(a) Prohibited acts. All animals shall be kept and treated under sanitary and humane conditions and it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in one or more of the following acts:
(1) Failing to provide adequate feed, water and shelter or failing to maintain the animal in a clean and healthy environment. All animals, unless otherwise indicated in this chapter, shall be given adequate feed, adequate water and adequate shelter. Outdoor enclosures should be no smaller than 100 square feet in area for each dog weighing less than 20 pounds. Each dog weighing 20 pounds or more should have an outdoor enclosure no smaller than 200 square feet in area. Examples of shelter that is not adequate include, but are not limited to the following:
a. Underneath houses, outdoor steps, decks or stoops, or underneath motor vehicles;
b. Inside metal barrels or cardboard boxes;
c. Shelters prone to flood;
d. Shelters surrounded by debris, obstructions or impediments that may endanger an animal;
e. Confinement of the animal in storage rooms, sheds or other buildings without windows and proper ventilation.
(2) Failing to keep an animal under sanitary and humane conditions which are not detrimental to the animal's health and general welfare and which maintain a condition of good order and cleanliness and reduce the possibility of transmission of disease.
(3) Failing or refusing to provide adequate medical attention for any sick, diseased or injured animal.
(4) Engaging in animal cruelty; animal cruelty means every act, omission, or act of neglect whereby unjustifiable pain, suffering or death is caused or permitted, or attempted to be caused or permitted against animals, and includes acts or attempted acts of beating, torturing, injuring, tormenting, mutilating, teasing, molesting, baiting, or harassing animals, the trapping of animals unlawfully, and overworking or overdriving animals. This shall not include the lawful taking of animals under the jurisdiction and regulation of the wildlife resources commission, lawful activities of organizations or agencies conducting or sponsoring biomedical research or training, lawful activities for sport, the production of livestock or poultry, or the lawful destruction of any animal.
(5) Promoting, staging, holding, managing, conducting, carrying on or attending any game, exhibition, contest, fight or combat between one or more animals or between animals and humans, or intentionally allowing animals to engage in a fight.
(6) Permitting any exhibit, function or activity where animals are being cruelly treated or animals run the risk of causing injury to the public or themselves. Animal control shall have the authority to inspect and to close down public exhibits of animals including those which are part of fairs, carnivals, festivals, fund raising events, petting zoos and any other activity or function carried out in the town if it is determined that animals are being cruelly treated or run the risk of causing injury to the public or themselves.
(7) Poisoning, or exposing a domestic animal to any known poisonous substance or mixing a poisonous substance with food, so that it will likely be eaten by an animal. This does not include attempts or acts of persons to lawfully rid their own property of mice or rats or other vermin, nor does it include other acts permitted by the North Carolina wildlife department.
(8) Allowing a collar, rope or chain to become embedded in or cause injury to an animal's neck, or allowing a choke or pinch collar to be used as a primary collar on an unsupervised animal.
b. Allowing an animal to be chained or tethered such that the animal is not confined to the owner's property or such that the chain or tether can become entangled and prevent the animal from moving about freely, lying down comfortably or having access to adequate food, water and shelter.
(9) Carrying or causing to be carried in or upon the open area of a truck or other motor vehicle any animal that is not secured, in an animal carrier or by a harness or other device, such that the animal cannot fall, jump, or be thrown from the vehicle.
(10) Unless otherwise permitted by law, giving away or offering any animal as a prize, premium or advertising device for or as an inducement to enter any contest, game or other competition involving skill or chance.
(11) Placing or confining an animal or allowing an animal to be placed or confined in a motor vehicle under such conditions or for such a period of time as to endanger the health or well-being of such animal due to temperature, lack of food or drink, or such other conditions as may reasonably be expected to cause suffering, disability or death. If an animal is discovered in a motor vehicle under such conditions, the procedures specified in 6-134(d) should be followed.
(12) Chaining or tethering (collectively, "tethering") an animal to a stationary object without a responsible person remaining outside with the animal while it is tethered. When tethering is allowed, the following are also prohibited:
a. Using a length or weight of a chain or tether that is not appropriate for the size, weight and age of the animal. A chain or tether should not be less than ten feet long. Using a chain or tether that exceeds ten percent of the animal's body weight shall be deemed not appropriate and potentially harmful.
(b) Exceptions. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the humane transportation of horses, cattle, sheep, poultry or other livestock in trailers or other vehicles designed, constructed, and adequate for the size and number of animals being transported. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the animal control unit or veterinarians from euthanizing dangerous, unwanted, injured or diseased animals in a humane manner; nor to prohibit slaughterhouses or medical facilities from the proper, humane and lawful carrying out of their activities or duties. Nothing in this section shall be construed to regulate the standards of care for farm animals, as defined in G.S. 160A-203.1.
(c) Inspections. Animal control officers shall have the authority to conduct inspections of pet shops, kennels, dealers, or breeders, to the extent not preempted by state law, in order to determine if there is any abuse of animals. Pet shops, kennels, dealers, and breeders are subject to the state laws concerning rabies control abuse of animals shall include any act described in this section or any other act which is detrimental to the well-being of the animal. It shall be unlawful for any owner or employee of any pet shop or kennel or any dealers or breeders to violate this section.
(Code 1982, § 4-16; Ord. No. 01-022, § 1, 11-8-2001; Ord. No. 2012-Code-02, 4-19-2012; Ord. No. 2016-Code-01, 2-25-2016)
State law reference—Cruelty to animals, G.S. 14-360.