[Added 4-9-1991 by Ord. No. 2299]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any person or agency designated by the Village Manager or
authorized by law to enforce the provisions of this article.
Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female or
neutered.
Any cat which has attained the age of four months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
The Department of Health of the Village of Ridgewood or any
persons designated by the Village Manager charged with administering
the issuance and 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/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.
Inoculation against rabies performed by a licensed veterinarian
or such other person permitted by law to do the same under the supervision
of a 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.
Any person licensed to practice veterinary medicine by any
state of the United States.
A.
Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall
be the owner of a cat of licensing age within the Village of Ridgewood
unless such cat is licensed and has a vaccination which was administered
within the last 365 days or for which a valid vaccination certificate
indicates an expiration date occurring in the future. The provisions
of this section do not apply to cats held in a veterinary establishment
where cats are received or kept for diagnostic medical, surgical or
other treatments.
B.
Vaccination certificate. A certificate of vaccination
shall be issued to the owner of each cat which has been administered
a vaccination in a form recommended by the state.
C.
Exemptions. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements
of such vaccination for a specified period of time by the Village
of Ridgewood Department of Health, upon presentation of a veterinarian's
certificate stating that because of an infirmity or other physical
condition or regimen of therapy, the vaccination of such cat shall
be deemed inadvisable.
[Added 10-13-1992 by Ord. No. 2381]
A.
Cats owned by residents are required to be placed
under strict quarantine for a period of six months in instances where
the cat has been attacked by an animal of unknown origin and the cat
did not have a current rabies vaccination. The cat must be segregated
from other animals in the household, as well as humans residing therein.
The Village has authorized the construction of a cage to be utilized
as a temporary holding place for the cat in the owner's home until
the owner has constructed a cage for that purpose.
B.
There is hereby authorized a rental charge as set forth in Chapter 145, Fees, to be paid in advance by the resident to the Village of Ridgewood for the utilization of the isolation cage. The isolation cage shall be rented to a resident for a period not to exceed 14 days. During the fourteen-day period, the resident shall cause to be constructed such isolation cage or area as is necessary to quarantine the cat for the period required by the Department of Health.
A.
Cats must have a license number displayed. Any owner
of a cat of licensing age shall apply for and procure from the Village
Department of Health or other official designated by the Village Manager
a license for each cat owned, except as provided below. The license
number shall be displayed on any licensed cat. Acceptable methods
of displaying the license number shall include, but are not limited
to, an official license tag or sleeve securely affixed to a breakaway
or elastic collar. License tags or sleeves are not transferable. If
a cat is tattooed with the owner's social security number plus a letter
uniquely identifying such cat and such identifying tattoo is listed
on the license application and vaccine certificate, then no license
number need be displayed.
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 for
such cat within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment.
For a one-year cat license to be issued, the cat owner must show to
their municipal licensing authority proof that a licensed veterinarian
administered a rabies vaccine to the cat by providing a rabies vaccination
certificate. The duration of immunity from the most recent vaccination
must extend through at least the first 10 months of the twelve-month
licensing period. Animals that have a duration of immunity which expires
prior to the ten-month cutoff must receive a rabies booster vaccination
prior to licensure. This requirement will not apply to a nonresident
keeping a cat within the Village of Ridgewood for no longer than 30
days.
[Amended 1-11-1994 by Ord. No. 2439; 1-8-2020 by Ord. No. 3759]
C.
Cats brought into jurisdiction. Any person who shall
bring or cause to be brought into the Village of Ridgewood any cat
and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Village
of Ridgewood for a period of more than 30 days shall immediately apply
for a license for such cat, unless otherwise exempted under this article.
D.
Application contents; preservation of information.
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings
of the cat for which a license is sought, and whether it is of a long-
or short-haired variety; the date on which such cat was last vaccinated
against rabies and the expiration date of such vaccination if it is
greater than one year from the vaccination date; the name, street,
post office address and telephone number of the owner or the person
who shall keep or harbor such cat; and any tattoo which shall be used
to uniquely identify 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 Village Department of Health or
other official designated to license cats.
E.
License forms and official tags or sleeves shall be
furnished by the Village and shall be numbered serially and shall
bear the year of issuance and the name of the Village.
F.
Evidence of rabies vaccination or certification of exemption; requirement for license. The Village Department of Health or other official designated by the Village Manager to license cats shall not grant any such license for any cat unless the owner thereof provides evidence that the cat to be licensed has been vaccinated or has been certified exempt as provided by § 105-45 of this article.
H.
Cat licenses shall expire January 30 of the licensing year. Licenses not applied for before February 1 will be subject to a late charge as set forth in Chapter 145, Fees, and subject to penalty provisions of the Ridgewood Village Code.[2]
[Amended 1-11-1994 by Ord. No. 2439; 1-8-2020 by Ord. No. 3759]
I.
Loss of license. If a license tag or sleeve has been
misplaced or lost, the Village Department of Health may issue a duplicate
license or registration sleeve for that particular cat at a fee as
provided in the Village's general fee ordinance.[3]
[Amended 10-13-1992 by Ord. No. 2375]
J.
Proof of licensing. Proof of licensing shall be produced
by any owner of a cat upon the request of any health official, police
officer, or animal control officer.
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.
L.
Disposition of fees collected. License fees and other
moneys 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 of the other accounts
of the municipality and shall be used for the following purposes only:
collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable to seizure; local
prevention and control of rabies; providing antirabies treatment under
the direction of the local Department of Health for any person known
or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; and administrating the
provisions of this article. Any unexpended balance remaining in such
special account shall be retained 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 said 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 municipality
any amount then in such account which is in excess of the total amount
paid into the special account during the last two fiscal years next
preceding.
M.
Sick or diseased cats. Management of domestic animals
known or suspected to have been bitten by a known or suspected rabid
animal of unknown origin shall be quarantined in accordance with Title
26 of the New Jersey Statutes Annotated. The owner of a cat evidencing
a change in disposition or illness suggesting it may be rabid may
be required to have such cat examined by an approved veterinarian.
Any cost incurred in quarantining such cat or veterinary service examination
shall be paid for by the owner or harborer of such cat or cats.
N.
A person may apply for a three-year license and registration tag covering a three-year period for a spayed/neutered cat or unspayed/unneutered cat, with proof of rabies vaccination good for 36 months of the three-year licensing period. The fees for the three-year license are set forth in Chapter 145, Fees, as a license fee and registration tag. Each three-year license shall expire during the month that the cat rabies booster shot expires, which is stated in the license that was issued.
[Added 12-9-2015 by Ord.
No. 3510]
The Chief of Police of the Village shall annually
cause a canvass of all cats owned, kept or harbored within the limits
of the Village and shall report on or before May of each year to the
Village Clerk, Village Department of Health and, if required by law,
to the State Department of Health the result thereof, setting forth
the names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring such
cats; the number of licensed cats owned, kept or harbored by each
of said persons, together with the license numbers of each of said
cats; and also setting forth the names and addresses of persons owning,
keeping or harboring unlicensed cats, the number of unlicensed cats
owned, kept or harbored by each said person, together with a complete
description of each unlicensed cat.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 105-48,
Reminder to be published and notices sent, was repealed 1-11-1994
by Ord. No. 2439.
