New Jersey Revision of Statutes
1709 - 1877
XII. An act for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
Approved April 1, 1873.
64. SECTION 1. That any person who shall overdrive, overload, drive when overloaded, overwork, torture, torment, deprive of necessary sustenance, or unnecessarily or cruelly beat, or otherwise abuse or needlessly mutilate or kill, or who shall cause or procure to be overdriven, overloaded, driven when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of necessary sustenance, or to be unnecessarily or cruelly beaten, or otherwise abused, or needlessly mutilated or killed any living animal or creature; and any person having the charge or custody of any living animal or creature, either as owner or otherwise, who inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon the same, or unnecessarily fails to provide the same with proper food, drink, shelter or protection from the weather shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and for every such offence shall on conviction thereof be punished by fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or both, in the discretion of the court.
65. SECTION 2. That any person who shall keep or use, or in any way be connected with or interested in the management of, or who shall receive money, or other consideration for the admission of any person to any place kept or used for the purpose of fighting or baiting any bull, bear, dog, cock, bird, or other living animal or creature, and every person who shall be present and witness, encourage, aid or assist therein, or who shall permit or suffer any place owned or controlled by him to be so kept or used, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and for every such offence, shall on conviction thereof be punished by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment at hard labor not exceeding two hears, or both, at the discretion of the court.
66. SECTION 3. That any agent of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who has been especially deputized by the sheriff of any county in this state may enter any place, building or tenement where there is an exhibition of the fighting or baiting of any bull, bear, dog, cock, bird, or other living animal or creature, or where preparations are being made for such an exhibition, and without warrant arrest all persons there present; and take possession of all bulls, bears, dogs, cocks, birds, or other living animals or creatures engaged in fighting or there found, and also all implements or appliances used or to be used in such exhibition; such persons so arrested shall be taken before the nearest police magistrate, or justice of the peace, and proceeded against according to law.
67. SECTION 4. That the person so seizing such living animals, creatures, implements or appliances, shall within twenty-four hours after such seizure make application to a justice of the peace, to have the same forfeited and sold; which application shall be in writing and shall specify the articles seized, the place where they were seized, and state the reason the same were seized; and the said justice shall thereupon cause a notice to be published in a newspaper circulating in the neighborhood of the place where such seizure was made for at least three times, if in a daily paper, or one time if in a weekly paper, stating that a seizure has been made, the names of the articles seized, the place where the same were seized and the reason for such seizure; and in such notice shall appoint a time and place, not less than five nor more than ten days from the date of such seizure, where and when all parties may be heard, and show cause why the application should not be granted, and if upon hearing of such application it shall be found and adjudged that at the time of said seizure the same were engaged in said exhibition, or were owned, possessed or kept by any person with the intent that the same should be so engaged, they shall be adjudged forfeited, and the said justice shall order the same sold in such manner as he shall deem proper, and after deducting the costs and expenses, shall pay one-half the proceeds of such sale to the District Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, if one is in existence in his county, and if not, then to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the other half to the person making the seizure aforesaid; should it be found and adjudged that any such birds or animals are of no more use or value, the same shall be set at liberty or disposed of as the justice may direct, but should the same be adjudged not forfeited they shall be returned to the owner, and the party making the seizure shall pay all the costs and expenses of the same.
68. SECTION 5. That the justice of the peace for his services in the foregoing section named, shall be allowed the following and no other fees, to wit:
For drawing the application, per folio, fifteen cents;
For drawing the notice, per folio, fifteen cents;
For printing (the fees now allowed by law to printers, to be paid to the printer by the said justice);
For the hearing, one dollar;
For swearing each person, twenty-five cents;
For making order in regard to forfeiture and sale, or other disposition of said articles, fifty cents;
And such other fees as are now allowed by law; and in addition the justice shall pay all expenses of the custody of said articles and retain the same out of the proceeds of sale; or in case of no sale, cause the same to be paid by the party making the seizure.
69. SECTION 6. That any person who shall carry or cause to be carried, in or upon any vehicle, or otherwise, any living animal or creature, in a cruel or inhuman manner, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished as is provided in section one of this act; and the person arresting such person shall take charge of such vehicle and its contents; and all necessary expenses which may be incurred for taking charge of, and keeping and sustaining the same, shall be a lien thereon, to be paid before the same can be lawfully redeemed; and if the same shall not be redeemed within ten days from the time the same is seized, then the person so seizing the same shall cause the same to be advertised to be sold, by advertisements published in a newspaper circulating in the neighborhood in which the said seizure was made, for at least three times in a daily paper, or one time if in a weekly paper, stating the time and place of such sale, the articles to be sold, and the reason for selling the same; and at the time and place so appointed, he shall sell the same to the highest bidder, and out of the proceeds of said sale he shall pay all necessary expenses incurred, and the balance he shall pay to the owner or owners of said articles; and if the proceeds of said sale shall not be sufficient to pay such expenses, the balance may be recovered by the person seizing said articles, from the owner or owners thereof, in an action of debt. Before any court of competent jurisdiction.
