[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of Boonton 7-20-2015 by Ord. No. 12-2015.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 80, Animals, adopted 12-17-1990 as Ch. IX of the 1990 Code, as amended.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL
Any cat or dog.
CAT
Any male or female.
CATTLE
Cows, bulls, calves, mules, asses, sheep, goats, pigs, hogs, swine, horses and any other cattle.
CURBING A DOG
Walking a dog on a leash in the public right-of-way which shall include sidewalks, public streets and any unrestricted areas.
DOG
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
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 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 any animal shall include every person having a right of property (or custody) in such animal and every person who has such animal in his/her keeping, or who harbors or maintains an animal or knowingly permits an animal to remain on or about any premises occupied by that person.
PERSON
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation or association of persons.
PET SHOP
Any place of business which is not part of a kennel, wherein animals, including, but not limited to, dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles, rabbits, hamsters or gerbils are kept or displayed chiefly for the purpose of sale to individuals for personal appreciation and companionship rather than for business or research purposes.
POULTRY
Chickens, roosters, capons, hens, ducks, geese, pheasants, turkeys, pigeons, guinea fowl or all other fowl.
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
RUN AT LARGE
Includes the running or standing of any dog or cat on any street or other public place in the Town unattended and not under the immediate control of some responsible person able to control the dog or cat.
SHELTER
Any establishment where dogs and cats are received, housed, and distributed.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
SMALL ANIMALS
Rabbits, guinea pigs, reptiles and any other small animals. Dogs and cats shall not be held to be included within the meaning of the term "small animal."
[Amended 6-18-2018 by Ord. No. 12-2018]
A. 
Animal Control Officer. In accordance with N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16b, the governing body shall appoint a certified Animal Control Officer who shall enforce and abide by the provisions of Chapter 19 of Title 4 of the Revised Statutes, and any amendments thereof, and the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
Municipal Humane Law Enforcement Officer. In accordance with N.J.S.A. 4:22-14.2, the governing body, upon the recommendation of the chief law enforcement officer, shall appoint a Municipal Humane Law Enforcement Officer who shall be responsible for animal welfare within the jurisdiction of the municipalities, shall enforce and abide by the provisions of Chapter 22 of Title 4 of the Revised Statutes, and shall be authorized to investigate and sign complaints, arrest violators, and otherwise act as an officer for detection, apprehension, and arrest of offenders against the animal welfare and animal cruelty laws of the state and ordinances of the municipalities.
A. 
License required. No person shall keep or harbor any animal which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a permanent set of teeth within the Town without first obtaining a license therefor, to be issued by the Board of Health upon application by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee and no person shall keep or harbor any animal in said Town except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. No license shall be issued by the Board of Health for any animal unless the owner thereof shall, at the time of making application for said license, provide acceptable proof to the Board of Health that said animal has been properly vaccinated against rabies infection.
B. 
Registration tag required.
(1) 
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor an animal of licensing age shall, in the month of January for dogs and the month of June for cats and annually thereafter, apply for and produce from the Board of Health or other official designated by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen to license animals in the Town of Boonton, a license and official metal registration tag for each animal so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon each such animal a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereon.
(2) 
Any new residents with animals properly licensed in another municipality shall be charged pursuant to Chapter 130, Fees, Article III, Fee Schedule.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
C. 
Fees.
(1) 
The persons applying for the license and registration tag shall pay the annual fee for such license and a sum for the pilot clinic fee in the case of a dog or cat as provided in Chapter 130, Fees, Article III, Fee Schedule. There shall be an additional charge of $1 for the registration tag and/or duplicate tag for each animal. The renewal fee for each license and registration tag shall be the same as for the original license and registration tag, and said licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of January of each year in the case of dogs and the last day of June in each year in the case of cats. There shall be a penalty fee as provided in Chapter 130, Fees, Article III, Fee Schedule, in the event that the applicable license is obtained by the owner in the case of dogs on or after March 1 and in the case of cats on or after July 1.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
(a) 
In addition to the foregoing license fee, there shall be a surcharge for each license for an animal which has not been spayed or neutered at the time of applying for said license.
(2) 
Dogs used as service animals for disabled persons and defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act[1] as "service animals" shall be licensed and registered as other dogs hereinabove provided for, except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.
D. 
