerk. Registration numbers shall be issued in the order of application.
All such applications shall be made prior to January 1 in each year.
C.
Procedure; registration tag.
(1)
Any person who owns, keeps or harbors a cat of the age of seven months
or over shall, within 10 days after he obtains possession of such
cat and annually thereafter in the month of December, apply for and
procure from the Licensing Authority a license and official registration
tag for each such cat so owned, kept or harbored. The registration
shall recite such marks or coloring of the cat as may identify it.
(2)
In the event the cat has no such bodily attributes as to permit identification,
the cat will be listed by such name as it may be called by its owner
or other person keeping the cat.
(3)
The official registration tag with license number, or a registration
sleeve for each cat owned, kept or harbored, shall be placed upon
the cat's collar, or other device, with the license number securely
fastened.
E.
Removal or attachment of registration tag. No person, except an official
in the performance of his duties, shall remove a registration tag
from the collar of any cat, if the cat is wearing a collar, without
the consent of the owner, nor shall any person attach a registration
tag to a cat for which it was not issued.
A.
Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall own, keep,
harbor or maintain any cat of the age of seven months or over within
the City of South Amboy, unless such cat is vaccinated and licensed.
The provisions of this section do not apply to cats held in a cattery,
or those held by a state or federal licensed research facility, or
a veterinary establishment where cats are received or kept for diagnostic,
medical, surgical or other treatments, or licensed animal shelters,
pounds, kennels or pet shops.
B.
Vaccination. All 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, except as provided for in Subsection D.
C.
Vaccination certificate. A certificate of vaccination shall be issued
to the owner of each animal vaccinated on a form recommended by the
state.
D.
Exemptions. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements of such
vaccination for a specified period of time by the local Board of Health,
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.
E.
Rabies control. Any cat which has bitten or abraded the skin of a
human being shall be forthwith quarantined into the care of the Health
Officer for observation and examination. Before such cat is released
from quarantine, the Health Officer shall certify that, to the best
of his knowledge, such cat is free of rabies; provided, however, if
any cat has received antirabies treatment under the direction of the
Health Officer of the City of South Amboy or a licensed veterinarian
within one year prior to the time that it has bitten or abraded the
skin of a human being, such cat may, in the discretion of the Health
Officer, be quarantined into the care of its owner for a period of
not less than 10 days from the day of the bite or abrasion; provided
further that this section shall not be construed as preventing the
animal control authority, where necessary, from quarantining the animals
referred to herein so long as prior to such animal's release an examination
shall be made by a licensed veterinarian and a written report thereof
be transmitted to the Health Officer.
The animal control authority shall take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, and thereafter destroyed or disposed of as provided in Sections 58-15 and 58-16, any cat off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring the cat on complaint of the police or of the resident of the premises to which the cat has strayed, as well as any cat which the animal control authority has substantial reason to believe is abandoned, diseased or injured.
If any cat so seized wears a collar having inscribed thereon
or attached thereto the name and address of any person or a registration
tag, or if the cat has identification as herein provided, or if the
owner or other person keeping or harboring the cat is otherwise known,
the animal control authority or any person authorized in that behalf
may return the cat to the owner, and if not, he shall immediately
notify by telephone or mail the person whose address is given on the
collar or the person whose name is registered as the owner. The notice
shall state that the cat 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 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 by mailing
the same to the address given on the collar or registration.
A.
For every cat impounded, there shall be charged a detention expense
of one dollar per day or part thereof to cover costs of maintenance.
B.
Before the animal control authority shall release said cat from detention
and if the cat so seized shall have been licensed and registered,
the owner or other person shall produce proof of such licensing and
registration; or if the cat shall not have been licensed and registered,
the said owner or other person shall otherwise produce such evidence
of ownership or custody as may be deemed sufficient by the animal
control authority.
C.
Additionally, the animal control authority shall not release said
cat to such owner or other person unless and until such owner or other
person shall have paid all the fees required to be paid hereunder
and, if the cat be unlicensed and not registered, an additional charge
of $2 payable to the City of South Amboy for the issuance of a license.
D.
The animal control authority shall be required to detain every identifiable licensed cat for a period of seven days after its seizure and after notice has been given pursuant to Section 58-15 hereof, and shall detain every unlicensed cat or every other cat so seized where it cannot be identified or notice cannot be given as set forth in said Section 58-15 for a period of five days after its seizure. If after such respective periods of detention, no person has claimed the cat or will pay the charges required hereunder, the animal control authority may cause the cat to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible or to be placed with some responsible person desiring the cat as a household pet. But the animal control authority may sooner dispose of any cat, whether or not the owner is known or whether it be licensed, if said cat be so ill or injured as to justify such disposal.
No person shall abandon any cat, no matter what its age may
be, within the City of South Amboy. No person shall hinder, molest
or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty
under this Article.
It shall be the duty of each member of the Police Department
and the Health Officer to assist and cooperate in carrying out the
provisions of this Article.
Except as otherwise provided in this Article, any person who
violates, or who fails, or refuses to comply with this Article shall
be liable to a penalty of not less than $25 nor more than $100 for
each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the local Board
of Health, or by and in the name of the municipality.
All other ordinances of the City of south Amboy which are in
conflict with this Article are hereby repealed to the extent of such
conflict.
If any part of this Article shall be invalid, such parts shall
be deemed severable and the invalidity thereof shall not affect the
remaining part of this Article.
This Article shall take effect immediately upon passage and
publication as provided by law.
[Ord. No. 16-2007]
No person shall harbor and/or feed any feral cat, that is, a cat which is not domesticated and licensed and kept or harbored by its owner, as defined in Section 58-11.
[Ord. No. 16-2007]
No person shall own, keep or harbor more than four cats, except
during such time as an owner's cat has kittens and then, only for
a reasonable time thereafter, but no more than 12 weeks.
