Edison, NJ Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Edison Township has no breed-ban ordinance and could not lawfully adopt one. New Jersey is among the strictest state-preemption jurisdictions for breed-specific legislation: N.J.S.A. 4:19-17.6 provides that no municipality may regulate or prohibit ownership of any specific breed of dog. Instead, all New Jersey municipalities — including Edison — must use the behavior-based framework of N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 through 4:19-37, which defines 'potentially dangerous dog' (one that engages in unprovoked attack causing bodily injury, or kills a domestic animal off the owner's property) and authorizes municipal-court hearings to designate individual dogs as potentially dangerous. A designated dog must be confined in a locked, escape-proof enclosure, muzzled and leashed when outside, posted with warning signs, and licensed annually as a potentially-dangerous dog with a special $700 fee under N.J.S.A. 4:19-30. Edison Township Code Chapter 9 (Animals) implements this state framework rather than creating any local breed list. The state insurance requirement does not apply, but Edison may impose enclosure-inspection conditions through Animal Control.