70. SECTION 7. That any person who shall hereafter use any dog or dogs for the purpose of drawing or helping to draw, any cart, carriage, truck, barrow, or other vehicle, for business or other purposes, shall forfeit and pay a fine of one dollar for the first offence, and ten dollars for each subsequent offence; such offender together with the dog or dogs, cart, carriage, truck, barrow, or other vehicle, shall be taken before a justice of the peace or police magistrate who upon being satisfied, shall impose said fine, which said fine as soon as imposed shall have the force and effect of a judgment, and execution may be immediately issued thereon, and the articles so seized, levied upon, and sold to pay and satisfy the said fine together with the costs.
71. SECTION 8. That any person who shall impound or confine, or cause to be impounded or confined in any pound or other place, and living animal or creature, shall supply to the same during such confinement a sufficient quantity of good and wholesome food and water, and in default thereof shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof, shall be punished as in section one of this act.
72. SECTION 9. That in case any living animal or creature shall be at any time impounded or confined as aforesaid, and shall continue to be without necessary food and water for more than twelve successive hours, it shall be lawful for any person from time to time, as often as shall be necessary, to enter into and upon any pound in which such living animal or creature shall be impounded or confined, and to supply it with necessary food and water so long as it shall remain so impounded or confined; such person shall not be liable to any action for such entry, and the actual cost of such food, water and bedding, together with twenty per centum additional, may be collected by such person of the owner or owners of such animal or creature, in an action of debt before any court of competent jurisdiction, and the said animal or creature shall not be exempt from levy and sale upon an execution issued upon a judgment therefor.
73. SECTION 10. That if any maimed, sick, infirm or disabled animal or creature shall be abandoned to die by any person in any public place, such person shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished as is provided in section one of this act; and it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace, or sheriff of the county, or agent of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in this state, to appoint a suitable person to destroy such animal or creature if unfit for further use, or to advertise and sell the same in such manner as such justice of the peace, sheriff, or agent shall direct, and to pay the proceeds, after deducting expenses, to the District Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, if one is in existence in the county, if not then to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
74. SECTION 11. That when complaint is made on oath or affirmation before any justice of the peace that the complainant believes and has reasonable cause to believe that the law in relation to cruelty to animals has been or is being violated in any particular building or place, such justice of the peace, if satisfied that there is a reasonable cause for such belief, shall issue a search warrant, authorizing any sheriff, under sheriff, constable, police officer, or agent of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to enter and search such building or place, but no such search shall be made between the hours of six o'clock in the afternoon and six o'clock in the morning, unless specially authorized by such justice of the peace upon satisfactory cause shown.
75. SECTION 12. That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to prohibit or interfere with any properly conducted scientific experiments or investigations, which experiments or investigations shall be performed only under the authority of some regularly incorporated medical society of this state; nor shall the same be construed to prohibit or interfere with the killing or disposing of any animal or creature by virtue of the order of any of the constituted authorities of this state.
