[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health
of the Township of Freehold as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Animals — See Ch. 79.
[Adopted by Ord. No. BH-01-91 (Ch. BH-XI
of the Revised General Ordinances)]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any member of the feline species, male or female.
Includes the person or persons owning, controlling, keeping
or harboring a cat.
Applies to any cat off and not on the premises of the owner.
A cat having no known owner, custodian or identification.
A.
All cats over the age of six months must receive a
rabies inoculation. The owner must retain appropriate documentation
from the inoculating veterinarian or rabies clinic indicating that
the cat in question has received said inoculation. Such documentation
must be made available to any agent or employee of the Township of
Freehold charged with the responsibility of controlling or regulating
animals upon request by said agent or employee. Any cat which has
not been inoculated or is not exempt from inoculation pursuant to
the terms of this article is subject to confiscation by agents and
employees of the Township of Freehold. Any cat confiscated shall be
impounded and can only be reclaimed by the owner after the owner renders
payment of all fees attendant upon the confiscation and impoundment
of said animal together with payment for the inoculation required
by this article.
B.
The inoculation required by this article shall be
performed by a duly licensed veterinarian of the State of New Jersey,
or by such other persons as may be permitted to inoculate animals
pursuant to the laws of the State of New Jersey. The vaccination used
must be of the type approved by the United States government agency
responsible for licensing manufacturers of veterinary biologicals.
Each cat shall be inoculated against rabies annually unless the veterinarian's
certificate required by this article indicates a longer period of
effectiveness for the inoculation.
C.
Exemptions to the rabies inoculation requirement:
(1)
A cat which has not attained the age of six months;
(2)
Any cat which the Department 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; or
(3)
Cats in veterinary hospitals, kennels, pet shops,
pounds or shelters, cats in transit or cats brought into the Township
temporarily for the sole purpose of showing in cat shows or exhibitions.
A.
Any cat seized and impounded pursuant to the provisions
of this article will be retained at the animal pound for seven days
from the date of seizure. If, after the seven-day period specified
in this article, the animal is unclaimed, the Animal Control Officer
or any person designated by him may cause the cat so impounded to
be destroyed or disposed of in the manner provided for by the New
Jersey Animal Control Act, Title 8, Chapter 23, Subchapter 23, Rules
and Regulations Governing the Sanitary Conduct and Operation of Kennels,
Pet Shops, Shelters and Pounds.
B.
The owner or any person having lawful rights to any
impounded cat shall be entitled to redeem said cat upon furnishing
satisfactory evidence of such ownership to the Animal Control Officer.
Any cat so redeemed must receive a rabies inoculation, or, in the
alternative, the person claiming the animal must submit proof that
the animal has received a rabies inoculation.
C.
Any person redeeming any cat seized pursuant to the
terms of this article shall pay a redemption fee of $25 to the Township
of Freehold and shall be responsible for all charges levied by the
pound.
[Adopted 6-14-2007 by Ord. No. BH-07-03]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any domestic or feral cat, neutered, spayed or otherwise.
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
Any person exercising control over a cat or permitting a
cat to remain on premises under his or her control.
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, means and includes
every person having a right of property in the cat and every person
who has a cat in his or her keeping.
Applies to any cat off and not on the premises of the owner.
A cat having no known owner, custodian or identification.
A.
License, when required. Licenses shall be required
for the following cats of licensing age:
(1)
Any cat owned or kept within the Township on the first
day of March of any year;
[Amended 10-8-2009 by Ord. No. BH-09-01]
(2)
Any unlicensed cat acquired by any person during the
course of any year and kept within the Township for more than 10 days
after acquisition;
(3)
Any cat attaining licensing age during the course
of the year;
(4)
Any licensed cat brought into the Township by any
person and kept within the Township for more than 10 days shall be
registered with the Township. No additional licensing shall be required;
(5)
Any cat licensed by another state brought into the
Township by any person and kept within the Township for more than
90 days.
B.
Application for license. Each application for license
under this article shall give the following information:
(1)
The general description of the cat sought to be licensed,
including breed, sex, age, color and marking, and whether the cat
is of long- or short-haired variety;
(2)
Name, street, and post office address and telephone
number of the owner of and a person who shall keep or harbor the cat;
(3)
A certificate of duly licensed veterinarian which
shall provide 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, Education and Welfare, or any other agency exercising jurisdiction
thereof, or has been certified exempt as provided by the regulations
of the New Jersey State Department of Health or other agency which
exercises jurisdiction. Such certificate shall be in accordance with
all state regulations, providing for duration of immunity, interval
of inoculation, certificate of vaccination or certificate of exemption.
In the event such certificate is not presented to the Health Officer,
a license will not be issued. Registration numbers shall be issued
in the order the applications are received.
C.
Application for license, when made. Applications for
licenses for cats which are required to be licensed by the provisions
of this article shall be made before the 1st day of March of each
calendar year. In all other cases, the application for a license shall
be made within 10 days of the date upon which the cat in question
first becomes subject to the provisions of this article.
D.
License record. The information on all applications
under this article and the registration number issued to each licensed
cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Health Officer.
E.
