(A) Prohibited. It shall be unlawful if a person negligently or willfully:
(1) Fails to provide adequate food and/or water for any animal he or she owns, possesses or harbors;
(2) Overworks or overdrives any animal causing physical pain, suffering or death;
(3) Beats, tortures, injures, torments, poisons or mutilates any animal causing physical pain, suffering or death;
(4) Fails to provide adequate medical attention for any sick, diseased or injured animal he or she owns, possesses or harbors;
(5) Keeps any animal under unsanitary or inhumane conditions which are detrimental to the animal's health and general welfare or fails to maintain a condition of good order and cleanliness which reduces the probability of transmission of disease;
(6) Teases, molests or in any way bothers or harasses any animal;
(7) Sets any rabbit, hare, raccoon or other such animal loose for the purpose of chasing, hunting or having a race thereafter;
(8) Promotes, stages, holds, manages, conducts, carries on or attends any game, exhibition, contest, fight or combat between one or more animals or between animals and humans;
(9) Fails to provide an adequate shelter for an animal he or she owns, possesses, harbors or encloses, wherein the animal can be protected from extremes of weather (heat, cold, rain and the like) and allowed to remain dry and comfortable during inclement weather;
(10) Conveys any type of animal in a motor vehicle or in a wagon or trailer pulled by a motor vehicle or in a truck or the back of a truck without having the animal reasonably secured so as to prevent the animal from leaping or being thrown from the vehicle or in such a way as to cause pain, suffering, unreasonable discomfort or death to the animal;
(11) Places or confines an animal or allows 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 the animal due to temperature, lack of food or drink, or other conditions as may reasonably be expected to cause suffering, disability or death:
(a) After making a reasonable effort to find the driver of a vehicle in which an animal is confined, an employee of the Bureau, in the presence of a police officer, may use the least intrusive means to break and enter the vehicle if necessary to remove the animal where probable cause exists to believe that the animal is in the vehicle in violation of this division.
(b) The officer removing the animal shall then impound it and leave in a prominent place on the motor vehicle a written notice of the animal's impoundment, a brief description of the animal, and where and when the animal may be reclaimed. In addition, the officer may also use any other enforcement method authorized by § 90.017.
(c) So long as an animal is within sight of an employee of the Bureau or a police officer, § 90.016 shall not be interpreted to require that any warrant be obtained before removing the animal so long as the removal is otherwise consistent with the United States Constitution.
(12) Fails to provide sufficient shade, when sunlight is likely to cause overheating and discomfort, to allow all animals kept outdoors to protect themselves from the direct rays of the sun; or
(13) Keeps animals outdoors without access to shelter to allow them to remain dry and comfortable during, inclement weather.
(B) Convictions. If a person has been criminally convicted twice of a violation of this section or of G.S. §§ 14-360, 14-361, 14-361.1, 14-362 or 14-363 and any two such convictions have both occurred within the last five years preceding a request by the person for an animal license or permit, the animal license or permit request shall be refused. In that situation, the person shall be eligible to apply for an animal license permit five years after the date of the last criminal conviction.
(C) Euthanizing exception. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Bureau 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.
(D) Pet shops. Animal control officers shall have the authority to conduct inspections of pet stores, to the extent not preempted by state law, in order to determine if there is any abuse of animals. Pet shops shall also be subject to the county ordinance for the control of rabies and other zoonoses as administered and enforced by the County Health Department. Abuse of animals shall include any act described in this section or any other act that is detrimental to the well-being of the animal. It shall be unlawful for any pet store employee or pet store owner to violate this section.
(1995 Code, § 10-52) (Ord. 2005-02, passed - -2005) Penalty, see § 10.99
Statutory reference:
Authority to prohibit the abuse of animals, see G.S. § 160A-182
Protection of animals, see G.S. Chapter 19A