[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Mendham as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted as Ch. V of the 1998 Revised General Ordinances]
[Amended by Ord. No. 9-1973]
As used in the article, the following terms shall have the meaning
indicated:
Any animal kept as a farm or domestic animal, including a
dog.
[Added 2-24-2004 by Ord. No. 4-2004]
The operation of a kennel for the purpose of financial gain,
or the receipt of fees, costs, compensation or other revenue. The
presence, exclusive of puppies under the age of three months, of more
than seven dogs at a premises or establishment shall give rise to
the rebuttable presumption that said premises are operated as a kennel.
[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-08]
A male or female, spayed or unspayed, dog.
Any premises or establishment wherein or whereupon the business
of breeding, caring for, keeping, housing, selling, or training of
dogs for sale, hire or for commercial purposes is carried on.
[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-08]
Any person owning, keeping or harboring a dog.
Any person owning, keeping or harboring an animal.
[Added 2-24-2004 by Ord. No. 4-2004]
To be off the property of the owner and not under the control
of the owner, a member of his immediate family, or his or their agent,
either by leash, cord, chain or otherwise.
A.Â
License required. All dogs and kennels shall be licensed in accordance
with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-1 et seq.
B.Â
License fees.
[Amended by Ord. No. 10-1972; Ord. No. 11-1977; Ord. No. 12-81; Ord. No. 9-1983; Ord. No. 17-1992; 7-12-2010 by Ord. No. 9-2010[1]]
(1)Â
Annual fee.
(b)Â
In addition to the preceding subsection, any person applying for a dog license shall pay an additional annual fee as provided in Chapter 160, Fees, for any dog of reproductive age which has not had its reproduction capacity permanently altered through sterilization. This fee is to be designated for the Animal Population Control Fund.
(2)Â
Seeing-eye dogs. No license fee shall be required for a dog used
as a guide for a blind person and commonly known as a "Seeing Eye"
dog, for a dog used to assist a deaf person and commonly known as
a "hearing ear" dog, or a service dog.[2]
(4)Â
Delinquent charge. Any person owning, keeping or harboring a dog of licensing age during the month of January in any year who fails to obtain the license required by Subsection A prior to February 1 of that year shall, upon issuance of the license subsequent to February 1, be required to pay a delinquent charge as provided in Chapter 160, Fees, in addition to the fee required by this section, provided that a person who represents evidence that a dog has acquired or became of licensing age after February 1 of that year shall not be required to pay the aforesaid delinquent charge.
C.Â
Mailing of license and tag. An applicant desiring that the license
and registration tag be mailed to the applicant shall provide a self-addressed
stamped envelope for this purpose.
[Added by Ord. No. 8-1990]
[Amended by Ord. No. 19-1974; Ord. No. 9-1975; 2-24-2004 by Ord. No. 4-2004]
A.Â
Dog nuisances.
[Amended 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-08]
(1)Â
Run at large within the limits of the Township of Mendham at any
time.
(2)Â
Be off the premises of such owner or person so harboring said dog,
except when restrained by a leash or when otherwise under the strict
control of some responsible person able to control said dog.
(3)Â
Cause any injury to any person.
(4)Â
Do any damage to any shrub, tree or other property in the Township
of Mendham.
(5)Â
Soil or defile or commit any nuisance upon any property, either public
or private, within the Township of Mendham.
(6)Â
Habitually bark, howl or cry. The habitual barking, howling or crying
of a dog or dogs in the Township of Mendham is hereby declared to
be a disturbing noise and a nuisance.
(7)Â
Be or become a public nuisance or create a condition hazardous to
safety and health.
(8)Â
Be upon any public playground, schoolyard or public recreation area
in the Township of Mendham, while unleashed.
B.Â
Notice to owner. If any dog taken into custody by the Animal Control
Officer has a collar or harness with a registration tag or other information
by which the Animal Control Officer can identify the owner of the
dog, the Animal Control Officer shall immediately telephone and mail
a written notice to the owner stating the address and telephone number
of the place at which the dog is being held and may be redeemed prior
to a date set forth in the notice, which date shall not be less than
seven days following the date upon which the notice is mailed.
C.Â
Charges upon redemption. Upon the redemption of a dog which has been
taken into custody and impounded by the Animal Control Officer, the
owner of the dog shall be required to pay to the Animal Control Officer
charges for maintenance and care in accordance with a schedule approved
by the Township Committee.
D.Â
Disposition of unredeemed dogs. In the event that a dog taken into
custody and impounded by the Animal Control Officer in accordance
with the provisions of this section shall not have been redeemed by
the owner on or before the date specified in the notice, or in the
event the Animal Control Officer does not have the information with
respect to the owner of an impounded dog and has held the dog for
a period of not less than seven days, or not less than 10 days, in
the event a person has been bitten by a dog, then the Animal Control
Officer may either:
E.Â
Penalty. The general penalty provisions of this Code shall apply
to violations of this article. Each day that a violation of this article
continues shall be a separate violation.
[Amended by Ord. No. 19-1974]
A.Â
Animal Control Officer. The Township Committee shall appoint an Animal
Control Officer who shall serve until December 31 of the year in which
he/she is appointed. Any vacancy in the position of Animal Control
Officer shall be filled for the unexpired term only. The Animal Control
Officer shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by the Township
Committee.
B.Â
Duties of the Animal Control Officer. The Animal Control Officer
shall take into custody and impound the following dogs within the
Township:
[Added by Ord. No. 7-90]
A.Â
CAT
NEUTERED
OWNER OF A CAT
Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall have
the meaning indicated:
Includes any member of the domestic feline species, male,
female or neutered, which has attained the age of six months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified
by a licensed veterinarian.
