[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Elsinboro as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-24-1972 by Ord. No. 72-1]
A. 
The words hereinafter defined shall have the meaning herein indicated for the purposes of this article as follows:
DOG OF LICENSING AGE
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
KENNEL
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on except a pet shop.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, shall mean and include every person having a right of property in such dog and every person who has such dog in his keeping.
PERSON
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation or association of persons.
PET SHOP
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either under the provisions of this article or otherwise.
SHELTER
Any establishment where dogs are received, housed and distributed.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
The words "and" and "or" may be used interchangeably and either of the two may be applicable, whichever is more conducive toward the effectuating of this article.
C. 
Personal pronouns shall mean either the singular or the plural, whichever is applicable and conducive towards the effectuating of this article.
No persons shall keep or harbor any dog within the Township of Elsinboro in the County of Salem without must obtaining a license therefor, to be issued by the Clerk of the Township of Elsinboro upon application by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee, and no person shall keep or harbor any dog in said Township except in compliance with the provisions of this article.
Any person 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 Clerk of the Township a license and official metal registration tag for each such dog so owned, kept or harbored, and shall place upon each such dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereto.
[Amended 3-1-1982 by Ord. No. 82-2; 6-3-1991 by Ord. No. 91-3; 2-7-2000 by Ord. No. 00-1; 12-5-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-07]
A. 
The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay the following fees on or before the last day of January each year:
Spayed/Neutered
Non-spayed/Non-Neutered
License fee
$8.80
$9.80
NJ registration fee
$1
$1
NJ Pilot Clinic Fund
$0.20
$0.20
NJ pet population control
—
$3
Total
$10
$14
B. 
In the event the above fees are not fully paid on or before March 31 of each year, a late fee of $10 shall be payable to the Township of Elsinboro.
C. 
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs shall be licensed and registered as other dogs hereinabove provided for, except that the owner of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age or of any dog which attains licensing age shall make application for license and registration tag for such dog within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment.
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and marking of the dog 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 dog. The information on said application and the registration number issued for the dog shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Clerk of the Township. In addition, he shall forward similar information to the State Department of Health each month on forms furnished by said Department. Registration numbers shall be issued in the order of the application.
A. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Township of Elsinboro in the County of Salem any dog licensed in another state for the current year, and bearing a registration tag, 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 for each such dog, unless such dog is licensed under § 15-9 of this article.
B. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Township any unlicensed dog 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 for each such dog, unless such dog is licensed under § 15-9 of this article.
No person, except an officer in the performance of his duties, shall remove a registration tag from the collar of any dog without the consent of the owner, nor shall any person attach a registration tag to a dog for which it was not issued.
A. 
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel, a pet shop, a shelter or a pound shall apply to the Clerk of the Township for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment.
B. 
The application shall describe the premises where the establishment is located or is proposed to be located, the purpose or purposes for which it is to be maintained, and shall be accompanied by the written approval of the Health Officer of the Board of Health of the Township, showing compliance with the local and state rules and regulations governing location of and sanitation at such establishments.
C. 
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained, and all such licenses shall expire on the last day of January of each year and be subject to revocation by the Township Committee on recommendation of the State Department of Health or the Board of Health of the Township for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health or Board of Health of the Township governing the same after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department of Health or the Board of Health of the Township.
D. 
Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and kept at such establishments; such licenses shall not be transferable to another owner or different premises.
The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations for 10 or fewer dogs shall be $10 and for more than 10 dogs $25. The annual license fee for a pet shop shall be $10. No fee shall be charged for a shelter or pound.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
A. 
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this article, except registration tag fees, shall be forwarded to the Chief Financial Officer of the Township within 30 days after collection or receipt and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the Township and which shall be used for the following purposes only: for collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs liable to seizure under this article; for local prevention and control of rabies; for providing anti-rabic treatment under the direction of the local Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; for all other purposes prescribed by the statutes of New Jersey governing the subject; and for administering the provisions of this article. Any unexpended balance remaining in such special account shall be retained therein until the end of the third fiscal year following and may be used for any of the purposes set forth in this section. At 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 Township any amount then in such account which is in excess of the total amount paid into said special account during the last two fiscal years next preceding.
B. 
The registration tag fee for each dog shall be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the Clerk to the State Department of Health.
The Clerk of the Township shall forward to the State Department of Health a list of all kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds licensed within 30 days after the licenses therefor are issued, which list shall include the name and address of the licensee and the kind of license issued.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
The Animal Control Officer of the Township shall promptly after February 1 of each year cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the Township and shall report to the Clerk of the Township, the Board of Health of the Township and to the State Department of Health the results thereof, setting forth in separate columns the names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring such dogs, the number of licensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each of said persons, and the number of the unlicensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each of said persons, together with a complete description of each of said unlicensed dogs.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
The Township Committee shall have the power to appoint an Animal Control Officer, whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions of this article and to impound unlicensed dogs running at large in violation of the provisions of this article.
