[Adopted 11-27-1967 by Ord. No. 1967:179 as Arts. I and
II ofCh. 7 of the 1967 Code]
[Amended 1-3-1994 by Ord. NO. 1993:663]
A. The Animal Control Officer or any person or organization
designated or appointed for the purpose by the Mayor and Council of
the Borough of Closter shall take into custody and impound or cause
to be taken into custody and impounded and thereafter destroyed or
offered for adoption, as provided in this Article, any cat off the
premises of the owner, person or organization keeping or harboring
said cat which said Animal Control Officer, person or organization
designated or appointed for the purpose or any agents thereof have
reason to believe is a stray cat.
B. Any cat so taken into custody shall be impounded,
destroyed or offered for adoption in the same manner as provided for
impounding, destroying or offering for adoption dogs in the N.J.S.A.
4:19-15.16 and the amendments thereto and supplements thereof.
Any officer or agent authorized to perform any
duty under this Article is hereby authorized to go upon any property
to seize for impounding any cat or cats which he or she may lawfully
seize and impound, when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such
cat or cats, except upon the premises of the owner of the cat or cats
if said owner is present and forbids the same.
No person shall harm, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under §§
71-1 through
71-3 herein.
[Amended 1-3-1994 by Ord. No. 1993:663]
The compensation to be paid for the performance of any duties under §§
71-1 through
71-3 herein or for the services of the Animal Control Officer or any person or organization designated or appointed for the purpose by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Closter may be fixed on a salary or fee basis as determined by the Mayor and Council, and the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Closter may enter into contract for such services.
[Amended 11-24-1980 by Ord. No. 1980:398]
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog
within the Borough of Closter on and after January 1, 1942, shall
apply for and procure for said dog a license and official metal registration
tag, which license shall be obtained from the Board of Health of the
Borough of Closter.
[Amended 11-24-1980 by Ord. No. 1980:398]
Any person who shall keep or operate or propose
to establish a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall secure a license
entitling him or her to keep or operate such establishment, which
license shall be obtained from the Board of Health of the Borough
of Closter.
The regulations for the owning, keeping or harboring of dogs and securing licenses for dogs and kennels, pet shops, shelters or pounds in the Borough of Closter shall be as set forth in Chapter
151 of the Laws of 1941, insofar as said law shall relate to the Borough of Closter.
[Amended 10-13-1971 by Ord. No. 1971:226; 1-3-1994 by Ord. No. 1993:663]
The annual fees to be paid by the owners of dogs or kennels, pet shops, shelters or pounds shall be as set forth in Chapter
A301, Fees and Deposits.
A. In addition to the license fee, there shall be charged
a registration fee as required by the State of New Jersey to cover
the cost of rabies control.
[Amended 1-26-1977 by Ord. No. 1977:296; 10-24-1979 by Ord. No. 1979:366; 11-24-1980 by Ord. No. 1980:398]
B. All licenses and license fees required by this Article
shall be payable on January 1 of each year, and the licenses issued
pursuant to the Code of the Borough of Closter as further provided
for in this Article shall be valid from January 1 of each year until
December 31 of the same year, at which time they shall expire and
be renewable. All fees for said licenses shall be paid on or before
January 1 for the following year.
[Added 5-24-1972 by Ord. No. 1972:235]
[Amended 12-10-1986 by Ord. No. 1986:537; 9-10-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:903]
A. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog or
cat shall suffer or permit it to run at large upon the public streets
or in any public park or in any public building or in any other public
place within the borough unaccompanied by its owner or its owner's
representative.
B. All dogs shall be leashed, except when on the owner's
property. Any dog or cat found running at large shall be deemed to
be doing so with the permission of the owner, keeper or harborer,
and such person shall be deemed guilty of a violation of this section.
[Added 6-9-1976 by Ord. No. 1976:281; amended 12-10-1986 by Ord. No.
1986:537; 9-10-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:903]
A. No person owning, keeping or harboring or in charge
of any dog or cat shall cause, suffer or allow such dog or cat to
soil, defile, defecate on or commit any nuisance on any sidewalk,
passageway, bypass, play area, park or any place where people congregate
or walk or upon any public property without the permission of the
owner of said property.
B. The restrictions herein shall not apply to that portion
of the street lying between the curblines, which shall be used to
curb such dog or cat under the following conditions:
(1) The person in charge of said dog or cat shall have
in his or her possession and visibly carry appropriate sanitary means
to remove feces so deposited, including but not limited to implements
such as a shovel, scoop, container, plastic bag or any other sanitary
means of removing all feces or droppings deposited by such dog.
(2) The person who is in charge of said dog or cat shall immediately remove all feces deposited by such dog or cat. Disposal of pet waste is also regulated by state law. See Chapter
170, Article
I, Pet Waste.
[Amended 8-24-2005 by Ord. No. 2005:950]
(3) The feces removed from the aforementioned designated
areas shall be disposed of by the person owning, harboring, keeping
or in charge of any dog or cat curbed in accordance with the provisions
of this article in a sanitary manner.
(4) No blind person in charge of a guide dog shall be
subject to the provisions of this section.
[Added 12-10-1986 by Ord. No. 1986:537; amended 9-10-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:903]
The provisions of this article shall be enforced
by the local Police Department , the Municipal Health Officer and
the Animal Control Officer.
[Added 12-10-1986 by Ord. No. 1986:537; amended 9-10-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:903; 8-24-2005 by Ord. No.
2005:950]
Any person found guilty of violating or refusing to comply with any of the provisions of §§
71-8 through
71-10 shall be subject to a fine of not more than $200 for each offense according to the discretion of the Municipal Judge.
The operation of a dog kennel, pet shop, pound
or shelter, as defined by state law, shall be construed as the operation
of a business and shall be governed by the Zoning Ordinance of the
Borough of Closter.
[Amended 1-3-1994 by Ord. No. 1993:633]
A. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of
this article and the state law controlling dogs, the Mayor shall annually
appoint an Animal Control Officer, subject to the approval of the
Borough Council. In lieu of an appointment of an Animal Control Officer,
the Mayor may, subject to approval of the Council, appoint an organization
or society to perform the duties of an Animal Control Officer.
B. The Animal Control Officer or other official or agent
shall make monthly and annual reports to the Borough Council as to
all matters concerning this Article and the control of dogs in the
borough. He or she shall include in such report particular mention
of any dog picked up by such Animal Control Officer or other official
on more than two occasions within any quarter-annual or three-month
period.
[Amended 1-3-1994 by Ord. No. 1993:633]
The Chief of Police, Animal Control Officer
or other official designated may, in his or her discretion, place
an unclaimed dog in a legitimate home after seven days, as provided
by statute, but no dog shall be sold or given away for experimental
purposes.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to allow a dog to enter any food establishment, including
any place used in the production, preparation, manufacture, packing,
storage, transportation or handling of food or foodstuffs intended
for sale or distribution.
The Mayor and Borough Council or the Board of
Health may by proclamation require all dogs to be quarantined during
such period or periods in each year as to them may seem advisable.
[Amended 1-3-1994 by Ord. No. 1993:633]
Except as set forth otherwise in §
71-12, any person violating any of the provisions of this Article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a penalty as set forth in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
II, Violations and Penalties, of this Code. If the provisions of this penalty clause shall be in any way inconsistent with the laws of the State of New Jersey regulating dogs, the penalty shall be as construed by the laws of the State of New Jersey.