Bayonne, NJ Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Bayonne's code defines a vicious dog in § 5-1 as any dog which has been declared by a municipal judge to be a vicious dog which has attacked or bitten any human being, or which habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals, a definition tied entirely to conduct and a judicial finding, not to breed. Section 5-5.1 puts the Police Department and the Animal Control Officer in charge of receiving and investigating complaints against dogs; if they deem a dog complained of to be vicious as defined in § 5-1, they must report their findings in writing to the Judge of the Municipal Court.

Section 5-5.2 then requires the judge to notify the dog's owner or keeper in writing that a complaint has been made and to summon them to a hearing conducted in the same manner as a criminal trial; only if the judge decides the dog is vicious does the declaration take effect, and the owner is notified of that outcome. Once a dog carries the vicious declaration, § 5-5.3 requires it to be securely muzzled anytime it is off the owner's or keeper's property. Chapter 5's impounding provisions add that a dog already determined vicious under § 5-5 may be seized by any police officer, and if it cannot be safely seized, it may be killed under § 5-6.1e.