Fees. The person applying for a license shall pay
a fee of $11 for each cat. The same fee shall be charged for the annual
renewal of each license. Each person registering a cat of reproductive
age which has not had its reproductive capacity permanently altered
through sterilization shall be required to pay an additional fee of
$19. In the event the state legislature establishes a fee for registration
tags for cats, the same shall be charged accordingly.
[Amended 3-8-2012 by Ord. No. BH-12-01]
F.
Expiration date. Each cat license and registration
tag shall expire on the last day of April of the calendar year following
the calendar year in which it was issued.
G.
Exceptions. The provisions of this article shall not
apply to any cat licensed under any kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound
license issued by the Township.
H.
Disposition of fees. License fees and other moneys
collected or received under the provisions of this article shall be
forwarded to the Township Treasurer within 48 hours after collection
or receipt and shall be placed in a special account separate from
any of the other accounts of the Township and shall be used for the
following purposes: Collecting, keeping and disposing of animals liable
to seizure pursuant to Township ordinance; local prevention and control
of rabies; providing anti-rabies treatment under the direction of
the local Board of Health for any persons known or suspected to have
been exposed to rabies; all other purposes prescribed by the Statutes
of New Jersey governing the subject; and for administering the provision
of this article and that article regarding licensing of dogs.[1] Any unexpended balance remaining in the special account
shall be retained therein until the end of the third fiscal year following
and may be used for any of the purposes set forth in this section.
At the end of each fiscal year thereafter there shall be transferred
from the special account to the general fund of the Township any amount
then in the account which is in excess of the total amount being paid
into the special account during the last two fiscal years next proceeding.
A.
Causes for impounding. The Animal Control Officer
shall take into custody and impound, or cause to be taken into custody
and impounded, any of the following cats:
(1)
Any licensed cat running at large in violation of
the provisions of this article.
(2)
Any cat off the premises of the owner of or the person
keeping or harboring the cat which the Animal Control Officer or his
agent has reason to believe is a stray cat.
(3)
Any female cat in season off the premises of the owner
of or the person keeping or harboring the cat.
B.
Access to the premises. Any officer or agent authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this article is authorized
to enter upon any premises to seize for impounding any cat which he
or she may lawfully seize and impound when the officer is in immediate
pursuit of the cat, except on the premises of the owner of the cat
if the owner is present and forbids same. If any cat to be impounded
or seized wears a registration tag, collar or harness showing the
name and address of any person or the owner of or the person keeping
or harboring the cat is known, the Animal Control Officer shall immediately
serve upon the person whose address is given on the collar, or on
the person owning, keeping or harboring the cat, a notice in writing
stating that the cat has been seized and will be liable to be disposed
of or destroyed if not claimed within seven days after service of
the notice. A notice under this subsection may be served either by
delivering it to the person to whom it is 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 mail in a prepaid letter
addressed to that person at his or her usual or last known place of
abode, or to the address given on the collar.
C.
Administrative and impound fees.
(1)
When any cat is seized by the Animal Control Officer,
the owner shall be liable to the Township for an administrative fee
of $50.
(2)
When any seized cat is not promptly claimed by its
owner and the Animal Control Officer has turned the cat over for impoundment,
the owner shall be liable to the Township for reimbursement of the
impoundment fee charged to the Township, plus a ten-dollar processing
fee.
(3)
In the event the Township is required to initiate
any action to recover any of the fees in this article, all expenses
of collection, including reasonable attorney's fees, shall be the
responsibility of the owner.
No persons shall own, keep or harbor a cat in
the Township except in compliance with the provisions of this article
and the following regulations:
A.
Disturbing the peace. No person shall own, keep or
harbor or maintain any cat which habitually cries between the hours
of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. or causes such other disturbance as to
create a nuisance.
B.
Running-at-large. No person owning, keeping or harboring
any cat shall permit it to run at large upon the public streets or
any public park, public building or any public place within the Township.
C.
Property damage. No person owning, keeping or harboring
a cat shall permit it to do any injury or to do any damage to any
lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property, person or other animal.
Where a person has been bitten by a cat, the
individual or his or her parent or guardian if he or she is a minor,
shall immediately notify the police. When the owner or the keeper
of the cat is notified by the police that the cat has bitten any individual
or individuals, the owner or keeper of the cat must comply with the
following procedures:
A.
Have the cat examined by a licensed veterinarian within
12 hours;
B.
Have the cat kept within quarantine in the owner's
home or at a kennel for a period of 10 days;
C.
At the end of 10 days, have the cat reexamined by
a veterinarian and a written report of the cat's state of health forwarded
to the Board of Health.
The Animal Control Officer appointed pursuant to § 79-12 or other person duly serving as the Township's animal control officer may impound unlicensed cats running at large in violation of the provisions of this article.
A.
Any person who violates or fails or refuses to comply
with the provisions of this article shall be liable for a penalty
of not less than $100 for a first offense and, for a subsequent offense,
a fine of not more than $500.
B.
In the event the person violating these provisions
is under the age of 18, the parents, (joint and severally) or parent
with whom the minor resides shall be liable for the penalty provisions.
