How Brick Handles Animal Ordinances: A Practical Guide

Brick maintains 123 local ordinances across all categories, and 10 of those deal specifically with animal ordinances. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Brick falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Pet Store Rules

Brick Township bans pet stores, kennels and their operators from selling, bartering or auctioning dogs and cats. Only shelters, pounds or similar establishments may sell or transfer animals that were seized, rescued or donated: a puppy-mill-style sourcing ban rather than an adoption-only display rule.

Key details: Governing law: § 98-70, adopted 2012 (Ord. 16-12). Who is covered: Pet stores, kennels, and their operators. Exception: Shelters selling seized/rescued/donated animals. Max fine: $2,000 per separate offense. Max jail: 90 days, Ocean County Jail.

Violators face a fine up to $2,000 per offense, confinement in the Ocean County Jail up to 90 days, community service up to 90 days, or any combination, at the Municipal Court Judge's discretion. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense, and courts may issue a restraining order or injunction to abate it.

This is one of the stricter rules in Brick's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Wildlife Feeding

Brick Township bans feeding wild animals, rodents, or stray domestic animals anywhere in the township, public or private property alike, plus a separate ban on feeding Canada geese.

Key details: Wild animal/stray feeding ban: § 98-42, townwide. Canada geese feeding ban: § 98-37, townwide. Max fine: $2,000 per offense. Max jail/community service: 90 days. Bird feeders: Exempt if small quantities.

Enforced by Police, the Code Enforcement Officer and the Board of Health; violators face the Chapter 1 § 1-15 general penalty: up to a $2,000 fine, 90 days in jail or 90 days community service, with each day a separate offense.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Brick actively enforces its wildlife feeding requirements.

Exotic Pets

Brick Township bans keeping any Class I animal, lions, tigers, or other large undomesticated mammals and reptiles, as pets anywhere in the township, with no permit or exception available under the animal-keeping ordinance.

Key details: Banned: Lions, tigers, large wild mammals/reptiles. Citation: § 98-28, Class I animals prohibited. Definition: § 98-26 defines Class I animals. Exempt: Domestic cats and dogs only.

Keeping a Class I animal violates § 98-28; § 98-36 makes any violation of the article punishable under Chapter 1, § 1-15's general penalty, for each offense.

This is one of the stricter rules in Brick's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Mandatory Spay/Neuter

Brick Township doesn't require owners to spay or neuter dogs or cats, but unaltered pets pay a $3 higher annual license fee, $13 vs. $10, under Township Code §§ 98-1 and 98-24, and TNR colony cats must be 100% sterilized.

Key details: Unaltered dog/cat annual fee: $13/yr vs. $10 altered. 3-year license fee: $35 unaltered vs. $26 altered. TNR colony cats: 100% sterilization required. TNR violation penalty: up to $500 fine, 90 days jail.

Violating the TNR colony-cat program's requirements draws a fine of up to $500 per offense and up to 90 days in the Ocean County Jail under § 98-68; each day of continued noncompliance counts as a separate offense.

Microchipping

Brick Township requires every feral cat in a registered TNR colony to receive an implanted electronic ID chip from a township-contracted vet, with the program sponsor listed as the named contact.

Key details: Applies to: Registered TNR colony cats only. Who implants it: Township-contracted veterinarian. Named contact: TNR program sponsor. Max penalty: $500 fine / 90 days jail.

Violations of the feral-cat-colony article, including the EAID requirement, carry a fine up to $500 per offense and/or up to 90 days in the Ocean County Jail; continuing violations can be fined per day.

Pet Limits

Brick Township makes it an unlawful public nuisance to keep five or more dogs or cats, in any combination, on residentially zoned property, with exceptions for young litters and registered feral colonies.

Key details: Household limit: 4 dogs/cats; 5+ unlawful. Litter exception: Exempt for 6 months after birth. Feral colony exception: Registered colonies excluded. Max fine: $2,000 under § 1-15. Governing section: Brick Township Code § 98-14.

Violating § 98-14 is punishable under the Township's general penalty, § 1-15: up to $2,000 in fines, 90 days in county jail, or 90 days of community service, with each day a separate offense.

Compared to other cities, Brick takes a harder line on pet limits. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Bird Protection

Brick Township bans hunting, harming, or trapping any bird, its eggs, nest, or young in township parks and recreation areas, with a narrow exception for deadly poisonous snakes.

Key details: Governing section: § 318-1A(8). Scope: Township parks and recreation areas. Max fine: $2,000 (Ch. 1 § 1-15). Max jail term: 90 days. Exception: Deadly poisonous snakes may be killed.

Violating § 318-1A(8) is enforced by park attendants and Township police; a conviction under § 318-5 brings Chapter 1's general penalty: up to $2,000, 90 days in jail, or community service.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Brick actively enforces its bird protection requirements.

Cat Rules

Brick Township requires cats over seven months old to be vaccinated and licensed annually through the Township Clerk for $10 to $35, and it separately authorizes registered feral-cat colonies to operate under Article XI's trap-neuter-return program.

Key details: License required at: age 7 months. Annual fee: $10 fixed, $13 unaltered. 3-year license fee: $26 fixed, $35 unaltered. Feral colonies: permitted under registered TNR program. Unlicensed-cat fine: up to $50.

Failure to license a cat draws a fine up to $50 under § 98-25. Violations of the feral cat article run up to $500 per day and up to 90 days in the Ocean County Jail under § 98-68.

Chickens & Livestock

Brick Township caps backyard chickens at four unless housed in a covered, setback-compliant enclosure approved by Animal Control, and requires horses, cows, goats and pigs to sit on at least five acres, 100 feet from property lines.

Key details: Chicken limit: 4 birds without special enclosure. Class V bird limit: 25 pigeons/doves, covered enclosure. Livestock minimum lot: 5 acres for horses, cows, goats. Livestock setback: 100 feet from property line. Class I animals: Lions, tigers banned outright.

Violations of Chapter 98's Article VI are punishable under the Township's general penalty, § 1-15: up to a $2,000 fine, 90 days in jail, or community service, with each day counted as a separate offense (§ 98-36).

Dog Leash Laws

Brick Township requires dogs in public places to be on a leash no longer than six feet, and bans letting dogs run at large on streets, in parks, or in public buildings.

Key details: Max leash length: 6 feet. At-large ban: streets, parks, public buildings. Private property: owner's consent required. Penalty basis: Chapter 1, § 1-15 general penalty.

Violations of Chapter 98 carry the general penalty set in Chapter 1, § 1-15 of the Township Code (§ 98-17). Where Brick has contracted with an outside agency for animal control, that agency's employees may issue summonses directly.

The Bottom Line

Brick is tougher than many cities when it comes to animal ordinances. Out of the 10 rules covered here, 5 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Brick, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

These rules come from Brick's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.