[Adopted 9-7-1967 as Ch. VII of
the Revised General Ordinances]
Pursuant to Chapter 151 of the Laws of 1941
of the State of New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq.), any person
who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age, as defined in
that act, within the limits of the City of Trenton shall, in the month
of January and annually thereafter, apply for and procure from the
Division of Health a license and official metal registration tag for
each dog so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon each such
dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened
thereto. The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age or any
dog which attains licensing age shall make application for a license
and registration tag for the dog within 10 days after acquisition
or age attainment.
Applications for dog licenses shall be made
to the Division of Health and shall contain the information required
by the aforesaid act. The Division of Health shall forward to the
State Department of Health and Senior Services each month, on forms
furnished by that Department, the information contained in the application.
All registration numbers shall be issued in
the order of the application. The license forms and uniform official
metal registration tags designed by the State Department of Health
shall be issued by the Division of Health, be numbered serially and
bear the year of issuance.
[Amended 10-18-2001 by Ord. No. 01-91; 2-5-2004 by Ord. No. 04-6; 10-21-2010 by Ord. No. 10-45]
A.
Any
person applying for a license and registration tag shall pay an annual
fee of $12 for each dog licensed, the sum of $1 for the registration
tag for each dog, and the sum of $0.20 for each dog license. In addition,
there shall be an additional fee of $3 for each dog which has not
had its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization.
B.
Dogs
used as guides for blind persons, commonly known as "Seeing Eye dogs,"
hearing-ear dogs and service dogs 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.
C.
An
additional fee of $15 shall be made for anyone applying for a dog
license renewal on or after the first day of February of each year.
D.
A
charge of $3 shall be made for the replacement of a dog license tag
after the applicant has provided proof or sufficient evidence that
the initial license was issued for the dog in question.
E.
In
addition to any fees imposed by this or any other section, pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 4:19-31, the annual fee to license any dog declared "potentially
dangerous" pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-23 shall be $700.
[Amended 10-18-2001 by Ord. No. 01-91]
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog,
male or female, shall permit it to run at large or to accompany him/her
on or in any public street or public place within the City at any
time unless such dog shall wear a substantial muzzle of adequate size
securely fastened about the nose and covering the whole mouth, except
that a dog shall be permitted on or in the streets or public places
within the City without such muzzle if it is on a leash not exceeding
three feet in length and is under the control of a competent person
above the age of 14 years, so as to prevent injury to persons or property,
and provided that such dog is not of a vicious propensity. Police
canine corps dogs under the direct control and supervision of Police
Department personnel shall be exempt from the provisions herein.
No owner of a female dog shall suffer or permit
her to be in or upon any street, highway or alley or other public
place in the City, or to trespass upon the property of other persons
in the City at any time while such female dog may be in heat. Such
female dog running at large or trespassing in violation of this section
may be impounded and destroyed, as provided in this chapter, not less
than seven days after her capture or seizure unless the owner shall
reclaim her within the aforementioned said seven-ay period and pay
the penalty for violation of this article.
A.
No dog owner shall suffer or permit any dog to annoy
neighbors and other persons living within the immediate vicinity in
the City by barking and howling, nor permit his/her dog to trespass
upon the property of any other persons in the City, nor suffer or
permit his/her dog to damage shrubbery, flowers, gardens or any other
property of any kind or character belonging to any neighbor or other
person in the City. A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog
or dogs shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk
of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway or roof of any public
or private premises used in common by the public or on a fence, wall
or stairway of a building abutting on a public place.[1]
B.
Any police officer shall, upon receipt of a complaint
of a continuing annoyance or trespass, use reasonable diligence to
determine independently the existence of the annoyance or trespass
and to issue appropriate warnings to persons deemed to be responsible.
After using appropriate warnings, the officer shall sign a complaint
and issue a citation to any person (s)he finds to be in violation
of this section.
[Amended 10-18-2001 by Ord. No. 01-91; 2-5-2004 by Ord. No. 04-6; 10-21-2010 by Ord. No. 10-45]
A.
Whenever
any licensed dog wearing a registration tag is impounded, the Animal
Control officer shall immediately notify the Division of Health of
the license number of the dog, and the Division of Health shall notify
the owner forthwith that the dog has been taken up and impounded and
will be offered for adoption or destroyed if not claimed within seven
days after service of the notice. Any dog seized under the provisions
of this section may be redeemed by the owner of the dog upon payment
of a pickup fee of $20, a six-in-one vaccine of $5, plus a sum not
to exceed $4 per day for each day the dog is kept in the dog shelter,
provided that such redemption shall be made within seven days of the
impounding or seizure of any dog as provided in this section.
[Added 10-18-2001 by Ord. No. 01-91]
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-26, the fee for boarding
and maintenance of any dog deemed by the Municipal Court to be either
vicious or potentially dangerous is hereby fixed at $25 per day plus
any out-of-pocket costs expended for medical care and related items.
The fee to euthanize and dispose of any dog declared vicious or potentially
dangerous shall be $75.
The Health Officer of the City of Trenton shall
annually cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored
within the limits of the City and shall cause a report of the result
thereof to be filed with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior
Services, setting forth the details of compliance as provided in the
New Jersey statutes.