Application within 10 days of acquisition or attainment of age. The owner of any newly acquired animal of licensing age or any animal which attains licensing age shall make application for a license and registration tag for such animal and shall pay the necessary fee for the same within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. Any new resident of the Town who owns, keeps or harbors an animal of licensing age shall make application for a license and registration tag for such animal within 10 days of establishing residence in the Town.
E. 
Removal of tag. No person, except an officer in the performance of his duties, shall remove a registration tag from the collar of any animal without the consent of the owner, nor shall any person attach a registration tag to an animal for which it was not issued.
F. 
Acts prohibited.
(1) 
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog or cat shall permit, suffer or allow the dog or cat to:
(a) 
Run at large within the limits of the Town.
(b) 
Be off the premises of such owner or person harboring the dog or upon a street, sidewalk or other public place in the Town, except when restrained by a leash, the leash not to exceed six feet in length, and in the custody of some person capable of controlling the dog.
(c) 
Cause any injury to any person.
(d) 
Do any damage to any shrub, tree or other property in any street, park or other public place in the Town.
(e) 
Soil, defile, defecate on or commit any nuisance on any common driveway or thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway, bypass, play area, park or any place where people congregate or walk, or upon any public property whatsoever, or upon any private property without the permission of the owner of the property.
(f) 
Habitually bark, howl, wail or cry. The habitual barking, howling, wailing or crying of a dog or cat in the Town is declared to be a disturbing noise within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40:48-1, Subdivision 8 and a nuisance.
(g) 
Be or become a public nuisance, or to create a condition hazardous to safety and health.
(2) 
Any resident of the Town of Boonton may file a complaint with the Animal Control Officer concerning violations of Subsection F(1)(a) through (g) above.
(3) 
Additional acts prohibited.
(a) 
No person shall slaughter, kill or dress any cattle, poultry or small animals in the Town of Boonton.
(b) 
No person shall harbor roosters and/or cattle within the Town of Boonton.
(c) 
No person shall keep, harbor or maintain more than five dogs, cats, poultry, small animals without obtaining a kennel permit.
(d) 
Notwithstanding the issuance of a kennel permit, any person keeping, harboring or maintaining more than five dogs, cats or small animals shall be required to comply with the individual licensing requirements and fees prescribed in § 80-4B, except no one shall harbor more than five poultry.
G. 
Entering upon premises.
(1) 
Any officer or agent authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this section is hereby authorized to go upon any premises to seize for impounding any dog or cat which he may lawfully seize and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog or cat except upon the premises of the owner of the dog or cat if the owner is present and forbids the same.
(2) 
Entering upon an exterior yard. The Certified Animal Control Officer is authorized to go upon any exterior yard premises when there is reason to believe that there may be a violation of the care of animal section of this code.
H. 
Notice; destruction of animal.
(1) 
If any animal so seized wears a collar or harness having inscribed thereon or attached thereto to the name and address of any person or a registration tag or the owner or the person keeping or harboring the animal is known, the Animal Control Officer, or any other official charged with the enforcement of this section or any person authorized by them on their behalf, shall serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or the person keeping or harboring said animal, if known, a notice in writing, stating that the animal 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.
(2) 
A notice under this subsection 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 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.
(3) 
When any animal so seized has been detained for seven days after notice, when notice can be given as set forth above, or has been detained for seven days after seizure, when no notice has been given as set forth above, or because of lack of name and address of owner, and if the owner or person keeping or harboring said animal has not claimed said animal and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, and if the animal be unlicensed at the time of seizure and the owner or person keeping or harboring said animal has not produced or procured a license and registration tag for said animal, the Animal Control Officer or other designated official, any person authorized by them in that behalf, may cause the animal to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible.
I. 
Expenses.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
(1) 
An owner may obtain the release of his animal upon payment of maintenance expenses and recovery fees as provided in Chapter 130, Fees, Article III, Fee Schedule.
(2) 
Payment of the above charges shall be made to the Board of Health during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and to the Police Department during all other hours. No owner or person keeping or harboring a dog or cat shall be permitted to claim an impounded dog or cat unless a license and registration tag can be produced for the dog or cat.
(3) 
When dogs or cats are found running at large and proof of the dog's or cat's ownership is obtained by the Animal Control Officer, such dogs or cats need not be impounded but the officer may cite the owners of such dogs or cats for violation of the provisions of this section.
