[Adopted by the Board of Health 4-12-1972 (Ch. 335,
Art. I, of the 1993 Code); amended in its entirety by the Township
Committee at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
For the purposed of this article, the terms, phrases, words
and their derivations used herein shall have the meanings provided
in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1. When not inconsistent with the context, words
used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural
number include the singular number, and words used in the singular
number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory
and not merely directory.
No dog of licensing age shall be allowed to
be harbored in the Township without being licensed as provided in
the following requirements:
A.
Registration; license fees.
(1)
Annual registration. All dogs kept or harbored in
the Township shall be annually registered as to sex, breed, name,
address and telephone number, if any, of the owner, name of the dog
and proof of rabies inoculation prior to such registration.
(2)
License fees.
(a)
Nonpotentially dangerous dogs. A license fee
of $15 shall be paid for each dog. Upon the presentation of a certificate
signed by a licensed veterinarian stating that the dog has been spayed
or neutered, the license fee shall be reduced to $12.
(b)
Potentially dangerous dogs. A license fee of
$700 shall be paid for each dog.
(3)
Expiration date. Such licenses and registration tags
shall expire on the last day of January in each year.
(4)
Pilot Clinic Fund. To provide funding for a pilot
low-cost spay/neuter clinic for dogs and cats, as provided in N.J.S.A.
4:19-15.3c, the sum of $0.20 shall be added to the cost of a dog license.
(5)
Animal Population Control Fund. To provide funding
for the Animal Population Control Fund as provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.3b,
there shall be collected, in addition to the license fees, the sum
of $3 for any dog of reproductive age which has not had its reproductive
capacity permanently altered through sterilization. The term "reproductive
age" shall be interpreted as licensing age.
B.
Registration tag; display; loss; renewal. Every dog
registered and licensed in the Township shall be required to have
the registration tag displayed in some manner on the dog at all times,
and, in cases where the owner of such dog shall apply to the office
of Health Services for a replacement registration tag, such tag shall
be issued at a cost of $1 to the owner of the dog.
C.
Time limit. The owner of any newly acquired dog of
licensing age or any dog which attains licensing age shall apply for
a license and registration tag within 10 days of such acquisition
or age attainment.
D.
Current New Jersey licenses honored; duplicate licenses.
Any license registration for a dog obtained during the current licensing
year in any city, borough or municipality of the State of New Jersey
shall be honored by the Township for that year, and a duplicate Hazlet
Township license shall be issued at a cost of $1 to the dog owner.
E.
Penalty for late registration. A penalty of $5 shall be imposed after
April 1 of any year for late registration of a dog and/or cat required
for licensing prior to that date under any of the sections of this
article.
[Amended 11-16-2015 by Ord. No. 1579-15]
F.
Out-of-state dogs, licensed or unlicensed.
(1)
Licensed dogs. Any person who shall bring or cause
to be brought into this state any dog licensed in another state for
the current year, and bearing a registration tag, and shall keep or
permit such dog to be kept within the state for a period of more than
90 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag
for such dog in the Township unless the dog shall be licensed as part
of a kennel.
(2)
Unlicensed dogs. Any person who shall bring or cause
to be brought into this state any unlicensed dog and shall keep or
permit the same to be kept within the state for a period of more than
10 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag
for each such dog in the Township unless such dog shall be licensed
as part of a kennel.
G.
Kennels; pet shops; shelters. The provisions of N.J.S.A.
4:19-15.8 et seq. in regard to the proper licensing and registration
of a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall apply within the Township.
No dog shall run at large at any time within
the limits of the Township.
No person owning a dog or having the care, custody
or control of any dog shall suffer or permit such dog to be off the
premises owned or in other manner in possession of such person, unless
the dog is accompanied by a person at least 10 years of age and capable
of controlling the dog which shall be on a leash not more than six
feet long.
No dog owner shall allow the dog owned by him
or her or in his or her care or custody, to disturb the peace of the
Township by barking for a continued period of time in such a manner
as to annoy the persons adjacent to his or her premises.
