[Adopted 12-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-45]
For the purpose of this article, the following
terms shall have the meaning set forth in this section. When not inconsistent
with the context, words used in the present tense include the future,
words in the plural number include the singular, words in the singular
number include the plural, and words in the male gender include the
female gender.
An owner or caregiver has forsaken a domesticated cat entirely,
or has neglected or refused to provide care and support of the cat.
Any person employed or appointed by the Borough who is authorized
to investigate violations of laws and regulations concerning animals,
and to issue citations in accordance with New Jersey law and this
Code.
Any person who provides food, water or shelter to or otherwise
cares for a cat; a volunteer, uncompensated person who agrees to serve
to facilitate the TNR program within the Borough in accordance with
this article and any rules and regulations that may be established
by the Board of Health. A caregiver shall not be deemed an employee
of the Borough and shall hold such volunteer position at the pleasure
of the Board of Health and may be removed from or precluded from holding
such volunteer position in the sole discretion of the Board of Health.
A cat that is socialized to humans and is appropriate as
a companion for humans.
Straight-line cutting of the tip of the left ear of a cat
while the cat is anesthetized; the marking of a cat's ear through
a surgical procedure performed by qualified personnel.
A cat that exists in a wild or untamed state, either due
to birth or reversion to a wild state from domestication. The usual
and consistent temperament of a feral cat is extreme fear and resistance
to contact with humans. Feral cats are completely or substantially
unsocialized to humans.
A group of cats that congregates, more or less, together
as a unit. Although not every cat in a colony may be feral, any nonferal
cats that congregate with a colony shall be deemed to be a part of
it.
A committee appointed by the Board of Health to serve as
a sponsor of a trap-neuter-return program.
[Added 9-14-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-38]
Disturbing the peace by:
Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association,
trust, estate, or any other legal entity.
A for-profit or not-for-profit entity, or a collaboration
of individuals with at least one of its purposes being the adoption
or placement of cats in homes with humans to serve as companion animals.
A cat that is regularly off the property of the owner, is
not under the physical control and restraint of the owner and is not
regularly provided with food by its owner.
Shelter that provides protection from rain, sun, and other
elements that is adequate to protect the health of the cat.
Trap, neuter, and return.
A program pursuant to which feral and stray cats are trapped,
neutered or spayed, vaccinated against rabies and returned to the
location where they congregate.
Those diseases transmittable to humans from animals, including
parasitic, bacterial, fungal and viral diseases.
A.
Owners of domesticated cats shall provide appropriate
and adequate food, water and shelter for their cats.
B.
The owner of a domesticated cat shall exercise reasonable
care to guard against the cat creating a nuisance.
C.
The owner of a sexually intact (not spayed or neutered)
domesticated cat shall not permit his/her cat to roam unsupervised.
D.
An owner shall not under any circumstances abandon
a domesticated cat.
[Amended 9-14-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-38]
A.
Feral cat colonies shall be permitted and caregivers shall be entitled
to maintain them in accordance with the terms and conditions of this
article. The Board of Health may appoint a committee (Feral Cat Committee)
of residents and other interested parties to specifically sponsor
feral cat colonies and implement the provisions of this article.
B.
The Board of Health or Feral Cat Committee (FCC) requirements. It
shall be the duty of the Board of Health or Feral Cat Committee to:
(1)
Review and approve of colony caregivers;
(2)
Help to resolve any complaints over the conduct of a colony caregiver
or of cats within a colony;
(3)
Maintain records provided by colony caregivers on the size and location
of the colonies as well as the vaccination and spay/neuter records
of cats in the sponsor's colonies;
(5)
Use due consideration to avoid the taking of rare, threatened or
endangered species under the Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation
Act, N.J.S.A. 23:2A-1, et seq.
C.
Each feral cat colony will be registered by the caregivers with either
the Board of Health or Feral Cat Committee if one has been formed,
which will serve as a clearinghouse for information on current caregivers,
education for new caregivers, and assistance for persons found in
violation of this article.
D.
The Board of Health may establish a fund to provide services to offset
the costs of trapping, neutering, and vaccinating captured feral cats
that can be returned to an appropriate, controlled, protected, and
registered colony site. Caregivers for such colonies, whether one
or several animals, may be aided by the Board of Health in providing
traps for the capture of the cat, transportation to a spay/neuter
facility and offsetting costs, to the extent that funding is available.
