[Adopted 5-16-2006 by Ord. No. 1690-06]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified
by a licensed veterinarian.
Any cat 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.
Every person having a right of property (or custody) in any
cat and every person who has a cat in his keeping or who harbors or
maintains a cat or knowingly permits a cat to remain on or about any
premises occupied by that person. The owner of a cat shall be considered
the initial owner of its kittens.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or
institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
Any cat of licensing age without a current registration tag,
visible tattoo or identification marking approved by the Animal Control
Officer or a collar or harness inscribed thereon or attached thereto
the name and address of the owner.
A.
No person shall abandon any cat, no matter what its
age or condition, within the City of Passaic.
B.
No person shall keep, provide care or harbor any cat
in the City of Passaic except in compliance with the provisions of
this article.
C.
No person owning or having the care, custody or control
of any cat shall suffer or permit such cat to:
(1)
Soil or defile or do any injury or damage to any lawn,
vegetable garden, shrubbery, trees, flowers, grounds or any property
of any persons other than that of the owner of the cat or person having
the care, custody or control of such cat.
(2)
Cause any injury to any person.
(3)
Trespass upon any public property or any private property
without the permission of the owner thereof.
(4)
Create excessive odors, unsanitary conditions or nuisances.
(5)
Be or become a public health nuisance or create a
condition hazardous to safety and health.
D.
No person shall place food intended or suitable for
consumption by a cat in any location out of doors unless such food
is for a licensed cat or dog which is regularly kept, harbored or
maintained on the premises where such food is placed, and if the person
placing such food is not the owner of the cat or dog, then only if
the owner of the same consents to such feeding and unless such food
is removed within two hours after placement, and in no event shall
such food be allowed to remain out of doors more than 30 minutes after
sunset and before sunrise.
E.
Every person owning, keeping or harboring or in control
of a cat shall be responsible to immediately pick up, remove, and
dispose of in a sanitary manner approved by the City of Passaic Division
of Health all feces deposited by said cat on any sidewalk, passageway,
bypath, play area, park or upon any public property whatsoever or
upon any private property.
A.
Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall
own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within
the City of Passaic unless such cat is vaccinated for rabies and licensed
by the City. The provisions of the section shall not apply to cats
held in a cattery or those held by a state or federally licensed research
facility or a veterinary establishment where cats are kept for diagnostic,
medical, surgical or other treatments, or licensed animal shelters,
pounds or pet shops.
B.
Vaccination. All cats shall be 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, except as provided for in Subsection D.
C.
Vaccination certificate. A certificate of vaccination
shall be issued to the owner of each animal vaccinated on a form recommended
by the state.
D.
Exemptions. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements
of such vaccination for a specified period of time by the City Health
Officer 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.
A.
Cats must have a license number displayed. Any person
who shall own, keep or harbor a cat of licensing age shall annually
apply for and procure from the City Clerk a license and official registration
tag with license number, or a registration tag, or a registration
sleeve for each cat so owned, kept and harbored, and shall place upon
such cat a collar or other device with the license number securely
fastened or displayed thereto. Acceptable methods of displaying the
license number shall include, but are not limited to, breakaway or
elastic collars. License tags or sleeves are not transferable.
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 tag or sleeve for such cat
within 10 days after such acquisition or within 10 days of the cat
reaching the age of seven months or within 10 days of the cat developing
a full set of teeth, whichever occurs sooner.
C.
Cats brought into the City of Passaic.
(1)
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the City of Passaic any cat licensed in another state for the
current year and bearing a registration tag or sleeve and who shall
keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the City of Passaic
for a period of more than 30 days shall apply for a license and registration
tag or sleeve for each cat.
(2)
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the City of Passaic any unlicensed cat and who keeps the same
or permits the same to be kept within the City of Passaic for a period
of more than 10 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration
tag or sleeve for each.
D.
Application; contents; preservation of information.
Any information required to be submitted pursuant to this article
shall state the breed, sex, age, color, markings of the cat for which
the license or registration is being sought and whether said cat is
of a long-haired or short-haired variety, whether said cat is altered
or not, any tattoo or microchip which shall be used to identify such
cat, street address and post office address of the owner and the owner
and the person who shall harbor such cat, if other than the owner.
