Lafayette, New Jersey

§ 5-1.1 Definitions.

KENNEL

Shall mean any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a pet shop, and shall include any establishment wherein there is carried on the business or practice of boarding, grooming, selling or breeding dogs or where dogs are kept or maintained for any commercial purpose whatever, except pet shops as herein mentioned.

§ 5-1.2 License Required: Compliance with Chapter.

a. No person shall own, keep, or harbor any dog, within the Township, without first obtaining a license therefor, to be issued by the Township Clerk or Animal Control Officer, upon application by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee, and no person shall keep or harbor any dog except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

§ 5-2 KENNELS, PET SHOPS, SHELTER OR POUND.

a. Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel, a pet shop, a shelter or a pound shall apply to the Township Clerk or Animal Control Officer for a license entitling him to keep or operate such an establishment.

b. The application shall describe the premises where the establishment is located or is proposed to be located, the purpose or purposes for which it is to be maintained, and shall be accompanied by the written approval of the local Board of Health and Planning/Zoning Board,^[1] showing compliance with the local and State rules and regulations governing location of and sanitation at such establishments.

c. All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained. Such license shall expire on the last day of January of each year, and shall be subject to revocation by the Township on recommendation of the State Department of Health or the local Board of Health for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health or the local Board of Health governing the same, after owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department of Health or the local Board of Health in accordance with the statutes providing for such hearings.

d. Any such person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by him and kept at such establishments. Such license shall not be transferable to another owner or different premises.

e. One female dog in breeding purposes may be kept by no more than one person for each family household without obtaining a kennel license for not more than one litter per year, and further provided that the pups from such breeding shall be sold or disposed of after six months of age, unless kept as licensed dogs, and that the female dog kept for breeding purposes must be registered as a breed bitch each year when the license for the dog is obtained.

f. The fees for kennels and pet shops shall be $25. No fee shall be charged for a shelter or pound.

g. No dog kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall be permitted off such premises except on a leash or in a crate or other safe control.

h. The rules and regulations of the State Department of Health governing the operation and maintenance of kennels, pet shops, pounds, and shelters made effective September 1, 1968, are hereby adopted as provisions of this chapter by reference to the rules and regulations without incorporating the same herein in full. A copy of the rules and regulations shall be maintained in the Township Clerk’s Office, and shall be made available during any reasonable business hours to any person desiring to see the same

§ 5-3.1 Licensing Fees.

The sum to be paid annually for a dog license and each renewal thereof as required by P.L. 1941, Chapter 151 of New Jersey shall be the sum of $13.80 plus the sum of $1 for the registration fee for each dog, plus as required by P.L. 1983 a. 181, $0.20 surcharge, plus as required by P.L. 1983 c. 172, $3 for “Animal Population Control Fund” at a total cost of $18 for non-spayed and non-neutered dogs.

However, when an owner presents a certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian that the dog has been spayed or neutered, the license fee shall be $13.80 plus the sum of $1 for the registration fee for each dog, plus $0.20 surcharge as per P.L. 1983 a. 181 for a total cost of $15 for spayed or neutered dogs.