E.
The Board of Health may also provide funds to support educational
programs related to feral cat populations.
F.
The Board of Health and/or Feral Cat Committee may apply for grants
as available to support TNR programs.
[Amended 9-14-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-38]
A.
Caregivers are responsible for the following:
(1)
Registering the feral cat colony with the Board of Heath (BOH) or
Feral Cat Committee;
(2)
Taking steps that are reasonably likely to result in the vaccination
of the colony population for rabies (three-year vaccine) and any other
infectious disease as mandated by law and making reasonable efforts
to update the vaccination on cats that can be recaptured;
(3)
Taking steps that are reasonably likely to result in the spay/neuter,
by a licensed veterinarian, of at least 90% of the colony population;
(4)
Providing the Board of Health (BOH) or Feral Cat Committee with a
description of each cat in the colony and copies of documents evidencing
that the cats have been vaccinated and spayed/neutered;
(5)
Providing food, water, and, if feasible, shelter for colony cats
through the year;
(6)
Observing the colony cats at least twice per week and keeping a record
of any illnesses or unusual behavior noticed in any colony cats;
(7)
Obtaining the approval of the owner of any property to which the
caregiver requires access to provide colony care;
(8)
In the event that kittens are born to a colony cat, the caregiver
shall take reasonable steps likely to result in the removal of the
kittens from the colony after they have been weaned, and the placement
of the kittens in homes or foster homes for the purpose of subsequent
permanent placement;
(9)
Reporting annually in writing to the Board of Health (BOH) or Feral
Cat Committee on the status of the colony, including data on the number
and gender of all cats in the colony; the number of cats that died
or otherwise ceased being a part of the colony during the year; the
number of kittens born to colony cats and their disposition; and the
number of cats and kittens placed in permanent homes as companion
cats; and
(10)
Obtaining proper medical attention to any colony cat that appears
to require it; make every attempt to "ear tip" all cats with a single
cut preferably on the left ear for each cat in the colony. If this
is not practicable under the circumstances, photographic documentation
adequate to identify the cat shall be obtained.
B.
If, for any reason, a caregiver can no longer perform the duties
as stated in this section, it shall be the responsibility of that
individual to find a replacement caregiver for the colony in question,
who will then manage the colony in compliance with this section.
A.
The left ear of a colony cat that has been spayed
or neutered and vaccinated shall be eartipped.
A.
An Animal Control Officer who has trapped a cat whose
left ear has been tipped or which bears some other distinguished mark
indicating that it belongs to a feral cat colony shall notify the
Board of Health or Feral Cat Committee, as the case may be.
[Amended 9-14-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-38]
B.
If the caregiver is not able to immediately take custody
of the cat, the officer shall transport the cat to the Sayrebrook
Veterinary Hospital Animal Shelter. The caregiver shall be responsible
for retrieving the cat from the shelter within three business days
or advising the shelter if the caregiver does not intend to retrieve
the cat.
The Borough shall have the following rights:
A.
The right to seize or remove cats from a colony that
have not been vaccinated against rabies and which are demonstrating
signs of the disease.
B.
The right to seize/remove a cat from a colony that
is creating a nuisance as defined above after the caregiver has been
given 60 days to remove and relocate the cat and has failed to do
so.
[Amended 9-14-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-38]
Borough health officers and police officers
may investigate any nuisance complaint despite the requirements of
this article.
[Added 9-14-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-38]
A.
Managed
feral colonies registered with the Board of Health or Feral Cat Committee
shall be exempt from licensing.
B.
It shall
be unlawful to feed feral cats unless they are spayed/neutered and
vaccinated in accordance with this article. Animal Control Officers
shall be empowered to give warning notices to individuals feeding
feral cats outside the guidelines of this article requiring them to
contact the Board of Health or Feral Cat Committee, within 30 days,
to obtain help getting the cats neutered and vaccinated and otherwise
brought into compliance with this article. Failure to make such contact
within 30 days and cooperate with the Committee may result in fines
of up to $100 per cat.
C.
It shall
be unlawful for any person to actually abuse, threaten to abuse or
interfere in any way with the management or operation of any registered
feral cat colony.
[Added 9-14-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-38]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided in Chapter 1, Article 1, General Penalty, and each violation of any of the provisions of this article and each day the same is violated shall be deemed and taken to be a separate and distinct offense.