No person in the City shall own, possess, harbor
or have in custody any dog over six months of age unless the dog has
been vaccinated against rabies by a duly licensed veterinarian of
the State of New Jersey. Such vaccination shall be repeated annually,
unless a longer period of protection is specified on the veterinarian's
certificate of vaccination, to consist of one injection of rabies
vaccine approved for marketing in accordance with existing standard
requirements set forth by the Veterinary Biology Division, Agricultural
Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, provided that any
dog may be exempt from the requirement of vaccination for a specified
period of time upon the presentation of a certificate from a duly
licensed veterinarian stating that by reason of limitations of the
vaccine as applied to the physical condition of the animal, the vaccination
of the dog for a specified period of time is contraindicated, and
provided further that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to
require the vaccination of any dogs located in and confined to duly
recognized and licensed kennels, dog pounds, pet shops, etc., where
dogs are offered for sale, as provided by the laws of the State of
New Jersey.
[Amended 10-18-2001 by Ord. No. 01-91]
A.
Any person owning, harboring or having custody of
a dog or dogs shall obtain from the veterinarian who vaccinates the
dog or dogs against rabies a certificate and shall within 10 days
of the vaccination or within 10 days after bringing the dog into the
City of Trenton, if the dog was vaccinated before being brought into
the City, deliver the certificate to the Division of Health, which
certificate shall be filed with the records of the Health Officer.
B.
No license required for the owning and keeping of
dogs, by virtue of any law of the State of New Jersey or ordinance
of the City of Trenton, shall be issued to any person unless a certificate
issued by a duly licensed veterinarian of the State of New Jersey,
as hereinabove provided, is presented to and filed with the Division
of Health so showing that such dog has been vaccinated against rabies
in the manner provided herein, which certificate shall show and certify
that vaccination has been made and said vaccination has a duration
which extends throughout at least 10 of the 12 months of the licensing
period.
The Health Officer is hereby authorized and
empowered to provide free vaccination of dogs at a suitable clinic
and place designated by him/her to be conducted by a licensed veterinarian
of the State of New Jersey. The Health Officer is hereby further authorized
and empowered to make and adopt such rules and regulations not inconsistent
nor in conflict with the terms and provisions of this chapter as (s)he
may deem proper and necessary for the enforcement of the aforementioned
sections.
A.
License required. Any person who keeps or operates
or proposes to establish a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall
apply to the City Clerk or a license to keep or operate such establishment.
The application shall describe the premises where the establishment
is located and the purpose or purposes for which it is to be maintained
and shall be accompanied by the written approval of the Health Officer
of the City of Trenton, showing compliance with local and state rules
and regulations governing the location and sanitation of the establishment.
B.
Issuance. All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop
or shelter shall state the purpose for which the establishment is
maintained and shall expire on the last day of January of each year
and shall be subject to revocation by the City on recommendation of
the State Department of Health and Senior Services or the Health Officer
of the City for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of
the State Department of Health and Senior Services or of the Health
Department of the City of Trenton, after the owner has been afforded
a hearing by either the state department or local department aforementioned.
Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual
licenses for dogs owned by the licensee and kept at such establishments;
such licenses shall not be transferable to another owner or to different
premises.
C.
Fees. The annual license fee for a kennel providing
accommodations for 10 or a fewer dogs shall be $10 and for more than
10 dogs, $25. The annual license fee for a pet shop shall be $10.
No fee shall be charged for a shelter or pound.
D.
Biological research laboratories. No person or business
association shall operate or engage in the business of a biological
research laboratory or any similar business activity for profit or
not for profit and regardless of state or federal certification without
first procuring an annual license from the City Health Officer for
such purposes, the annual fee for which shall be $35. The license
for biological research laboratories shall apply to all activities
which involve the housing or keeping of animals of any description
including dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, rodents or other
species for the purpose of subjecting them to any form of experiment
or observation for any purpose whatsoever other than for individual
therapy in the manner normally associated with the practice of veterinary
medicine. A person or business association having procured a license
to conduct such activities shall be exempt from any and all requirements
provided by the Code of the City of Trenton which would otherwise
require the separate licensing of each animal or the procuring of
any other form of license pertaining to the keeping of animals or
birds. The term "biological research laboratories" shall not be construed
to include the activities normally associated with the operation of
a pet shop or veterinary hospital, unless the activities actually
conducted by such persons or business associations constitute the
operation of a biological research laboratory in addition to the activities
of a pet shop or veterinary hospital. The issuance of any license
hereunder shall be subject to the initial and any subsequent inspections
by the Division of Health of the Department of Health and Human Services
with respect to the maintenance of sanitary conditions consistent
with the interests of the public health of the City of Trenton.
E.
Recording of license. The City Clerk shall forward
to the State Department of Health and Senior Services a list of all
kennel, pet shops, shelters and pounds licensed within 30 days after
the licenses therefor are issued, which list shall include the names
and addresses of the licensees and the kinds of licenses issued.
All license fees collected or received under
the provisions of this chapter, except registration tag fees, shall
be received and disposed of in the manner provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-5.1
et seq.
