Vineland, NJ Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 224-23, titled simply Noise, sits in Article I, Animal Control, of Chapter 224, Animals, immediately between the interference-with-officers provision at § 224-22 and the public-places leash rule at § 224-24. It makes it unlawful for anyone to keep, harbor or maintain any dog that habitually barks, howls or cries, without defining a specific decibel level, time of day, or duration threshold; the standard is the animal's habitual behavior, judged case by case on a complaint. Because the section is listed by number in the article's escalated-penalty subsection, a sustained-barking complaint is treated the same as the leash and running-at-large violations rather than folded into the article's lower default fine. Enforcement runs through the Vineland Police Department and, where the City has contracted for animal-control services, a certified animal control officer or Humane Society agent under § 224-17. A companion nuisance clause, § 224-25, separately covers dogs fouling sidewalks and public places but does not address noise.