(A) Immunization. It shall be unlawful for any dog, cat, or ferret owner, or the person in possession, to keep any such animal which is four months of age or older unless such animal has been immunized against rabies in accordance with North Carolina statutes with an approved rabies vaccine. This vaccine is to be administered by a licensed veterinarian or a certified rabies vaccinator.
(B) Bites.
(1) When a person has been bitten by a dog, cat, or ferret, the person or parent, guardian or person standing in loco parentis of the person, and the owner or person in control of the animal shall immediately notify the Health Director and provide the name and address of the person bitten and the owner or person in possession of the animal. Physicians treating an animal bite wound shall report the incident to the Health Director within 24 hours of treatment.
(2) Every dog, cat, or ferret that bites a human being and does not have a valid rabies vaccination tag shall be surrendered by its owner or person in possession to an Animal Control Officer upon request. The animal shall be confined for observation for no less than ten days at the Harnett County Animal Shelter. The owner or person in possession shall be responsible for the cost of such confinement.
(3) Every dog or cat that bites a human being and has a valid rabies vaccination tag shall be surrendered by its owner or person in possession to an Animal Control Officer upon request or to a licensed veterinary hospital, at the choice of the owner or person in possession, where the animal shall be confined for observation for not less than ten days at a place designated by the Health Director. The owner or person in possession shall be responsible for the cost of such confinement. Upon review of the circumstances of the particular case, the Health Director may permit the animal to be confined on the premises of the owner or person in possession. The Health Director may authorize a dog trained and used by a law enforcement agency to be released from confinement to perform official duties upon submission of proof that the dog has been vaccinated for rabies in compliance with this section.
(4) In the case of stray animals whose ownership is not known, the supervised quarantine required by this division shall be at the Animal Shelter. If the owner or person in possession cannot be identified within 72 hours of the event, the Health Director may authorize the animal be euthanized and the head of the animal shall be immediately sent to the State Laboratory of Public Health for rabies diagnosis. If the event occurs on a weekend or state holiday, the time period for owner or person in possession identification shall be extended 24 hours.
(5) If evidence of rabies does not develop within ten days after a dog, cat, or ferret is quarantined under this division, the animal may be released from quarantine. If the animal has been confined at the Animal Shelter, the owner or person in possession shall pay a redemption service fee plus a boarding fee upon reclaiming the animal. Fees will be approved by the Harnett County Board of Commissioners.
(C) Animals bitten by rabid animals. Any domestic animal bitten by a proven rabid animal or animal suspected of having rabies that is not available for laboratory diagnosis shall be destroyed immediately by its owner or person in possession, an Animal Control Officer, or a Law Enforcement Officer, unless the animal has been vaccinated against rabies more than 28 days prior to being exposed, and is given a booster dose of rabies vaccine with five days of the exposure, or the owner or person in possession agrees to strict isolation of the animal at a veterinary hospital for a period of six months.
(D) Management of animals exposed to rabies. When the Health Director reasonably suspects that a dog, cat, or ferret has been exposed to the saliva or nervous tissue of a proven rabid animal or animal reasonably suspected of having rabies that is not available for laboratory diagnosis, the animal shall be considered to have been exposed to rabies. The recommendations and guidelines for rabies post-exposure management specified by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians in the most current edition of the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control shall be the required control measures.
(E) Rabid animal testing procedure. An animal diagnosed as having rabies by a licensed veterinarian shall be destroyed and its head sent to the State Laboratory of Public Health. The heads of all animals that die during a confinement period required by this section shall be immediately sent to the State Laboratory for Public Health for rabies diagnosis.
(F) Unlawful killing, release, etc. of certain animals. It shall be unlawful for any person to kill, subject to the provision of this section, or release any animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies, or any animal biting a human, or to remove such animal from the county without written permission from the Animal Services Manager.
(G) Failure to surrender animal for confinement. It shall be unlawful for any person to fail or refuse to surrender any animal for confinement or destruction as required in this section. If the owner or person in possession refuses to confine the animal as required by this section, the Health Director may order seizure of that animal and its confinement for ten days at the expense of the owner or person in possession.
(Ord. passed 6-4-2018; Ord. 2022-25, passed 10-17-2022)