[1]
Editor's Note: For similar provisions, see Ch. 208, Animals, Art. II, Cat Licensing and Regulations.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL
Dog, cat, domestic, stray, or feral.
ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
CAT
Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female or altered.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
CATTERY
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
LICENSING AUTHORITY
The agency or department of this Township or any designated representative thereof charged with administering the issuance and/or revocation of permits and licenses under the provisions of this article.
NEUTERED
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction, as certified by a licensed veterinarian.
OWNER
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/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.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Union in the County of Union.
A. 
Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within the Township, 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.
A. 
Display of license number. Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a cat of licensing age shall annually apply for and procure from the Clerk of the municipality, or other official designated by the governing body thereof to license cats in the municipality in which he/she resides, a license and official registration tag with license number or a registration sleeve for each cat so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon such cat a collar or other device with the license number securely fastened thereto or displayed thereon. Acceptable methods of displaying the license number shall include but are not limited to breakaway or elastic collars. License tags or sleeves are not transferable.
B. 
Time for applying for license. The owner of any newly acquired cat of licensing age or of any cat which attains licensing age shall make application for a license tag or sleeve for such cat within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. This requirement will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat within the Township for no longer than 90 days.
C. 
Cats brought into Township.
(1) 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Township any cat licensed in another state for the current year and bearing a registration tag or sleeve 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 or sleeve for each such cat.
(2) 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into this Township any unlicensed cat 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 or sleeve for each such cat.
D. 
Application, contents and preservation of information. The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the cat for which the license and registration is sought and whether it is of a longhaired or shorthaired variety; also the name, street and post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such cat. The information on said application and the registration number issued for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Clerk or other local official designated to license cats in the municipality.
E. 
License forms and tags. License forms and official tags or sleeves shall be furnished by the municipality and shall be numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the municipality.
F. 
Evidence of inoculation with rabies vaccine or certification of exemption requirement for license. No Municipal Clerk or other official designated by the governing body of any municipality to license cats therein shall grant any such license and official registration tag or sleeve for any cat, unless the owner thereof provides evidence that the cat 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 States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Human Services or has been certified exempt as provided by § 660-6D of this article. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do the same.
G. 
License fee schedule.[1]
(1) 
A license shall be issued after payment of a fee of $18 for each unneutered cat and $13 for each neutered cat.
(2) 
In addition to the fees charged herein for licensing, there shall be an additional charge of $2 per month for each month that the owner of the cat requiring a license fails to renew. The said monthly penalty for failure to renew shall commence each April 1 of the licensing period.
[1]
Editor's Note: For similar provisions, see § 208-26G.
H. 
Payment of fees; renewals; expiration date of license. A license from another municipality shall be accepted. The person applying for the license and registration tag and/or sleeve shall pay the fee fixed or authorized. The fee for the renewal of license and registration tag or sleeve shall be the same as for the original, and said license, registration tag or sleeve and renewal thereof shall expire on the last day of January in each year. Only one license and registration tag or sleeve shall be required in the licensing year for any cat in this Township. Any valid New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a New Jersey municipality shall be accepted by this municipality as evidence of compliance.
I. 
Loss of license. If a license tag or sleeve has been misplaced or lost, the Clerk or other official designated by the governing body may issue a duplicate license and/or registration sleeve for that particular cat at a fee of $0.25.
J. 
Proof of licensing. Proof of licensing shall be produced by any person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a cat, upon the request of any health official, police officer, animal control officer or other authorized person.
K. 
Interfering with persons performing duties under this article. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to leave or abandon a cat(s) or kitten(s) as feral to fend for themselves. Unwanted animals shall be brought to the Township of Union Animal Shelter during visitors' hours to surrender the animal or to call our ACO or Shelter Attendant to pick up the animal. It is unlawful to leave an animal or animals on the grounds of the shelter unattended as this will constitute an act of abandonment which violates the animal cruelty laws.