[Adopted 12-27-1989 as Ch. BH-XII of the 1982 Revised General
Ordinances (Ch. 335, Art. II of the 1993 Code)]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Dog or cat.
Any person or agency designated 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 Hazlet Township 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 or 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
Hazlet Township, 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 Monmouth
County Health Department, 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.[1]
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 Clerk of the municipality or other
official designated by the governing body thereof to license cats
in the municipality in which he or she resides 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
or displayed thereto. Acceptable methods of displaying 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 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 Hazlet Township
for no longer than 90 days.
C.
Cats brought into jurisdiction.
(1)
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into Hazlet Township any cat licensed in another state for the current
year and bearing registration tag or sleeve and shall keep the same
or permit the same to be kept within Hazlet 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 Hazlet Township any unlicensed cat and shall keep the same or
permit the same to be kept within Hazlet Township 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 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 Hazlet Health Services or other local official designated
to license cats in the municipality.[1]
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. Hazlet Health Services or other
official designated by the governing body of any municipality to license
cats therein shall not 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 § 480-19 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.[2]
G.
H.
Fees; renewals; expiration date of license.
(1)
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
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 January 31 in the following year.
(2)
Only one license and registration tag or sleeve shall
be required in the licensing year for any cat in Hazlet 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, Hazlet Health Services or other official designated
by the governing body to license cats may issue a duplicate license
and/or registration sleeve for that particular cat at a fee of $1.[4]
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.
[Added 9-4-2012 by Ord.
No. 1511-12]
No more than four cats 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.
[Added 9-4-2012 by Ord.
No. 1511-12]
Any cat found running at large in the Township shall be apprehended
and impounded by the enforcing agent of the Township Committee upon
complaint of any citizen.
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere
with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this
article.
A.
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this article shall be forwarded to the Chief
Financial Officer of the municipality, and shall be placed in a special
account separate from any other accounts of the municipality and shall
be used for the following purposes only:
[Amended 9-7-1993]
(1)
Collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable to
seizure.
(2)
Local prevention and control of rabies.
(3)
Providing antirabies treatment under the direction
of the Monmouth County Board of Health for any person known or suspected
to have been exposed to rabies.
[Amended 9-4-2012 by Ord.
No. 1511-12]
(4)
Administering the provisions of this article.
B.
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 9-4-2012 by Ord.
No. 1511-12]
Except as otherwise provided in this article,
any person who violates or who fails or refuses to comply with this
article shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $25 nor more
than $100 for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of
the Monmouth County Health Department or by and in the name of the
municipality.
