Jackson, NJ Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Jackson Township adopted its adoption-only pet shop rule as § 98-28.1 of Chapter 98, Article III, Kennels and Pet Shops, by Ordinance No. 07-16 on March 22, 2016, amending the article's licensing scheme first adopted December 5, 1972 by Ordinance No. 18-72. Under § 98-25, every kennel or pet shop still needs a license from the Township Clerk, issued only after the Township Board of Health reports the operation is unlikely to violate public-health or nuisance rules, for a yearly fee of $100 that expires each February 1 under § 98-27.

Section 98-28.1 then restricts what a licensed pet shop may sell: a pet shop may offer for sale only dogs and cats it has obtained from, or displays in cooperation with, an animal care facility or an animal rescue organization, cutting off supply from commercial breeders and puppy mills. Section 98-28.1B carves out shelters, pounds and similar establishments, which may still keep, display or sell any cat or dog that has been seized, rescued or donated, so a rescue-based adoption operation is unaffected. The article's definitions in § 98-26 distinguish a PET SHOP, any room, cage or exhibition pen not part of a kennel where animals are displayed or offered for sale, from a KENNEL, an establishment boarding or selling more than five dogs or cats over seven months old, and from a SMALL BREEDER, who handles no more than five cats or five dogs per year.

Every pet shop and kennel licensee must also abide by all applicable state and Township public-health and nuisance laws under § 98-28, and a general Article III violation is punishable under § 98-29.