Dogs and other animals which are penned outside
of the home shall be adequately housed in shelters of appropriate
size for the size of the animals. Adequate food and water shall be
provided for the animals.
No person owning, harboring,
keeping or in charge of any pet shall cause, suffer or allow such
pet to soil, defile, defecate on or commit any nuisance on any common
thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway, bypath, play area, park, school
ground or any place where people congregate or walk or upon any public
or private property without the permission of the owner of the property.
The restriction is this section shall not apply to the street right-of-way,
except for sidewalk, from property line to property line which shall
be used to curb such pet under the following conditions:
A.
The person who so curbs a pet shall immediately remove all feces
deposited by such pet by any sanitary method approved by the Monmouth
County Board of Health.
B.
The feces removed from the aforementioned designated area shall be
disposed of by the person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge
of any per curbed in accordance with provisions of this article in
a sanitary manner approved by the Monmouth County Board of Health.
No person shall own, harbor or be in charge
of a dog or other animal shall allow such dog or other animal to do
any injury or damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds, trees
or any property belonging to anyone other than the owner or person
having the care or custody of such dog or other animal.
A female dog in heat shall be confined to the
house or a pen. When she is walked or exercised, she must be on a
leash and controlled by a responsible adult. During the period a female
dog is in heat, such dog shall not be chained or tied in an open yard
or area at any time.
No more than four dogs of licensing age shall
be kept, maintained or harbored at one time for any length of time
in any residential housing unit or on its grounds or in any business
establishment or on its grounds. This restriction shall not apply
to properly licensed kennels, pet shops, pounds and shelters.
No person shall own, harbor or keep any wild
animals, including but not limited to skunks, raccoons and foxes,
as pets unless said animal is purchased from a duly certified pet
shop and/or an appropriate state or federal agency.
The Township Committee hereby adopts and makes part of this article and adopts by reference the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:22-15 et seq. as pertain to cruelty to animals occurring within the jurisdiction of the Township with the exception that penalties imposed for municipal prosecution under this article shall be in accordance with § 133-16 of this article.
A.
Dogs running at large. Any dog found running at large
in the Township shall be taken into custody by any member of the Police
Department or any person authorized by the Township Committee to enforce
the provisions of this article. Such dog shall be impounded according
to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16.
B.
Fees and charges. The owner or custodian of any dog
or other animal impounded within the provisions of this article shall
be subject to the following provisions:
(1)
A fee of $25 shall be paid to redeem the dog or other
animal so impounded on first offense, plus a fee of $4 per day for
the care and feeding of the dog or other animal so impounded.
(2)
The charge for redemption shall be $35 for the second
offense, $50 for the third offense and $100 for the fourth offense
and all subsequent offenses, together with the daily charges incurred,
provided that such offenses occur within a period of two calendar
years from the date of the first offense.
C.
Dog return requirements. No dog shall be returned
to the owner or claimant of such dog unless the dog shall have a current
license and the owner or claimant has complied with the rabies inoculation
requirements as hereinafter provided and has paid the proper fees
required.
The Township Committee shall have the power
to appoint a Animal Control Officer, or Animal Control Officers for
the purpose of enforcement of the provisions of this article. The
Township Committee shall further have the power to enter into contract
with such Animal Control Officer or Animal Control Officers for the
exercise of such duties as it shall deem necessary for the enforcement
of the provisions of this article. The Township Committee shall have
the power to make all decisions necessary in the hiring of enforcement
officers.
A.
Police officer; judgment; authorization. When, in
the judgment of any officer of the Police Department of the Township,
any dog or other animal shall be considered dangerous and an immediate
threat to humans or other animal life or property, such officer is
authorized to kill such animal for the protection of any person or
property.
B.
Dogs shall be deemed vicious or potentially dangerous
in accordance with P.L. 1989, c. 307 (N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq.).
Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.19, any person who shall
violate any provision of this article shall be subject to a fine of
not less than $25 or more than $100 for the first offense, and not
less than $50 for the second offense and any offenses incurred thereafter.
