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A178
ASSEMBLY, No. 178
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Webber and McGuckin
SYNOPSIS
���� "New Jersey Safe Haven for Protection of
Domestic Companion Animals Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning the health and safety of abandoned domestic
companion animals and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� This act shall be known
and may be cited as the �New Jersey Safe Haven for Protection of Domestic
Companion Animals Act.�
���� 2.��� The Legislature finds
and declares that, from time to time, domestic companion animals are abandoned
outside of animal shelters or pounds without proper shelter or necessary care,
sometimes to die before they are discovered by shelter or pound personnel;
that, whether this abandonment occurs without concern for the welfare of the
animal or from a person�s desperation over having no alternative to care for
the animal, it is inhumane not to provide options to avoid the unnecessary
suffering and death of these animals; and that, therefore similar to the need
for the State law that established safe haven drop-offs for infant children in
2000, it is necessary to provide safe havens for domestic companion animals
whose caregivers can no longer care for them or that are found abandoned with
no apparent caretakers.
���� 3.��� As used in this act:
���� "Domestic companion
animal" means any animal commonly referred to as a pet that was bought,
bred, raised, or otherwise acquired, in accordance with local ordinances and
State and federal law, for the primary purpose of providing companionship to
the owner, rather than for business or agricultural purposes.� "Domestic
companion animal" shall not include "domestic livestock" as
defined in subsection c. of section 1 of P.L.1995, c.311
(C.4:22-16.1).
���� �Necessary care� means
necessary care as defined in
R.S.4:22-15.
���� �Pound� means a pound as the
term is defined in section 1 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C.4:19-15.1).
���� �Shelter� means a shelter as
the term is defined in section 1 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C.4:19-15.1).
���� 4.��� a.�� Any person may
voluntarily deliver a domestic companion animal to a shelter, pound, veterinary
hospital, or police station in the State, and leave the animal with an
employee, veterinarian, or police officer at the facility, whenever it is open
or, in the case of a police station, has an officer present to receive the
animal.� No employee, veterinarian, or police officer at the shelter, pound,
veterinary hospital, or police station, as applicable, may refuse to accept any
domestic companion animal delivered to the facility.
���� �b.�� Each shelter, pound,
veterinary hospital, and police station in the State shall post at its front
entrance a conspicuous sign stating:
���� (1)�� the hours of operation
during which the facility is open and a person is on the premises to receive a
domestic companion animal;
���� (2)�� the telephone number and
address of a facility where a domestic companion animal may be delivered when
the shelter, pound, veterinary hospital, or police station is closed; and
���� (3)�� a warning against
abandoning or relinquishing the domestic companion animal in any way other than
delivering the animal to a person at a facility who can receive and care for
the animal.
���� �c.��� A shelter or pound
receiving the animal shall provide the animal with necessary care and shall
provide for the animal�s disposition in accordance with the provisions of
section 16 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C.4:19-15.16).� A veterinary hospital or police
station receiving the animal shall hold the animal until the animal is
transferred to a shelter or pound, and shall provide necessary care for the
animal in a manner as may be established as an operating procedure by the veterinary
hospital or police station.
���� �d.�� Any person who
voluntarily delivers a domestic companion animal pursuant to subsection a. of
this section shall not be required to:
���� (1)�� disclose the person's
name, or identifying information of the� owner of the domestic companion animal
if different from the person who delivers the domestic companion animal to the shelter,
pound, veterinary hospital, or police station; or
���� (2)�� provide background
information about the animal�s owner or medical information about the domestic
companion animal.
���� �e.��� The provisions of
subsection d. of this section shall not preclude the person, from voluntarily
providing information concerning the domestic companion animal or the animal�s
owner, but, under no circumstances, shall the person delivering the animal be
liable for care or disposition of the animal.
���� �f.��� The shelter, pound,
veterinary hospital, or police station may attempt to identify the owner of the
domestic companion animal but shall not be required to attempt to reunite the
animal with its owner.� The shelter, pound, veterinary hospital, or police
station may place the domestic companion animal with an adoptive owner as soon
as possible.
���� �g.�� The Department of Health
shall provide every municipality, shelter, pound, veterinary hospital, and
police station in the State with information concerning the requirements of
this act.
���� 5.��� a.�� The Commissioner of
Health shall establish an educational and public information program to promote
safe placement alternatives for a domestic companion animal whose owner can no
longer provide necessary care for the animal or that is found without an owner
and necessary care. This program may include the establishment of a 24-hour,
toll-free hotline to assist in providing information about safe havens and safe
haven procedures for domestic companion animals.
���� b.��� (1)� The Commissioner of
Health, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education, shall develop a
plan to distribute to all public school districts in the State with students in
grades three through 12, pamphlets, posters, and other educational materials
that provide information to the students of the provisions of� this act.
���� (2)�� The Department of Health
shall distribute the pamphlets, posters, and other educational materials, at no
charge, to all public school districts in the State.� The department shall
update the pamphlets, posters, and other educational materials as necessary,
and shall make additional copies available to educators and other individuals
working with public school students in grades three through 12.
���� 6.��� The Commissioner of
Health, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968,
c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations
necessary to implement this act.
���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill provides that any
person, may voluntarily and anonymously deliver a domestic companion animal to
a shelter, pound, veterinary hospital, or police station in the State, and
leave the animal with an employee, veterinarian, or police officer at the
facility. The bill provides that the person would not be liable for the care or
disposition of the animal.� The bill further provides that no employee,
veterinarian, or police officer at the shelter, pound, veterinary hospital, or
police station, as applicable, may refuse to accept any domestic companion
animal. Finally, the bill directs the Commissioner of Health to establish a
public education and information program to disseminate the information on the
requirements of this bill to every municipality, shelter, pound, veterinary
hospital, police station, and public school with students in grades three
through 12.