N.J. Admin. Code § 8:23A-1.10

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 8:23A-1.10 - Holding and receiving of animals

(a) Facilities subject to the requirements of this subchapter shall undertake at least the following steps to protect the public from rabies infection, as applicable to the particular type of facility:

1. Impounded animals must be kept alive for seven days to give opportunity for rabies disease surveillance and opportunity for owners to reclaim.

2. Unowned or surrendered dogs, cats or ferrets which have bitten a human shall be either held for rabies observation for 10 days following the bite or euthanized for laboratory examination for rabies, provided that this shall not affect compliance with 4:19-15.1 6.

3. Other biting animals should be euthanized for rabies examination; if unowned, they shall be euthanized upon recommendations of the State or local health department.

4. The specimen to be submitted for laboratory examination is the head of a small animal such as a dog or cat, the brain of a large animal such as a horse, cow or sheep, or an entire bat. The specimen shall be carefully packaged so as to maintain refrigeration temperatures during delivery and to prevent the leakage of any body fluids to the exterior of the package. The specimen should be delivered by messenger to the State Department of Health and Senior Services Laboratory.

5. Shelters and pounds shall not euthanize animals brought in for elective euthanasia unless the person in charge of the facility has determined the animal is not a stray, and that the person requesting the animal's euthanasia is the owner of the animal or a representative of the owner, and the animal has not bitten a human within 10 days or evidenced other aggressive tendencies compatible with symptoms suspicious of rabies.

i. The facility shall require the owner or owner's representative to present a valid form of identification including the following: driver's license, passport, voter registration, green card, school identification, county identification, State identification, or government-issued photo identification.

ii. The facility shall require an owner's representative to present a written authorization of the owner for the surrender and euthanization of the animal, which document the facility shall retain in accordance with the procedure, and for the period, established at 8:23A-1.13.

iii. If a surrendered animal has bitten a human being within the 10 days preceding the surrender and the facility euthanizes the animal, the facility shall notify the local health agency and shall deliver the appropriate specimen to the laboratory.

iv. If a surrendered animal has bitten a human being within the 10 days preceding the surrender and the facility does not euthanize the animal, the facility shall notify the local health agency and shall confine the animal for rabies observation for 10 days from the date of the bite in accordance with (a)2 above.

v. Shelters and pounds are not required to accept animals for elective euthanasia.

6. The person in charge of the facility shall keep a record of evidence submitted in support of (a)6 above for a period of one year.

(b) Each shelter or pound shall post a sign, which shall be clearly visible from the outside, establishing specific hours during which persons will be permitted to enter the facility to look at animals and intake records for the purpose of seeking animals that are missing.

1. The hours for public access shall be at least two hours each business day Monday through Friday and two hours Saturday or Sunday, excluding legal holidays.

i. Shelters and pounds shall make available to contracting municipalities a telephone number that residents may call to report lost animals or to receive information on found animals, and this telephone number shall be listed on the posted facility sign.

2. The facility shall require a person entering the facility to look at animals or to examine intake records pursuant to (b) above to identify himself or herself by the presentation of a valid form of identification including the following: driver's license, passport, voter registration, green card, school identification, county identification, state identification, or government-issued photo identification.

3. A person who is searching for his or her missing animal shall furnish to the shelter or pound a written description of his or her animal and a license or other proof of ownership, such as a photograph.

4. Persons entering a facility shall abide by all reasonable security measures required by the shelter or pound to prevent the spread of disease.

5. Shelters and pounds shall establish a procedure for the viewing of confined animals during posted hours in a manner that would prevent the transmission of disease.

6. In the case of claimed dogs that are unlicensed, the facility from which the dog is reclaimed shall forward the name and address of the owner, and a description of the dog, within 30 days to the person or agency designated to enforce the licensing of dogs in the municipality of the dog owner's residence.

7. A pound accepting a stray animal found in a municipality not under contract with that facility shall notify, within 48 hours, the animal control officer of the municipality where the animal was found, as to the species, sex, color, breed, and other identifying features of the animal and shall relinquish the animal to the pound of jurisdiction, if so requested by that pound's manager.

N.J. Admin. Code § 8:23A-1.10

Amended by R.1995 d.24, effective 1/17/1995.
See: 26 N.J.R. 4129(a), 27 N.J.R. 343(b).
Amended by R.2007 d.98, effective 4/16/2007.
See: 38 N.J.R. 4606(a), 39 N.J.R. 1474(a).
Rewrote the introductory paragraph of (a), (a)5 and (b).