4:19-15.8 Licensing of kennel, pet shop, shelter, pound.

8. 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 clerk or other official designated to license dogs in the municipality where such establishment is located, for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment.

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 municipal and health authorities showing compliance with the local and State rules and regulations governing location of and sanitation at such establishments.

b. All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter, or pound shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained, and all licenses shall expire on the last day of June of each year, and be subject to revocation by the municipality on recommendation of the Department of Health or the local board of health for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State department or local board governing the same, after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State department or local board, except as provided in subsection c. of this section.

Any person holding a license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by a licensee and kept at the establishments; the licenses shall not be transferable to another owner or different premises.

c. The license for a pet shop shall be subject to review by the municipality, upon recommendation by the Department of Health or the local health authority for failure by the pet shop to comply with the rules and regulations of the State department or local health authority governing pet shops or if the pet shop meets the criteria for recommended suspension or revocation provided under subsection c. or d. of section 5 of P.L.1999, c.336 (C.56:8-96), after the owner of the pet shop has been afforded a hearing pursuant to subsection e. of section 5 of P.L.1999, c.336 (C.56:8-96).

The municipality, based on the criteria for the recommendation of the local health authority provided under subsections c. and d. of section 5 of P.L.1999, c.336 (C.56:8-96), may suspend the license for 90 days or may revoke the license if it is determined at the hearing that the pet shop: (1) failed to maintain proper hygiene and exercise reasonable care in safeguarding the health of animals in its custody or (2) sold a substantial number of animals that the pet shop knew, or reasonably should have known, to be unfit for purchase.

d. The municipality may issue a license for a pet shop that permits the pet shop to sell pet supplies for all types of animals, including cats and dogs, and sell animals other than cats and dogs but restricts the pet shop from selling cats or dogs, or both.

e. Every pet shop licensed in the State shall submit annually and no later than May 1 of each year records of the total number of cats and dogs, respectively, sold by the pet shop each year to the municipality in which it is located, and the municipality shall provide this information to the local health authority.

L.1941, c.151, s.8; amended 1982, c.203, s.3. 1999, c.336, s.6; 2012, c.17, s.5.