[Adopted 11-2-1995 by Ord. No. 264]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any member of the domestic feline species.
Any cat that has attained the age of six months.
A carnivorous domesticated mammal (canis familiaris), whether
male or female.
Any dog that has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
To give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any
edible material with an intention of feeding, attracting or enticing
stray or feral cats.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 06-2016]
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.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 06-2016]
To allow or accommodate the continuing presence of any cats
or dogs on a premises, whether or not claiming ownership or other
property right over the same.
For purposes of this article, "nuisance" means conduct by
a stray or feral cat(s) that disturbs the peace by (a) habitually
or continually howling, crying or screaming, or (b) the habitual and/or
significant destruction, desecration or soiling of public property
or private property against the wishes of the owner of the property.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 06-2016]
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog or cat, every
person having a property right in such dog or cat in his or her keeping.
Defined and provided for in Chapter 307 of the Public Laws
of New Jersey, 1989, as defined in N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq.
A cat that is regularly off the property of the owner, is
not under the physical control and restraint of the owner and is regularly
provided with food by persons other than its owner.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 06-2016]
A.
Every person who shall own, possess, keep or harbor
any cat, dog or potentially dangerous dog of licensing age within
the limits of the Borough shall obtain an annual license for the same
and shall have the same registered and numbered with the Borough Clerk/Municipal
Administrator and shall pay the fees together with a sum now or hereafter
required by the State of New Jersey to be charged for the same.
(1)
The annual license fee for a dog license shall be
$9 for spayed and neutered dogs and $12 for nonspayed and nonneutered
dogs. Said license fee shall take effect January 1, 2007.
[Amended 12-13-2006 by Ord. No. 14-2006]
(2)
The annual license fee for a cat license shall be
$9 for spayed/neutered cats and nonspayed/nonneutered cats.
[Amended 12-13-2006 by Ord. No. 14-2006]
(3)
The annual license fee for a potentially dangerous
dog shall be $700.
B.
Any owner of a dog or cat of licensing age who shall
bring the same into the Borough, which dog or cat has been licensed
in another state for the current year and bears a registration tag,
and who shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the
Borough for a period of more than 90 days, shall immediately after
the 90th day apply for a license and registration tag for the same.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough
any unlicensed dog or cat of licensing age 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 after the 10th day apply for a license
and registration tag for such dog or cat.
[Amended 5-20-2004 by Ord. No. 9-2004]
A.
All applications for cat or dog licenses shall be
made to the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator, who shall provide
a book for the purpose of registering the name of the person owning,
keeping, possessing or harboring any cat or dog, and the name of each
animal registered and its number shall be entered in such book. Numbers
for each application for registration of the same shall be in the
order in which the applications are made.
B.
The applications shall state the breed, sex, age,
color and distinctive markings of the dog or cat for which license
and registration are sought and, as to dogs, whether it is of a long-
or short-haired variety. It shall also state the name of the street,
post office address, and phone number of the owner or the person who
shall keep or harbor same.
C.
The information on the application and the registration
number issued for the dog or cat shall be preserved for a period of
three years by the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator. In addition,
the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall forward similar information
to the State Department of Health each month on forms furnished by
the Department. Identifying information and proof of rabies vaccination
shall be available for public inspection upon request.
A.
The owner of every dog or cat shall pay the license
fee to the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator on or before the
last day of January in each year, and upon presentation of a current
rabies certificate the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall
issue to each person paying such license fee a license for the keeping
of such cat or dog, which shall contain the name and address of the
owner of such cat or dog, a short description of the cat or dog, indicting
the name, breed, sex, age, color, markings, the number of such license
and which shall bear the signature of the Borough Clerk/Municipal
Administrator. After March 31st, of each year an additional late charge
of $5 shall be charged for each dog or cat license purchased thereafter.
B.
All licenses shall expire on the last day of January
each year.
C.
The Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall also
issue for each dog licensed a numbered tag designated as a registration
tag, which tag shall be securely attached to each dog so licensed
and shall have marked thereon the words "licensed dog, Folsom Borough"
with the year for which it is issued.