Includes any person residing within the Township who has
a right of property in or custody of a cat, who harbors a cat, or
who knowingly permits a cat to remain on or about any premises occupied
by that person.
B.Â
License requirements.
(1)Â
Prior to January 31 in each year, the owner of a cat shall apply
for and obtain from the duly designated Township Official an annual
license and registration tag or registration sleeve with license number
for the cat. Every license shall expire on January 31 of the succeeding
year. No license shall be transferable from one cat to another cat.
(2)Â
Whenever in any year a person becomes the owner of a cat after the
date by which cats are required to be licensed, such owner shall apply
for a license and registration tag or sleeve for the cat within 20
calendar days, in the event that a currently valid license has been
issued by another jurisdiction for the cat and such other jurisdiction
required inoculation against rabies as condition of the issuance of
the license, the cat need not be licensed in the Township before January
31 next following.
C.Â
Application for license; proof of inoculation against rabies; fee
for license.
[Amended by Ord. No. 25-1995; 7-12-2010 by Ord. No. 9-2010]
(1)Â
The application form for a license shall require the following information:
the name and address of the owner of the cat, the name, breed, sex,
age, color and markings of the cat, and whether the cat, the name,
breed, sex, age, color and markings of the cat, and whether the cat
is of the long-haired or shorthaired variety.
(2)Â
An application for a license shall not be complete unless it is accompanied
by evidence that the cat to be licensed has been inoculated with a
rabies vaccine of a type approved by and administered in accordance
with the recommendation of the United States Department of Agriculture
and the United States Department of Human Services and that the period
during which such inoculation is considered to be effective has not
expired. This requirement for inoculation shall not apply in the event
that a certificate has been issued by a duly licensed veterinarian
stating that because of an infirmity, other physical condition or
regimen of therapy, the inoculation of a particular cat against rabies
is deemed advisable.
(3)Â
An applicant for a license shall pay to the Township an annual fee as provided in Chapter 160, Fees, for each cat. The amount of the fee shall not be prorated by reason of date upon which the license may be issued. An additional delinquent fee shall be due in the event that an application is not made by the date or within the time required. There shall also be a duplicate license fee.[1]
D.Â
Registration tag or sleeve. The registration tag or registration
sleeve issued for a cat shall bear the serial number assigned, the
year and the name of the Township. The owner of the cat shall cause
the tag or sleeve to be displayed upon the cat at all times. A breakaway
or elastic collar may be used.
E.Â
Exhibit of license. The owner of a cat shall produce the current
license issued for the cat upon the request of the Township Animal
Control Officer, a Police Officer or other Township Official.
F.Â
G.Â
Use of license fees collected.
(1)Â
License fees collected in accordance with the provisions of Subsection C shall be expended by the Township for the following administrative costs of licensing cats, purchase of registration tags and sleeves, providing annual rabies clinics under the direction of the Township Board of Health, administering the Township animal control programs and enforcing the provisions of this section.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.15, as amended, the Animal Control
Officer of the Township or his designee shall annually cause a canvass
to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of
the Township as prescribed by N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.15, as amended, and
shall report to the Clerk, the Board of Health and the State Department
of Health and Senior Services the results thereof in compliance with
state statutes.
No person owning, keeping, harboring, walking or in charge of
any dog shall cause, suffer, permit or allow such dog to soil, defile,
defecate on or commit any nuisance on any common thoroughfare, street,
sidewalk, passageway, road bypass, play area, park or any place where
people congregate or walk or upon any public property whatsoever or
upon any private property without permission of the owner of the private
property. If any such person shall permit such dog to soil, defile,
defecate on or commit any nuisance on the areas, such person shall
immediately remove and dispose of all feces and droppings deposited
by such dogs, which removal shall be in a sanitary manner by a shovel
container, disposal bag or the like. In a multidwelling complex, the
tenant dog owner shall take his dog to the only designated walking
area or other area which shall be provided and maintained in a sanitary
manner by the management of the complex. The dog owner shall maintain
his own property in a sanitary manner in order to prevent any noxious
odors or any other public health nuisance to neighbors. This section
shall not apply to or be enforced against blind persons in connection
with their use of Seeing Eye dogs.
[Added 4-12-1999 by Ord. No. 7-1999; amended 5-12-2014 by Ord. No.
6-2014; 12-19-2019 by Ord. No. 13-2019]
A person violating any provision of this article shall, upon
conviction thereof, be liable to a penalty of not less than $35 nor
more than $1,000, imprisonment for a period not to exceed 90 days
or a period of community service not to exceed 90 days, for each offense,
to be recovered by and in the name of the Township of Mendham. The
animal’s owner or the person to whom the owner has entrusted
the animal’s care shall be responsible for complying with and
being subject to this article.
[Adopted 3-28-2006 by Ord. No. 11-2006 (Sec. 3-11 of the
1998 Revised General Ordinances)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
To give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any
edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing
wildlife. "Feeding" does not include baiting in the legal taking of
fish and/or game.
Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm,
association or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal
jurisdiction.
All animals that are neither human nor domesticated.
The purpose of this article is to prohibit the feeding of unconfined
wildlife in any public park or on any other property owned or operated
by the Township of Mendham so as to protect public health, safety
and welfare.
No person shall feed, in any public park or on any other property
owned or operated by the Township of Mendham, any wildlife, excluding
confined wildlife (for example: wildlife confined in zoos, parks or
rehabilitation centers, or unconfined wildlife at environmental education
centers, or feral cats as part of an approved trap-neuter-release
program).
Penalties shall be subject to a fine in the maximum amount permitted
by law.