(4) 
The person who owns, keeps or harbors any dog or cat which is subsequently injured or killed and which is treated or disposed of by either the Animal Control Officer or a veterinarian designated by the Animal Control Officer shall be responsible for and shall pay and satisfy all costs and charges of such treatment and/or disposal.
J. 
Disposal for medical research, etc., prohibited. No provision of this section shall be construed to give any authority for disposal of impounded animals for medical research or for compulsory inoculation of animals with antirabic vaccines.
K. 
Disposition of fees. All licensing fees received by the Board of Health hereunder shall be remitted to the Town of Boonton in accordance with law.
L. 
Curbing of dogs.
(1) 
All dogs must be curbed by walking dogs from a sidewalk to into the street. If there is no sidewalk, dogs must be walked in the street. Allowing dogs on private property is prohibited.
(2) 
The person who owns, harbors, keeps or is in charge of such dog shall immediately remove all feces deposited by such dog by any sanitary method approved by the local health department.
(3) 
The feces removed from the aforementioned designated area shall be disposed of by the person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any dog curbed in accordance with the provisions of this section, in a sanitary manner by placing the feces in a waterproof container, properly sealed, and placed in a garbage container, or disposed of in any other sanitary manner approved by the local health department.
A. 
License.
(1) 
Required. Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel, a pet shop, a shelter or a pound, shall apply to the Board of Health or other official designated to license dogs in the Town, for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment.
(2) 
Application. 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 Zoning Officer and the Town Board of Health showing compliance with local and state rules and regulations governing location of and sanitation at such establishment.
(3) 
Contents; expiration, revocation. All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter, or pound shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained and all such licensees shall expire on January 31 of each year, and be subject to revocation by the Town on recommendation of the State Department of Health or the Town Board of Health for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the state department or local board governing the same after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the state department or local board.
(4) 
Individual licenses not required. Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and kept at such establishment; such license shall not be transferable to another owner or to different premises.
B. 
License fee. Annual license fees shall be as provided in Chapter 130, Fees, Article III, Fee Schedule.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
C. 
Dogs not permitted off premises. No dog kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall be permitted off such premises, except on leash or in a crate or other safe control.
A. 
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to prohibit the feeding of unconfined wildlife in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Town of Boonton, to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for failure to comply.
B. 
Definitions. The following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein unless their use in the text of this section clearly demonstrates a different meaning:
FEED
To give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing wildlife. Feeding does not include baiting in the legal taking of fish and/or game.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this state subject to municipal jurisdiction.
WILDLIFE
All animals that are neither human nor domesticated.
C. 
Prohibited conduct.
(1) 
In the Town of Boonton, no person, whether on public or private property, shall attract or feed or attempt to attract or feed pigeons, waterfowl or other nondomesticated animals, including, but not limited to, Canada geese and feral cats, which are not their personal property, by offering, placing, throwing, scattering, or providing, by any means whatsoever, food for said pigeons, waterfowl or nondomesticated animals.
(2) 
No person shall feed, in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Town of Boonton, any wildlife, excluding confined wildlife (for example, wildlife confined in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers, or unconfined wildlife at environmental education centers).
A. 
Disposition of animals other than dogs or cats. Any animal, other than a dog or cat, found roaming at large within the Town limits, may be declared a nuisance and impounded or disposed of according to law when such action is required either to protect the animal or to protect the residents of the Town of Boonton.
B. 
(Reserved)[1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former Subsection B, regarding removal of animals from residents’ property, was repealed 10-2-2017 by Ord. No. 26-2017.
C. 
No owner or person in charge shall fail to provide their animals with sufficient, good and wholesome food and water, proper shelter and protection from the weather, veterinary care, when needed, to prevent suffering, and humane care and treatment. No person shall beat, cruelly ill-treat, torment, overload, overwork and otherwise abuse any animal or cause or permit any fight between animals or between animals and humans. No owner of an animal shall abandon such animal.
[Amended 10-16-2023 by Ord. No. 20-23]
A person who violates or who fails or refuses to comply with any section or subsection of this chapter shall be liable to penalties stated in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article III, General Penalty. The minimum fine for violations of § 80-3B and F shall be $75 for each and every offense.