[1987 Revision]
As used in this section, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State
of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female or
neutered.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
The Board of Health of the Township of Bernards or any designated
representative thereof.
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.
[1987 Revision]
a.
Vaccination and License Requirements. No person shall own, keep,
harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within the Township
of Bernards, unless such cat is vaccinated and licensed. In order
for the license to be issued, the owner must present proof that a
licensed veterinarian has vaccinated the cat against rabies and that
the duration of immunity from that vaccination extends through at
least 10 months of the twelve-month licensing period. An exemption
to the rabies inoculation requirement shall be granted if the owner
presents written certification from a licensed veterinarian that the
cat cannot be vaccinated due to a medical condition or course of therapy.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to cats held in a cattery
or those held by a state or federal 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.
[Ord. #BH:97, 2-11-2016, amended]
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 § BH:10-5.2d.
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 Board of
Health of the Township of Bernards, 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.
[1987 Revision; Ord. #BH:49]
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 licensing authority a license and 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
thereto 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 transferable.
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 Bernards for no longer than 90 days.
c.
Cats Brought Into Jurisdiction. Any person who shall
bring or cause to be brought into the Township of Bernards 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 of Bernards for a period of more than 90
days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag or
sleeve for each such cat.
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Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the Township of Bernards any unlicensed cat and who shall keep
the same or permit the same to be kept within the Township of Bernards
for a period of more than 10 days shall immediately apply for a license
and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat.
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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-short-haired 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 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 licensing authority 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 licensing authority shall grant 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 § BH:10-5.2d of this section. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian permitted by law to do same.
g.
License Fee Schedule. A license shall be issued after
payment of a fee of $13 for each unneutered cat and $10 for each neutered
cat. Persons who fail to obtain a license prior to the first day of
March shall be subject to a delinquent fee of $5.
[Ord. #BH:69, 12-5-2002, amended; Ord. #BH:76, 10-13-2005, amended;
Ord. #BH:81, 12-6-2007, amended]
h.
Fees; Renewals; Expiration Date of License. Licenses
from another municipality shall be accepted. 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 the license and registration
tag or sleeve shall be the same as for the originals, and said license,
registration tag or sleeve and renewal thereof shall expire on January
31 in the following year.
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Only one license and registration tag or sleeve
shall be required in the licensing year for any cat in the Township
of Bernards. Any valid New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by
a New Jersey municipality shall be accepted by this municipality as
evidence of compliance.
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i.
Loss of License. If a license tag or sleeve has been
misplaced or lost, the licensing authority may issue a duplicate license
and/or registration tag or sleeve for that particular cat at a fee
of $0.50.
j.
Proof of License. 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
Chapter. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this chapter.
l.
Disposition of Fees Collected. License fees and other
moneys collected or received under the provisions of this chapter
shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Township of Bernards and
shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other
accounts of the Township of Bernards and shall be used for the following
purposes only: collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable to
seizure; for local prevention and control of rabies; providing antirabies
treatment under the direction of the Board of Health for any person
known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; and for administering
the provisions of this chapter. 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 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.
[1987 Revision]
Any person who violates or who fails or refuses
to comply with this chapter shall be liable to a penalty as set forth
in § BH:1-5.