The owner of any newly acquired dog or cat of
licensing age shall make application for license and registration
tag for such cat or dog within 10 days after such acquisition. The
license fee shall not be prorated over the course of the year.
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly
known as "Seeing Eye" dogs or dogs used to assist deaf persons and
commonly known as "hearing ear" dogs shall be licensed and registered
as other dogs under the provisions of this article except that the
owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee.
Every person who shall own, keep, possess or
harbor any cat or dog in the Borough and who shall neglect or refuse
to cause such cat or dog to be licensed as provided in this article
shall be guilty of a violation of this article. A violation of this
section shall be punishable by a fine of $50 and $30 court cost, payable
through the Violations Bureau in the Borough of Folsom, unless court
appearance required is noted by an officer in the performance of his
duties.
A.
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this article shall be forwarded to the Treasurer
of the Borough within 30 days after collection or receipt and shall
be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts
of the Borough, which funds shall be used for the following purposes
only: for collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs and cats liable
to seizure under this article; for local prevention and control of
rabies; to provide for annual canvass of all dogs and cats in the
Borough; for providing antirabic treatment under this article; for
providing antirabic treatment under the direction of the Board of
Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies;
to administer and enforce the regulation contained in N.J.S.A. 4:19-1
et seq.; and for payment of damage to or losses of poultry or domestic
animals, except dogs and cats, caused by a dog or cat. Any unexpended
balance remaining in such 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 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 Borough 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.
B.
Any fees required to be charged by the State of New
Jersey, or any department thereof, collected in conjunction with the
licensing fees provided hereof shall be forwarded within 30 days after
collection by the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator to such state
agency as required by law.
Any person who harbors or possesses any dog
or cat for a period of 10 days or more shall, for the purpose of this
article, be deemed to be an owner of the dog or cat so harbored or
possessed.
No person except an officer in the performance
of his duties shall remove a registration tag from the collar of any
dog without the consent of the owner, nor shall any person attach
a registration tag to a dog for which it was not issued.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any cat
or dog, whether the same is licensed or unlicensed, shall allow the
same to run in or about the streets, highways or public places of
the Borough, or to run upon lands and premises of another without
his or her permission.
[Amended 5-20-2004 by Ord. No. 9-2004]
All persons in control of a dog under leash
when upon public property, any sidewalk or the property of another
shall have with them a means of retrieving and storing animal feces.
Such person shall immediately retrieve and remove to their own property
any fecal matter passed by the dog on to public property, any sidewalk
or the property of another. The parent or guardian of any juvenile
shall be responsible for the failure of such juvenile to comply with
the provisions of this section. The aforementioned restrictions shall
not apply to Seeing Eye dogs or dogs specifically trained for the
assistance of handicapped persons.
No person shall abandon or leave without proper
care any dog, cat or other domestic animal upon the streets, highways,
public places in the Borough or upon private lands and premises. No
person owning, keeping or harboring any dog or cat shall perform or
fail to perform any act that would jeopardize the health and welfare
of the animal.
[Added 10-12-2011 by Ord. No. 09-2011]
A.
Dogs must be able to freely move when chained or tethered and shall
be chained or tethered for a total of no more than nine hours within
a twenty-four-hour period. The size of the tether or chain must be
a minimum of 15 linear feet and shall remain tangle-free. Dogs must
be equipped with properly fitted harness- or buckle-type collars.
The tether or chain shall be constructed of suitable light-weight
cable.
B.
No dogs shall be chained or tethered after the hour of 11:00 p.m.
or before 7:00 a.m.
C.
A doghouse shall be accessible to any dog that is chained or tethered.
Doghouses shall contain bedding, such as straw or other absorbent
material, in a clean and sufficient quantity to provide adequate insulation
for the house. Bedding shall be maintained in a dry condition and
renewed or changed as necessary.
D.
Dogs that are not spayed or neutered shall not be tethered or chained
for any period of time and must be in a completely enclosed yard or
housed indoors.
[Added 10-12-2011 by Ord. No. 09-2011]
A.
