(A) Bites inflicted by animals upon human beings shall be reported immediately to the Animal Services Division. Physicians treating bite wounds shall report the bite to the Animal Services Division immediately. The Animal Services Division will notify the Health Director or his or her designee immediately of the reported bite.
(B) Every dog, cat, or ferret that bites a human being and does not have a valid rabies vaccination shall be delivered to the animal shelter or to a licensed veterinary hospital, at the choice of the owner, where the animal shall be confined for observation for not less than ten days from the day of the bite. The owner shall be responsible for the cost of such confinement.
(C) Every dog, cat, or ferret that bites a human being and has a valid rabies vaccination shall be delivered to the animal shelter or to a licensed veterinary hospital, where the animal shall be confined for observation for not less than ten days. The owner shall be responsible for the cost of such confinement. An Animal Services Officer may, under authority designated by the local Health Director, permit the animal to be confined on the premises of the owner only when, after personal inspection, it is determined there is a suitable secure enclosure on the premises and that other circumstances warrant such action.
(D) In the case of stray animals whose ownership is not known, the supervised confinement required by this section shall be at the animal shelter unless an interested party pays to board at a veterinarian’s office.
(E) If rabies does not develop within ten days after an animal is confined under this section, the animal may be released from confinement with the written permission of the Animal Services Officer. If the animal has been confined in the county animal shelter, the owner shall pay a fee as set by the County Board of Commissioners for each day of confinement to defray the cost of feeding upon reclaiming the animal.
(F) Every hybrid dog or hybrid cat that bites a human being shall be delivered to the Animal Services shelter or to a licensed veterinary hospital, at the choice of the owner, where the animal shall be humanely euthanized and its head sent to the State Laboratory of Public Health for rabies testing.
(G) Every primate that bites a person shall be delivered to a properly licensed veterinarian for medical evaluation as judged appropriate by the veterinarian. The animal will be evaluated and held at the owner’s expense until such time as a bite investigation is completed by Animal Services. Primates inflicting a bite on a human will be considered dangerous and will be subject to the provisions set forth in § 91.090 “Supplemental to State Dangerous Dog Laws.”
(H) Animals bitten by rabid animals. Any currently vaccinated animal known or reasonably suspected to have been bitten by another animal which is known or reasonably suspected of having rabies shall be revaccinated within five days of the exposure and quarantined at residence of owner for a period of 45 days. All other animals without proof of current rabies vaccinations will be given the option of quarantine at a facility approved by the local Health Director for six months or immediate euthanasia at the animal shelter. If the animal develops rabies as determined by a licensed veterinarian, it shall be the duty of the owner to have such animal euthanized and properly disposed of, subject to the provisions of G.S. § 130A-197, providing for the euthanasia of rabid animals and the laboratory examination of the heads of such animals.
(I) A violation of this section is punishable as a misdemeanor.
(Ord. passed 9-18-2017; Ord. passed 11-15-2021)