[Adopted by Ord. No. 11-91]
The Borough Council of the Borough of Mountain
Lakes has determined that the spread of rabies constitutes a serious
threat to human and animal health and safety, and it is the purpose
of this article to establish procedures recommended by the New Jersey
Department of Health for preventing and reducing the spread of rabies
through domestic cats.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any person or agency certified by the State of New Jersey
and appointed by the Borough to enforce the provisions of this article.
Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female or
altered.
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
The agency or department of the Borough or any designated
representative thereof charged with administering the issuance and/or
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 a 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.
A.
Required. No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain
any cat over seven months of age within the Borough unless such cat
is vaccinated against rabies by a licensed 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.
B.
Certificate. A certificate of vaccination shall be
issued to the owner of each cat vaccinated, on a form recommended
by the state.
C.
Exemption. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements
of such vaccination for a specified period of time by the Borough
Board of Health upon presentation of a veterinarian's certificate
stating that, because of an infirmity or other physical condition
or regimen of therapy, the inoculation of such cat shall be deemed
inadvisable.
D.
The provisions of this section do not apply to cats
held in a cattery or those held by a state or federal licensed research
facility or a veterinary establishment where cats are received or
kept for diagnostic, medical, surgical or other treatments or licensed
animal shelters, pounds, kennels or pet shops.
A.
License required. Any person who shall own, keep or
harbor a cat over seven months of age within the Borough shall annually
apply for and procure from the Borough Clerk, or other official designated
by the Borough Clerk to license cats, a license and official registration
tag with license number or a registration sleeve for each cat so owned,
kept or harbored and shall place upon such cat a collar or other device
with the license number securely fastened thereto.
B.
Application; when made. The owner of any newly acquired
cat of licensing age or of any cat which attains licensing age shall
make application for a license tag or sleeve for such cat within 10
days after such acquisition or age attainment. Any person who shall
bring or cause to be brought into the Borough any unlicensed cat and
shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Borough
for a period of more than 10 days shall immediately apply for a license
and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat.
C.
Application requirements. The application shall state
the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the cat for which license
and registration are sought and whether it is a long- or short-haired
variety, and also the name, street and post office address of the
owner and the person who shall keep or harbor 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 Borough Clerk
or other local official designated to license cats in the Borough.
D.
License forms and tags. License forms and official
tags or sleeves shall be furnished by the Borough and shall be numbered
serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the Borough.
E.
Rabies vaccination required. No license or registration tag or sleeve shall be granted for any cat unless the owner thereof provides evidence that the cat to be licensed and registered has been inoculated with a rabies vaccine of a type approved by and administered in accordance with the recommendations of the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Human Services or has been certified exempt as provided by § 79-16C of this article. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do the same.
F.
License term. All licenses shall expire on January
31 of the year following issuance.
G.
Licenses from other jurisdictions. Only one license
and registration tag or sleeve shall be required in the licensing
year for any cat in the Borough. Any valid New Jersey license tag
or sleeve issued by a New Jersey municipality shall be accepted by
this municipality as evidence of compliance.
A.
Fees. A license and registration tag or sleeve shall
be issued after payment of the fee set forth in § 111-3A
of this Code. Persons who fail to obtain a license as required within
the time period specified in this article will be subject to a delinquent
fee set forth in § 111-3A.
B.
Lost tags. If a license tag or sleeve has been misplaced
or lost, the Borough Clerk may issue a duplicate license and/or registration
sleeve for that particular cat at a fee as set forth in § 111-3A.
C.
Disposition of fees. Licensing fees and other moneys
collected or received under the provisions of this article shall be
forwarded to the Treasurer of the Borough and shall be placed in a
special account separate from any of the other accounts of the Borough
and shall be used for the following purposes only:
(1)
Collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable to
seizure;
(2)
Local prevention and control of rabies;
(3)
Providing anti-rabies treatment under the direction
of the Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been
exposed to rabies; and
(4)
Administering the provisions of this article.
Any unlicensed cat found running at large within the Borough limits shall be impounded or disposed of in the same manner as provided for dogs by § 79-5 of this chapter.
Any person who shall violate any provision of
this article shall be subject to a fine of not less than $25 nor more
than $500.
