4:19-22 Dog declared vicious by municipal court; conditions.
6. a. The municipal court shall declare the dog vicious if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the dog:
(1) killed a person or caused serious bodily injury to a person; or
(2) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2019, c.82).
b. A dog shall not be declared vicious for inflicting death or serious bodily injury upon a person if the dog was provoked. The municipality shall bear the burden of proof to demonstrate that the dog was not provoked.
c. If the municipal court declares a dog to be vicious, and no appeal is made of this ruling pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1989, c.307 (C.4:19-25), the court may order:
(1) the dog's owner to comply with certain restrictions to protect the public that are at least as stringent as the requirements for potentially dangerous dogs pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1989, c.307 (C.4:19-24) and section 12 of P.L.1989, c.307 (C.4:19-28); or
(2) the dog to be euthanized in a humane and expeditious manner, except that no dog may be euthanized during the pendency of an appeal.
d. As used in this section, "serious bodily injury" means serious bodily injury as defined in subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:11-1.
L.1989, c.307, s.6; amended 1994, c.187, s.3; 2019, c.82, s.1.