The information contained on said application and registration number
issued for any particular cat shall be preserved for a period of three
years from the date of submittal of the application and/or the date
of the issuance of the registration number, respectively, by the City
Clerk of the City of Passaic.
E.
License forms and tags. License forms and official
tags or sleeves shall be furnished by the City Clerk and shall be
numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name
of the City of Passaic thereon.
F.
Evidence of inoculation with rabies vaccine or certificate
of exemption; requirement for license. No official designated by the
City of Passaic to license cats shall grant any such license and/or
official registration tag or sleeve 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 Health and Human
Services or has been certified as exempt as provided for in this article.
Any evidence of a cat being inoculated with a rabies vaccine shall
only be accepted if said rabies inoculation was administered by a
duly licensed veterinarian or by such other veterinarian permitted
by law to perform said inoculation.
G.
License fee schedule.
[Amended 9-25-2007 by Ord. No. 1740-07]
H.
Fees; renewals; expiration date of license.
[Amended 4-6-2009 by Ord. No. 1793-09]
(1)
The person applying for the license and registration
tag and/or sleeve shall pay the fee authorized. The fee for renewal
of a license and registration tag and/or sleeve shall be $15.20 for
altered cat and $18.20 for each unaltered cat and shall expire on
June 30 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which
it was issued.
(2)
Late fee. For any application for a renewal received
by the City Clerk more than 60 days after the date due, a late fee
of $14 shall be charged.
I.
Proof of licensing. Proof of licensing shall be produced
by any person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a cat upon
request of any health official, police officer or animal control officer.
J.
Disposition of fees collected. License fees and other
monies collected or received under the provisions of this article
shall be forwarded to the City Treasurer within 30 days after collection
or receipt and shall be placed in a special account separate from
any of the other accounts of the City and shall be used for the following
purposes only: collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable to
seizure under this article; for prevention and control of rabies;
domestic animal control; providing anti-rabies treatment under the
direction of the City Health Division for any indigent person known
or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; and for administering
the provision 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 purposes set forth in
this section. At the end of the 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 City 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.
The Animal Control Officer of the City 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 section:
A.
Any cat off the premises of the owner of the person
keeping or harboring said cat which said official or his agent or
agents have reason to believe is a stray cat.
B.
Any cat off the premises of the owner or of the person
keeping or harboring said cat without a current registration tag on
its collar.
C.
Any cat or other animal which is suspected to be rabid.
D.
Any cat or other animal off the premises of the owner
reported to or observed by the Animal Control Officer of the City
to be ill, injured or creating a threat to public health, safety or
welfare or otherwise interfering with the enjoyment of property.
A.
If any animal so seized wears a collar or harness
having inscribed thereon or attached thereto the name and address
of any person or a registration tag or the owner or the person keeping
or harboring said animal is known, the Animal Control Officer shall
forthwith 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 offered for adoption or destroyed if not
claimed within seven days after issuance of said notice.
B.
A notice under this section 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 it 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.
Any person authorized by the City may cause
an animal to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible
and consistent with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 8:23A or offered for
adoption after the close of the seventh day of seizure, provided that:
A.
Notice is given as set forth above and the animal
remains unclaimed;
B.
The owner or person keeping or harboring the animal
has not claimed the animal and paid all expenses incurred by reason
of its detention, including maintenance costs; or
C.
The owner or person keeping or harboring a cat which
was unlicensed at the time of seizure does not within five business
days produce a valid license and registration tag for the cat.
A.
The provisions of this article shall be enforceable
by the City Health Officer or his designee, Animal Control Officers
employed or contracted by the City and any City police officer.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to hinder, molest
or interfere with anyone authorized to enforce the provisions of this
article.
Except as otherwise provided in this article,
any person who fails or refuses to comply with this article shall
be liable for a penalty of not more than $2,000 or imprisonment or
community service for no more than 90 days at the discretion of any
Judge hearing a complaint brought pursuant to this article.
