§§1,2 -

C.4:22-25.3

& 4:22-25.4

P.L. 1999, CHAPTER 307, approved January 4, 2000

Senate, No. 1815 (Second Reprint)

An Act ¹[prohibiting] concerning¹ the sale or barter of dog or cat fur or hair and products made therefrom and ¹[prohibiting] concerning¹ the sale or barter of dog or cat flesh and products made therefrom for human consumption, supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes, and amending R.S.4:22-26.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) ¹[a. No person may sell or barter or offer] Any person who sells, barters, or offers¹ for sale or barter, at wholesale or retail, the fur or hair of a ¹domestic¹ dog or cat or any product made in whole or in part from the fur or hair of a ¹domestic¹ dog or cat ¹[, except that this prohibition] commits a crime of the fourth degree, provided that the person knew or reasonably should have known that the fur or hair was from a domestic dog or cat or that the product was made in whole or in part from the fur or hair of a domestic dog or cat. This section¹ shall not apply to the sale or barter ¹, or offering for sale or barter,¹ of the fur or hair of a ¹domestic¹ dog or cat cut at a commercial grooming establishment or at a veterinary office or clinic or for scientific research purposes.

¹As used in this section, "domestic dog or cat" means a dog (Canis familiaris) or cat (Felis catus or Felis domesticus) that is generally recognized in the United States as being a household pet and shall not include coyote, fox, lynx, bobcat, or any other wild ²[or commercially raised]² canine or feline species ²[the fur or hair of which is recognized for use in warm clothing and outer wear by the United States Department of Agriculture and which species is not recognized as an endangered species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service]² .¹

¹[b. A person who violates this section shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.

c. A person shall be entitled to an affirmative defense to a violation of this section if the person did not know that the fur or hair at issue was the fur or hair of a dog or cat or that the product was made in whole or in part from the fur or hair of a dog or cat. This affirmative defense shall not be available to any person who, by reason of expertise or experience, should have known that the fur or hair at issue was the fur or hair of a dog or cat or that the product was made in whole or in part from the fur or hair of a dog or cat.]¹

2. (New section) ¹[a. No person may sell or barter or offer] Any person who sells, barters, or offers¹ for sale or barter, at wholesale or retail, for human consumption, the flesh of a ¹domestic¹ dog or cat or any product made in whole or in part from the flesh of a ¹domestic¹ dog or cat ¹commits a disorderly persons offense, provided that the person knew or reasonably should have known that the flesh was from a domestic dog or cat or the product was made in whole or in part from the flesh of a domestic dog or cat. Notwithstanding the provisions of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes to the contrary, any person found guilty of violating this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than $100 and a term of imprisonment of not less than 30 days.

As used in this section, "domestic dog or cat" means a dog (Canis familiaris) or cat (Felis catus or Felis domesticus) that is generally recognized in the United States as being a household pet and shall not include coyote, fox, lynx, bobcat, or any other wild ²[or commercially raised]² canine or feline species ²[the fur or hair of which is recognized for use in warm clothing and outer wear by the United States Department of Agriculture and which species is not recognized as an endangered species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service]² .¹

¹[b. A person who violates this section shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense, and shall be subject to a fine of not less than $100 and a term of imprisonment of not less than 30 days.

c. A person shall be entitled to an affirmative defense to a violation of this section if the person did not know that the flesh at issue was the flesh of a dog or cat or that the product was made in whole or in part from the flesh of a dog or cat. This affirmative defense shall not be available to any person who, by reason of expertise or experience, should have known that the flesh at issue was the flesh of a dog or cat or that the product was made in whole or in part from the flesh of a dog or cat.]¹

3. R.S.4:22-26 is amended to read as follows:

4:22-26. A person who shall:

a. Overdrive, overload, drive when overloaded, overwork, torture, torment, deprive of necessary sustenance, or cruelly beat or otherwise abuse or needlessly mutilate or kill a living animal or creature;

b. Cause or procure to be done by his agent, servant, employee or otherwise an act enumerated in subsection ["a."] a. of this section;

c. Inflict unnecessary cruelty upon a living animal or creature of which he has charge or custody either as owner or otherwise, or unnecessarily fail to provide it with proper food, drink, shelter or protection from the weather;

d. Receive or offer for sale a horse that is suffering from abuse or neglect, or which by reason of disability, disease, abuse or lameness, or any other cause, could not be worked, ridden or otherwise used for show, exhibition or recreational purposes, or kept as a domestic pet without violating the provisions of this article;

e. Keep, use, be connected with or interested in the management of, or receive money or other consideration for the admission of a person to, a place kept or used for the purpose of fighting or baiting a living animal or creature;

