Sponsored by:
Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Revises law prohibiting cruel tethering and confinement of dogs; establishes procedures for seizure, care, and forfeiture of animals involved in animal cruelty violations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain animals involved in animal cruelty violations, supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.2017, c.189.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.2017, c.189 (C.4:22-17.3) is amended to read as follows:
3. a. It is unlawful for any person to cruelly restrain a dog.
b. A person cruelly restrains a dog if the person tethers a dog:
(1) which is a nursing female, or which is less than four months old;
(2) outdoors between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., but this paragraph shall not take effect until 18 months after the date on which [this act] P.L.2017, c.189 (C.4:22-17.1 et seq.) takes effect;
(3) [in an] on unoccupied [building] or [upon] vacant property , or in any structure thereon;
(4) in a manner that does not permit the dog continuous access to water in a sanitary and liquid state whenever the dog is tethered for more than 30 minutes;
(5) in a manner that exposes the dog to adverse environmental conditions for more than 30 minutes;
(6) by means of a choke collar, prong collar, head harness, or any other type of collar, harness, or similar device other than a properly fitted body harness or buckle-type collar;
(7) by using a chain with metal links that are more than one-quarter of an inch thick, or a tether, collar, or harness to which a weight is attached;
(8) with a tether on which more than one dog is restrained;
(9) with a tether that is less than 15 feet in length or which does not permit the dog to walk at least 15 feet in any one direction; [or]
(10) with a tether that permits the dog to reach another dog or an object or location that poses a risk of entanglement, strangulation, drowning, or other harm to the health or safety of the dog, including, but not limited to, another dog's tether or a window sill, fence, wall, porch, terrace railing, vehicle, tree, pole, pool, or public road or highway ; or
(11) in a manner that exposes the dog to accumulated waste or other debris, precipitation, or flooding.
As used in this subsection, unoccupied or vacant property means property that is devoid of human inhabitants or occupants, or on which people do not regularly reside or operate a business.
c. Paragraphs (2), (3), (9), and (10) of subsection b. of this section shall not apply if any person, including the dog's owner or the person with custody or control of the dog:
(1) is in the presence of the dog at all times while the dog is tethered, whether indoors or outdoors; and
(2) can see the dog at all times while the dog is tethered, unless the person is blind or visually impaired so that the person cannot see the dog due to the blindness or visual impairment, in which case the person shall remain immediately adjacent to the dog at all times while the dog is tethered.
As used in this subsection, "blind" means a person whose vision in the person's better eye with proper correction does not exceed 20/200 or who has a field defect in the person's better eye with proper correction which contracts the peripheral field so that the diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees; and "visually impaired" means having a condition in which a person has a corrected visual acuity not exceeding 20/70, but not less than 20/200, in the person's better eye, or in which the peripheral field of the person's vision has contracted so that the diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 40 degrees but no less than 20 degrees.
d. (1) The owner of a dog shall be liable for a violation of subsections a. and b. of this section that occurs on any property belonging to the owner or on which the owner resides at the time of the violation, regardless of whether the owner is present when the violation occurs.
(2) The person with custody or control of a dog who is not the owner of the dog shall be liable for a violation of subsections a. and b. of this section that occurs on any property belonging to the person with custody or control of the dog or on which the person with custody or control of the dog resides at the time of the violation, regardless of whether the person is present when the violation occurs.
(3) [Paragraph] Paragraphs (3) and (9) of subsection b. of this section shall not apply if the dog is indoors and a person is indoors with the dog.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.189, s.3)
2. Section 5 of P.L.2017, c.189 (C.4:22-17.5) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. Proper shelter for a dog, domestic companion animal, or service animal shall be a structure or other type of protection that meets, at a minimum, the following standards and requirements:
(1) It provides at all times (a) adequate ventilation to allow the dog, domestic companion animal, or service animal to remain dry and maintain a normal body temperature, (b) access to water in a sanitary and liquid state, (c) exposure to natural or artificial light according to a regular cycle of day and night, (d) sufficient space so that the dog, domestic companion animal, or service animal can easily turn around in a full circle and lie down on the animal's side with limbs outstretched, and (e) when the animal is in a normal sitting position in the proper shelter, the top of the head of the animal cannot touch the ceiling of the proper shelter;
(2) It is maintained in a manner to minimize the accumulation of any waste, other debris, precipitation, or other moisture inside, surrounding, and underneath any area or structure providing proper shelter, and to provide reasonable protection from flooding;
(3) It is soundly constructed to prevent the sagging or collapse of any part of the structure or protection, and is maintained in good repair with no exposed sharp points or edges;
(4) It remains in an upright position at all times;
(5) In the event of adverse environmental conditions as set forth in paragraph (1) of the definition of that term in section 1 of [this act] P.L.2017, c.189 (C.4:22-17.1), it is an enclosed structure that has (a) a solid roof, solid walls with a single opening no larger than necessary to allow the dog, domestic companion animal, or serv