No owner, caretaker, guardian or handler shall withhold proper shelter,
protection from weather, veterinary care and immune care from any
animal. No owner, caretaker, guardian or handler shall fail to provide
an animal with sufficient food and drinkable water on a daily basis.
Food and water must be in an animal food consumption or water consumption
type container, feeder or waterer.
B.
No animal shall be subjected to unnecessary suffering and cruelty,
such as subjecting the animal to prolonged fear, injury, pain or physical
abuse.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog
shall allow the same to be upon the public streets or in any public
places of the Borough unless the dog is controlled by a person of
such mental and physical capacity that he or she is able to control
the dog in any circumstances. A leash of not more than six feet in
length shall be used to restrain a dog traveling in a public place.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 06-2016]
No person shall feed or otherwise provide, permit or maintain
to be permitted, food to any stray and/or feral cats. No food for
cats, licensed or unlicensed, shall be placed outside a residence
or place of business where a stray and/or feral cat may have access
to the food.
Any person owning, keeping or harboring a dog
or cat, which dog or cat causes injury to persons or property of another,
shall be subject to the sanctions set forth in this article, including
the obligation to make restitution for damage to property or medical
expense.
A.
All persons owning, keeping, harboring or possessing
any dog or cat shall confine or restrain such dog or cat such that
any barking, howling, whining or other animal sounds shall be inaudible
to persons in dwellings on adjoining properties between the hours
of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
B.
Between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., no person owning,
keeping, harboring or possessing any dog or cat shall allow such dog
or cat to emit repetitive sounds that are audible to adjoining property
owners or tenants for unreasonable periods. It shall not be a defense
to a violation of this section that the person(s) in control of the
dog or cat was not present when the repetitive sounds were produced,
nor shall it be a prerequisite to a prosecution that an adjoining
property owner or dweller gave notice of a violation. Notice and opportunity
to cure shall be considered by the court when imposing sanctions.
Any dog or cat not licensed pursuant to the
provisions of this article shall be subject to seizure by the person
appointed for this purpose by the Borough Council or County Freeholders,
and if not redeemed, such dog or cat may be destroyed by any approved
humane method or otherwise disposed of; any dog who shall not have
securely fixed or fastened to its neck a numbered tag issued with
the license for such dog shall be deemed unlicensed and subject to
seizure.
No person shall in any way hinder or interfere
with any police officers, officials, canvassers or any other peace
officers in the performance of their duty under the provisions of
this article, nor shall they refuse to give information or give false
information to any person making the canvass provided for in this
article.
[Added 07-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 06-2016]
No person shall tamper with or disable any trap which has been placed and set up by the Folsom Animal Control Officer or other public officer or their designee for the capture of stray and/or feral cats. Any person convicted of tampering or disabling a trap shall be subject to the penalties as set forth at § 74-29 herein.
Any officer or agent authorized or empowered
to perform any duty under this article is hereby authorized to go
upon any premises to seize for impounding any dog or cat which he
may lawfully seize or impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit
of such cat or dog, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog
or cat if the owner is present and forbids the same.
Any person appointed for this purpose by the
Borough Council shall annually cause a canvass to be made of all dogs
and cats owned, kept or harbored within the Borough and shall report
on or before September 1 of each year to the Borough Clerk/Municipal
Administrator and to the local Board of Health and to the State Department
of Health the result thereof, setting forth the names and addresses
of persons owning, keeping or harboring unlicensed dogs and cats,
the number of unlicensed dogs and cats owned, kept or harbored by
each said person, together with a complete description of each of
said unlicensed dogs or cats and the approximate age thereof.
[Amended 5-20-2004 by Ord. No. 9-2004]
Any person found guilty of violating any of the provisions of this article, except § 74-15, unless court appearance is required for § 74-15, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,250, imprisonment for up to 90 days and/or community service for up to 90 days, and shall be ordered, where appropriate, to make restitution, cease an offending act, comply with the provisions of this article, or surrender his or her dog or cat for examination. The continuation of such violation for each successive day shall constitute a separate offense.
