[Adopted 10-16-1990 by Ord. No. 1839]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
For the purpose of this article, dog or cat.
Any person or agency designed or certified by the State of
New Jersey 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 Township of Maplewood, 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 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.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or
institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
A.
Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall
own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within
the Township of Maplewood unless such cat is vaccinated and licensed.
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.
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 local 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.
A.
Cats must have license number displayed. Any person
who shall own, keep, or harbor a cat of licensing age shall annually
apply for and procure from the Health Department or other official
designated by the governing body of the Township a license and an
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
or displayed thereon. Acceptable methods of displaying the license
number shall include but are not limited to breakaway or elastic collars.
License tags or sleeves are not transferrable.
[Amended 10-1-2013 by Ord. No. 2729-13]
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 age attainment. This requirement
will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat within the Township
of Maplewood for no longer than 90 days.
C.
Cats brought into jurisdiction.
(1)
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into this Township 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 Township for a period
of more than 90 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration
tag or sleeve for each such cat.
(2)
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into this Township any unlicensed cat and who shall keep the same
or permit the same to be kept within the Township of Maplewood for
a period of more than 10 days shall immediately apply for a license
and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat.
D.
Application, contents, preservation of information.
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 of a long- or shorthaired variety; 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 Clerk or other local official designated to license cats
in the municipality.
E.
License forms and tags. License forms and official
tags or sleeves shall be furnished by the municipality and shall be
numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name
of the municipality.
F.
Evidence of inoculation with rabies vaccine or certification of exemption; requirement for license. No Municipal Clerk or other official designated by the governing body of any municipality to license cats therein shall grant any such license and 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 Human Services or has been certified exempt as provided by § 113-2 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.
G.
License fee schedule. A license shall be issued after payment of a fee as provided in Chapter 123, Fees. Persons who fail to obtain a license as required within the time period specified in this section will be subject to a delinquent fee as provided in Chapter 123, Fees.
[Amended 8-1-1995 by Ord. No. 1977]
H.
Fees, renewals, expiration date of license.
[Amended 10-1-2013 by Ord. No. 2729-13]
(1)
License from another municipality shall be acceptable.
The person applying for the license and registration tag and/or sleeve
shall pay the fee fixed or authorized. The fee for the renewal of
license and registration tag or sleeve shall be the same as for the
original, and the license, registration tag or sleeve or renewal thereof
shall expire on the last day of December of each year.
(2)
A late fee of $7 shall be charged for each cat licensed after January 31 of the licensing year. This late fee shall not apply to newly acquired cats or cats brought into the jurisdiction as listed in § 113-3C.
(3)
Only one license and registration tag or sleeve shall
be required in the licensing year for any cat in this Township. Any
valid New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a New Jersey municipality
shall be accepted by this municipality as evidence of compliance.
I.
Loss of license. If a license tag or sleeve has been misplaced or lost, the Township Clerk may issue a duplicate license and/or registration sleeve for that particular cat at a fee as provided in Chapter 123, Fees.
[Amended 8-1-1995 by Ord. No. 1977]
J.
Proof of licensing. Proof of licensing shall be produced
by any person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a cat upon
the request of any health official, police officer, animal control
officer or other authorized person.
K.
Interfering with persons performing duties under this
article. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this article.
L.
Disposition of fees collected. License fees and other
moneys collected or received under the provisions of this article
shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the municipality and shall
be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts
of the municipality and shall be used for the following purposes only:
collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable to seizure; for the
local prevention and control of rabies; for providing antirabies treatment
under the direction of the local Board of Health for any person known
or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; and for administering
the provisions of this article. Any unexpected balance remaining in
such special account shall be retained 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 said 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 municipality
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.
[Amended 11-7-2012 by Ord. No. 2706-12]