f. Be present and witness, pay admission to, encourage, aid or assist in an activity enumerated in subsection ["e."] e. of this section;

g. Permit or suffer a place owned or controlled by him to be used as provided in subsection ["e."] e. of this section;

h. Carry, or cause to be carried, a living animal or creature in or upon a vehicle or otherwise, in a cruel or inhuman manner;

i. Use a dog or dogs for the purpose of drawing or helping to draw a vehicle for business purposes;

j. Impound or confine or cause to be impounded or confined in a pound or other place a living animal or creature, and shall fail to supply it during such confinement with a sufficient quantity of good and wholesome food and water;

k. Abandon a maimed, sick, infirm or disabled animal or creature to die in a public place;

l. Willfully sell, or offer to sell, use, expose, or cause or permit to be sold or offered for sale, used or exposed, a horse or other animal having the disease known as glanders or farcy, or other contagious or infectious disease dangerous to the health or life of human beings or animals, or who shall, when any such disease is beyond recovery, refuse, upon demand, to deprive the animal of life;

m. Own, operate, manage or conduct a roadside stand or market for the sale of merchandise along a public street or highway; or a shopping mall, or a part of the premises thereof; and keep a living animal or creature confined, or allowed to roam in an area whether or not the area is enclosed, on these premises as an exhibit; except that this subsection shall not be applicable to: a pet shop licensed pursuant to P.L.1941, c.151 (C.4:19-15.1 et seq.); a person who keeps an animal, in a humane manner, for the purpose of the protection of the premises; or a recognized breeders' association, a 4-H club, an educational agricultural program, an equestrian team, a humane society or other similar charitable or nonprofit organization conducting an exhibition, show or performance;

n. Keep or exhibit a wild animal at a roadside stand or market located along a public street or highway of this State; a gasoline station; or a shopping mall, or a part of the premises thereof;

o. Sell, offer for sale, barter or give away or display live baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or rabbits, turtles or chameleons which have been dyed or artificially colored or otherwise treated so as to impart to them an artificial color;

p. Use any animal, reptile, or fowl for the purpose of soliciting any alms, collections, contributions, subscriptions, donations, or payment of money except in connection with exhibitions, shows or performances conducted in a bona fide manner by recognized breeders' associations, 4-H clubs or other similar bona fide organizations;

q. Sell or offer for sale, barter, or give away living rabbits, turtles, baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl under two months of age, for use as household or domestic pets;

r. Sell, offer for sale, barter or give away living baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl, or rabbits, turtles or chameleons under two months of age for any purpose not prohibited by subsection q. of this section and who shall fail to provide proper facilities for the care of such animals;

s. Artificially mark sheep or cattle, or cause them to be marked, by cropping or cutting off both ears, cropping or cutting either ear more than one inch from the tip end thereof, or half cropping or cutting both ears or either ear more than one inch from the tip end thereof, or who shall have or keep in his possession sheep or cattle, which he claims to own, marked contrary to this subsection unless they were bought in market or of a stranger;

t. Abandon a domesticated animal;

u. For amusement or gain, cause, allow, or permit the fighting or baiting of a living animal or creature;

v. Own, possess, keep, train, promote, purchase, or knowingly sell a living animal or creature for the purpose of fighting or baiting that animal or creature; [or]

w. Gamble on the outcome of a fight involving a living animal or creature;

x. ¹[Sell] Knowingly sell¹ or barter or offer for sale or barter, at wholesale or retail, the fur or hair of a ¹domestic¹ dog or cat or any product made in whole or in part from the fur or hair of a ¹domestic¹ dog or cat, unless such fur or hair for sale or barter is from a commercial grooming establishment or a veterinary office or clinic or is for use for scientific research; or

y. ¹[Sell] Knowingly sell¹ or barter or offer for sale or barter, at wholesale or retail, for human consumption, the flesh of a ¹domestic¹ dog or cat or any product made in whole or in part from the flesh of a ¹domestic¹ dog or cat --

Shall forfeit and pay a sum not to exceed [$250.00] $250, except in the case of a violation of subsection ["t."] t. a mandatory sum of $500, and $1,000 if the violation occurs on or near a roadway, and in the case of a violation of subsection x. or y. a sum not to exceed $1,000 for each ¹domestic¹ dog or cat fur or fur or hair product or ¹domestic¹ dog or cat carcass or meat product, to be sued for and recovered, with costs, in a civil action by any person in the name of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

(cf: P.L.1998, c.105, s.3)

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

Prohibits sale of dog or cat fur or hair and products made therefrom, and prohibits sale for human consumption of domestic dog or cat flesh and products made therefrom.