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Town of Dover, NJ
Morris County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[Added 10-9-1990 by Ord. No. 25-1990]
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ABANDONED CAT
A cat of any age which is left unattended and at large for a period of 72 hours or more.
ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY
Any person or agency certified by the State of New Jersey and designated by the Town of Dover to enforce the provisions of this Article.
CAT
Any member of the feline species regardless of age or sex.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
CATTERY
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not a part of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
LICENSING AUTHORITY
The Town Clerk or other official designated by the Town Aldermen to administer the issuance of licenses under the provisions of this Article.
NEUTERED
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified by a licensed veterinarian.
PUBLIC NUISANCE
A cat that damages either public or private property or harms the lawful users or occupants thereof.
STRAY CAT
A cat having no known owner, custodian, identification or known place of care or shelter.
No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within the Town of Dover 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 state or federally licensed research facilities 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.
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 § 113-49.
A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of each cat vaccinated on a form recommended by the state.
Any cat may be exempted from the requirements of such vaccination for a specified period of time by the animal control authority, 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. 
Procuring license and registration tag. The owner of any cat which attains licensing age or any person who owns, keeps or harbors a cat shall, within 10 days after he/she obtains possession of such cat, and annually thereafter, in the month of February, apply for and procure from the office of the Town Clerk a license and official registration tag for each such cat so owned, kept or harbored. All such applications shall be made to the Town Clerk prior to February and each succeeding year thereafter. No person shall own, keep or harbor within his/her household more than five cats within the Town of Dover. Any person who owns, keeps or harbors a cat shall place upon each cat a collar with the registration tag securely fastened onto it.
B. 
Cats brought into jurisdiction. Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Town of Dover any cat licensed in another state, for the current year, and bearing a registration tag, and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Town of Dover for a period of more than 90 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such cat.
C. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought in the Town of Dover any unlicensed cat, and shall keep same or permit the same to be kept within the Town of Dover for a period of more than 10 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such cat not to exceed five in number.
D. 
License form and tags. License forms and official tags or sleeves shall be furnished by the town and shall be numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the town.
E. 
Evidence of inoculation with rabies vaccine or certification of exemption; requirement for license. No official designated by the Aldermen of the Town of Dover 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 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 had been certified exempt as provided by § 113-49. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian or by such other veterinarians permitted by law to do the same.
A. 
No person, except an officer in the performance of his duties, shall remove a registration tag from the collar of any cat without the consent of the owner, nor shall any person attach a registration tag to a cat for which it was not issued.
B. 
No licensed cat shall be allowed off the premises of the person harboring or keeping the cat without the metal registration tag attached to its collar.
[Amended 12-15-2008 by Ord. No. 35-2008]
A. 
A license shall be issued after payment of a fee of $14.80 for the license and the sum of $1.20 for the registration tag of each neutered/spayed cat for the first year and every year thereafter. A surcharge of $3 will be imposed on any license and registration tag for which proof of spay/neutered cannot be provided. Said licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of February in each year. In connection with the issuance of a renewal license, a penalty charge of $10 shall be charged for the first thirty-day period after the last day of February of each year that said renewal license is not obtained, and $1 for each first thirty-day period after April. The fee for a replacement license and registration tag shall be $2.
B. 
Fees; renewals; expiration date of license. 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 a license and registration tag or sleeve shall be the same as for the original, and said license, registration tag or sleeve and renewal thereof shall expire on the last day of February in each year.
A. 
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the cat for which license and registration are sought and the name, street and post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such cat.
B. 
The information on said application and the registration number issued for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Town Clerk or other official designated by the Town Aldermen. Registration numbers shall be issued in the order of the applications.
Proof of licensing shall be produced by any person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a cat upon request of any health official or other authorized person.
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this Article.
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this Article as they pertain to cat licensing shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Town of Dover 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 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.
[Added 5-28-1996 by Ord. No. 19-1996; amended 5-11-2010 by Ord. No. 4-2010]
Any person who violates or who fails or refuses to comply with §§ 113-46, 113-47, 113-50, or 113-51 of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health and Senior Services shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $25 for the first offense; $50 for the second offense; and for a third or subsequent offense, a penalty of $100. A third or subsequent offense will require a mandatory court appearance.
[Added 11-26-1996 by Ord. No. 42-1996]
A. 
No person owning, keeping or harboring any cat, either licensed or unlicensed, shall suffer, permit or allow it to run at large off the premises of the owner.
B. 
Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $25 for the first offense; $50 for the second offense; and for a third or subsequent offense, a penalty of $100. A third or subsequent offense will require a mandatory court appearance.