(a) It shall be unlawful for an animal to bite a human being who does not ordinarily reside on the premises, except a dog being used by a law enforcement officer to carry out the law enforcement officer's official duties or a dog that bites a person committing or attempting to commit a crime.
(b) The victim of a bite and the animal owner shall immediately report the incident to the Asheville Police Department. It shall be unlawful for any person to withhold accurate information revealing the location of the bite animal. A physician who attends the victim of a bite shall report the bite within 24 hours. Violation of this provision shall constitute a criminal offense and may be punished as set forth in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-4.
(c) It shall be unlawful for the owner of an animal under a quarantine order to fail to comply with the order in its entirety. The owner may also be subject to citation, preventive measures and/or dangerous dog classification as a result of the bite incident. The owner has the duty to report any changes in the animal's health or behavior or confinement during quarantine to an animal control officer immediately.
(d) If the owner is unwilling or unable to comply with an order of quarantine, the animal control officer may immediately seize the animal for impoundment and quarantine at the animal shelter at the owner's expense. If an owner fails to comply with the quarantine order, he/she waives the right to contest the seizure of the animal. Each day of non-compliance shall constitute a new violation.
(e) Wild mammals, including but not limited to, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, fox, bats and groundhogs involved in a rabies exposure shall be sacrificed and tested for rabies when they can reasonably be obtained. Other species may be tested at the discretion of the state veterinarian of the department of epidemiology. Dogs, cats or other animals specified by state law that die during quarantine shall be tested for rabies.
(Ord. No. 3731, § 1, 4-28-09; Ord. No. 4910, § 2, 11-9-21)