Edison Township regulates poultry and livestock under Chapter 9 (Animals) of the Township Code. Poultry must be confined in coops or runs with concrete floors, kept clean and sanitary, with waste removed at least weekly. Hoofed animals (cattle, horses, goats, swine) require Zoning Officer and Health Officer approval, a Division of Licenses permit, and a 75-foot setback of any animal structure from the property line.
Edison Township Code Chapter 9 (Animals), accessible via the Township's ecode360 portal (ED0700), governs all animal keeping. Poultry — defined to include chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, pigeons, and pheasants — must be confined in coops or runs. All coops must have concrete floors, and droppings must be removed or buried at least once per week. Coops are subject to periodic inspection by the Township Health Officer. Hoofed-animal keeping (cattle, horses, sheep, goats, swine) requires both Zoning Officer and Health Officer approval, plus a license from the Township Division of Licenses; no structure housing hoofed animals may be located within 75 feet of any property line. Edison is a densely populated suburban township in Middlesex County, so livestock keeping is uncommon and typically limited to a few legal-non-conforming parcels. The state Right-to-Farm Act (N.J.S.A. 4:1C-1) provides limited nuisance protection for commercial farms in agricultural-development areas.
Keeping poultry or livestock in violation of Chapter 9 is a municipal-code violation enforceable by the Edison Health Department and Code Enforcement. Standard penalties under Chapter 1, §1-5 apply: minimum $100 to maximum $2,000 per offense, with each day a continuing violation treated as a separate offense. Animal cruelty conditions are referred to the Edison Police and the New Jersey SPCA under N.J.S.A. 4:22.
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