A. 
The Animal Control Officer of the Township shall take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, and thereafter destroyed or disposed of as provided in this section:
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
(1) 
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog which said official or his agent or agents have reason to believe is a stray dog.
(2) 
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog without a current registration tag on his collar.
(3) 
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog.
B. 
If a dog 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 dog is known, the Animal Control Officer shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or the person keeping or harboring said dog, if known, a notice in writing stating that the dog 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.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
C. 
A notice under this section may be served either by delivering it to the person upon whom it is to be served or by leaving if 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 dog 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 notice has not been and cannot be given as above set forth, and if the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog has not claimed said dog and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including maintenance not exceeding $4 per day, and if the dog is unlicensed at the time of the seizure and the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog has not produced a license and registration tag for said dog, the Animal Control Officer may cause the dog to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any officer 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 dog or dogs which he may lawfully seize and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog or dogs, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog if said owner is present and forbids the same.
No person who owns, keeps, harbors or possesses any dog or dogs shall suffer or permit such dog or dogs to annoy neighbors and other persons living within his immediate vicinity by continued barking and howling and whenever complaint shall be made in writing, under oath, by two or more persons living within hearing distance of such dog, setting forth that such barking or howling is continued for unreasonable periods of three or more consecutive days or nights, to the annoyance and discomfort of the complainants and their neighbors and families, so that it can be established that such barking and howling is a nuisance to the immediate neighborhood, then and in such case, said owner shall cause said barking and howling to cease and terminate immediately and if such barking and howling shall again occur regardless of its duration, the provisions of this article shall be deemed to have been violated and the owner shall pay such penalty as may be imposed therefor.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit if to run at large upon the public streets or in any public place or public building within the Township of Elsinboro, County of Salem.
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit or suffer it to do any injury or to do any damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any dog which has attacked or bitten any human being, or which habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals, is hereby defined to be a vicious dog for the purposes of this section. It shall be the duty of the Police Department to receive and investigate complaints against dogs, and when any dog complained against shall be deemed by such police officer to be a vicious dog, as herein defined, said officer shall report the facts to the Municipal Judge of Elsinboro Township, who shall thereupon cause the owner or person harboring such dog to be notified, in writing, of the complaint against such dog and to appear before the Municipal Judge at a stated time and place. The Municipal Judge, at the time set for such hearing, shall inquire into the facts and give all interested persons an opportunity to be heard under oath and to be represented by counsel, and the Municipal Judge shall decide in accordance with the evidence before him, and if the Municipal Judge shall decide that such dog complained of is a vicious dog, as defined by this section, notice of such decision shall be given to the owner or person harboring such dog. No dog which has been so determined to be a vicious dog shall be permitted to run at large or be upon any street or public place in the Township of Elsinboro, except while securely muzzled and under leash, and the owner or person harboring any such vicious dog who shall suffer or permit such dog to run at large or be upon any street or public place in the Township while not securely muzzled and under leash shall be guilty of a violation of this article.
Every section of this article or subdivision or separate part thereof shall be considered a separate provision to the intent that if any portion shall be declared ineffectual, it shall not affect the remaining parts of this article.
A. 
Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any part of any of the following sections, namely, § 15-2, 15-3, 15-5, 15-7, 15-8, 15-9, 15-11 or 15-18 of this article, or with the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health governing the sanitary conduct and operation of kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds, to preserve sanitation therein and prevent the spread of rabies and other diseases of dogs within and from such establishments, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $5 nor more than $50 for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the Township. A person who refuses or neglects to pay forthwith the amount of a judgment rendered against him and the costs and charges incident thereto shall be committed by the court in the county jail for a period not exceeding 10 days in the case of a first conviction and, in the case of a conviction for a second, subsequent or continuing violation, for a period not exceeding 30 days.
B. 
Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any part of the remaining sections of this article shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $100 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 30 days, or to both, in the discretion of the court.
All ordinances and parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed, and this article shall take effect after publication in the manner provided by law.
[Adopted 5-6-1985 by Ord. No. 85-3]
No person, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and dawn, shall throw or cast the rays of any illuminating device on any field, woods or marsh in Elsinboro Township where deer or other animals may reasonably be expected to be found, with the following exceptions:
A. 
A light may be used at any time by a person legally hunting with a dog for raccoons or opossums.
B. 
Lights may be used at any time by the owner or tenant of land, or those having the consent of the owner or tenant on such land, for purposes other than "spotlighting" or illuminating deer or other undomesticated animals.
C. 
Lights may be used at any time by public officials and other authorized persons for law enforcement disaster control, rescue work, firefighting, recovery of disabled vehicles or protection of property.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment of not more than 90 days, or both.