[Adopted 12-28-2004 by Ord. No. 2863 (Ch. 71, Art. II, of the 1978 Code)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY
Any person or agency designated or certified by the Township of Nutley to enforce the provisions of this article.
CAT
Any member of the 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 the Township of Nutley 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.
No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within the Township of Nutley 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 federally 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.
A. 
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a cat of licensing age shall, in the month of April of each year, apply for and procure from the Township Clerk of the Township of Nutley, 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 or displayed thereto. 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.
[Amended 12-20-2011 by Ord. No. 3187]
B. 
Application contents; preservation of information. The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the cat for which license and registration are sought and whether it is of a long- or short-haired 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 Municipal Clerk or other local official designated to license cats in the municipality.
C. 
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.
D. 
Time for applying for license. The owner of any newly acquired cat of licensing age, or any cat which attains licensing age, shall make application for 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 of Nutley for not longer than 90 days.
A. 
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 Health and Human Services or has been certified exempt as provided by Subsection C of this section. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do the same.
B. 
Vaccination certificate. A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of each animal vaccinated on a form recommended by the state.
C. 
Exceptions. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements of such vaccination for a specific 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.
[Amended 12-20-2011 by Ord. No. 3187]
A. 
The fee for a license issued in a calendar year shall be $15 for each neutered cat and $18 for each unneutered cat. Persons who fail to obtain a license as required within the time period specified in this article will be subject to a delinquent fee of $10.
B. 
Fees for senior citizens age 65 and over shall be $12 for each neutered cat and $15 for each unneutered cat. Persons who fail to obtain a license as required within the time period specified in this article will be subject to a delinquent fee of $10.
A. 
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 April 30 in the years following its issuance.
[Amended 5-3-2005 by Ord. No. 2879]
B. 
Only one license and registration tag or sleeve shall be required in the licensing year for any cat in the Township of Nutley. Any valid New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a New Jersey municipality shall be accepted by this municipality as evidence of compliance for the duration of its original term.
C. 
Loss of license. If a license or sleeve has been misplaced or lost, the Municipal Clerk may issue a duplicate license and/or registration sleeve for that particular cat at a fee of $5.
[Amended 12-20-2011 by Ord. No. 3187]
A. 
Proof of licensing shall be produced by any person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a cat upon request of any health official, police officer, animal control officer or other authorized person.
B. 
Interfering with person performing duties under this article. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article.
[Added 5-4-2021 by Ord. No. 3471]
A. 
The Chief of Police or his designee of the Township of Nutley, in the absence of any person hired by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Nutley for the purpose, and if and when such person is hired by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Nutley, then the person so hired for the purpose, or if the position of Animal Control Officer is created, then the person appointed to that position, shall take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impound and thereafter destroyed or disposed of as provided in this section:
(1) 
Any cat in excess of that allowed to be harbored or owned under § 217-34.1.
(2) 
Any cat off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said cat, which said official or his agent or agents have reason to believe is a stray cat.
(3) 
Any cat off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said cat without a current registration tag on his collar or harness.
B. 
If any cat so seized wears a collar or harness having inscribed thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person or a registration tag, or the owner or the person keeping or harboring said cat is known, the Chief of Police, or his designee of the Township of Nutley or such person hired by the Board of Commissioners for the purpose, or Animal Control Officer if appointed, shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or the person keeping or harboring said cat, if known, a notice in writing stating 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.
C. 
A notice under this section 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 post in a prepaid 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 cat so seized has been detained for seven days after notice, when notice can be given as above set forth, or has been detained for seven days after seizure, when no notice has been given as above set forth, and the owner or person keeping or harboring said cat has not claimed said cat and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including maintenance not exceeding $50 per day, and if the cat be unlicensed at the time of the seizure and the owner or person keeping or harboring said cat has not produced a license and registration tag for said cat, the aforesaid Chief of Police of the Township of Nutley, or such person hired by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Nutley, or Animal Control Officer if appointed, may cause the cat to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible.
[Added 5-4-2021 by Ord. No. 3471]
Any officer, member of the Public Affairs department or agent authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article is hereby authorized to go upon any premises to seize for impounding any cat or cats which he may lawfully seized and impounded.
[Added 5-4-2021 by Ord. No. 3471]
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article, including but not limited to the police department, the employees of the Public Affairs department or the Township Zoning department.
[Amended 5-4-2021 by Ord. No. 3471]
Any person who violates or who fails or refuses to comply with any provisions of this article or the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $500 per day for each dog or cat over the limit, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both.
[Added 5-4-2021 by Ord. No. 3471]
The provisions of this article shall be enforced by the local Police Department and the Department of Health.
License fees and other money collected or received under the provisions of this article shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the municipality and shall be placed in a special account separate from any other accounts of the municipality and shall be used to administer the provisions of this article.