76. SECTION 13. That any person or persons who shall overdrive, overload, drive when overloaded, overwork, torture, torment, deprive of necessary sustenance, or cruelly beat or otherwise abuse, or needlessly mutilate or kill, or who shall by their agents, servants, employees, or otherwise cause or procure to be overdriven, overloaded, driven when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of necessary sustenance, or to be unnecessarily or cruelly beaten or otherwise abused or needlessly mutilated and killed, any living animal or creature, and any person having the charge or custody of any living animal or creature, either as owner or otherwise, who inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon the same, or unnecessarily fails to provide the same with proper food, drink, shelter or protection from the weather, and any person who shall keep or use, or in any way be connected with or interested in the management of, or who shall receive money or other consideration for the admission of any person to any place kept or used for the purpose of fighting or baiting any bull, bear, dog, cock, bird, or other living animal or creature, and every person who shall be present and witness, encourage, aid or assist therein, or who shall permit or suffer any place owned or controlled by him to be so kept or used, and any person who shall carry or cause to be carried, in or upon any vehicle or otherwise, any living animal or creature in a cruel or inhuman manner, and any person who shall hereafter use any dog or dogs for the purpose of drawing or helping to draw any cart, carriage, truck, barrow or other vehicle, for business or other purposes, and any person who shall impound or confine, or cause to be impounded or confined in any pound or other place, any living animal or creature, and shall fail or neglect to supply to the same during such confinement a sufficient quantity of good and wholesome food and water; and any person who shall abandon to die in any public place any maimed, sick, infirm or disabled animal or creature, shall forfeit and pay such sum, not to exceed one hundred dollars, as the court shall determine, to be sued for and recovered in an action of debt, with costs of suit, by any person or persons, in the name of "The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals," before any court of competent jurisdiction in the county where the defendant resides, or where the offence or offences were committed; and that any justice of the peace in the county where any offence shall have been committed under this act, is hereby authorized and directed, upon receiving sufficient proof by affidavit of the violation of the provisions of this section, by any person or persons being temporarily within the jurisdiction of said justice, but not residing therein, or who is likely to evade judgment by removal therefrom, or any person whose name and residence are unknown, to issue his warrant and have such offender arrested and tried for such offence, or committed or held to bail to answer, and abide the judgment of said justice; and it shall also be the duty of said justice, on being satisfied by affidavit that the owner or owners of any animal which has been, or is being cruelly treated within the provisions and meaning of this act, is the party properly chargeable with such offence under this section, and that said owner or owners reside out of the county or local jurisdiction of said justice, to order and enforce a summary attachment against such animal so cruelly treated, and the vehicle, truck, cart, barrow or wagon to which said anima is or may be fastened, yoked, hitched, or harnessed, at the time of said offence, together with the appurtenances; and said provided for by law in other cases of attachment before a justice of the peace, so far as the same may be applicable; but in all prosecutions and proceedings under this section, an affidavit of the violation thereof shall be a sufficient demand or pleading; and in case of an attachment against such animal or property, shall be a lien upon the same, and shall be added to the amount of the forfeiture or penalty imposed by said justice under this section and recovered therewith.
77. SECTION 14. That any agent of The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who has been specially deputized by the sheriff of any county in this state, may within such county, make arrests and bring before any court or magistrate thereof having jurisdiction, offenders found violating the provisions of this act; and of all fines, penalties and moneys imposed and collected for any offence being in violation of this act, or under the provisions of this act, and not herein specially provided for, one-half shall be paid by the justice, or by the clerk, or other officer and shall pay within thirty days and without demand the other half to the District Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of the county where the same were imposed and collected, If one is in existence in that county, and if not, then to The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to be used by said society in aid of the benevolent objects for which it was incorporated.
78. SECTION 15. That where by the laws of this state, or any ordinance of any city, town or borough, any police justice, recorder or other magistrate shall collect any fine or fines for cruelty to animals, that henceforth all moneys collected from such fines shall be paid to the District Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of the county where the same were imposed and collected if one is in existence in that county, and if not, then to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; and that the term cruelty in this section mentioned shall be held to include all the acts mentioned in the preceding sections of this act.
79. SECTION 16. That in this act the words "animal" or "animals," "creature" or "creatures," shall be held to include the whole brute creation , and the words "owner" and "person" or "owners" and "persons," shall be held to include corporations as well as individuals, and the knowledge and acts of the agents of, and persons employed by corporations in regard to animals transported, owned or employed by or in the custody of such corporations, shall be held to be the knowledge and acts of such corporations.
80. SECTION 17. That the acts entitled "A supplement to the act entitled 'An act for the punishment of crimes,'" approved March twenty-seventh, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven; A further supplement to the act entitled "An act to incorporate the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals," approved April third, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, which supplement was approved April second, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine; "An act for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals," approved March twenty-second, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one; A further supplement to the act entitled "An act to incorporate the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals," approved March fifth, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, and all act and parts of acts, inconsistent with the provisions of this act, be and the same are hereby repealed, and this act shall be deemed and taken as a public act, and shall take effect immediately.
Supplement
Approved March 25, 1875.
81. SECTION 1. That the proceedings mentioned in the thirteenth section of the act to which this is a supplement may be instituted before any justice of the peace in the county where the offence or offences is or are cognizable, and such justice shall have competent jurisdiction for such purpose; and the amount of the forfeiture or penalty so to be recovered, as in said section provided for, shall be determined, and judgment rendered for the same in like manner as in actions for the recovery of money, or damages in the court for the trial of small causes, and execution may thereupon issue against the body or goods of the defendant, and all proceedings in said section shall, except as otherwise specially provided, conform to the course and practice of the court for the trial of small causes.
82. SECTION 2. That any member, officer or agent of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals may exercise and perform the like powers and duties as of an agent of said society who has been especially deputized by the sheriff of any county in this state.