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For the purpose of administering and enforcing the provisions outlined in these regulations pertaining to the keeping and controlling of animals within the corporate limits of the town; the Police Chief shall appoint an Animal Control Officer. He or she and his or her designated agents shall perform their duties to enforce and administer animal statutes and ordinances.
(Ord. passed 5-8-2018)
(A) Enforcement of all state, county, and town laws/regulations relating to animal control.
(B) Enforcement of all health regulations relating to the care, custody, and control of animals; especially regarding vaccination of dogs and cats against rabies.
(C) Investigating complaints regarding animal abuse, cruelty, or neglect of any animal within the town corporate limits.
(Ord. passed 5-8-2018)
(A) The territory within the corporate limits of the town shall be designated a bird sanctuary as authorized by G.S. § 160-188.
(B) It shall be unlawful to hunt, trap, shoot, kill or otherwise take any birds within the town limits except birds classed as a pest under G.S. §§ 113-300.1 through 113-300.3; the Structural Pest Control Act, G.S. § 106-65.22; or the Pesticide Law G.S. § 143-434; or except pursuant to a permit issued by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission under G.S. § 113-274.
(C) All owners of dogs and cats within the town corporate limits of Rose Hill shall be required to register their animals and pay a one-time registration fee ($10 per animal) at the Town Hall. A new dog or cat must be registered within 30 days of acquisition. A numbered tag shall be issued by the town that will indicate the number of the tag, the name and description of the animal, and the name and address of the owner. The tag shall be affixed to a collar around the neck of the animal at all times. (Cats are excluded from wearing tags.) Every dog and cat must be submitted for the purpose of taking photographs of the animal to place on file at the Town Hall and to be used for identification purposes. Owners will be responsible for obtaining tags for all dogs and cats.
(D) It shall be unlawful for any animal owner to fail to comply with NC State Statutes regarding the control of rabies. A rabies vaccination shall be deemed current for cats if the vaccination has been given within the preceding 12 months. For dogs, the vaccination shall be deemed current if two vaccinations have been given one year apart and booster doses of rabies vaccine are given every 3 years thereafter. Vaccination tags shall be affixed to a collar around the neck of the animal at all times. (Cats are excluded from wearing tags.) Owners are required to show proof of such vaccinations upon request of the Animal Control Officer or his or her designee.
(E) If any animal is suspected to have or has shown symptoms of rabies, the owner of the animal shall immediately confine the animal to their premises and notify a veterinarian and the Animal Control Officer. A diagnosis and treatment will be completed at the owner's expense.
(F) All animals, but not limited to horses, ponies, donkeys, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, or chickens (roosters) etc. within the corporate limits of the town shall be kept inside their residence or in a fenced in area on the owner's property.
(G) It shall be unlawful to keep more than a combination of 4 total dogs and/or cats per residence. Owners who currently own more than 4 animals will be allowed to keep them provided that all requirements are met as outlined in this chapter and all excess animals that are removed from the premises upon death or other means may not be replaced.
(H) Domestic fowl.
(1) It shall be unlawful for the owner or keeper of any domestic fowl of whatever description to permit such animal to be or run at large within the town.
(2) No person shall keep or maintain domestic fowl in the town unless the fowl will be on a tract of land or maintained as follows:
(a) The tract shall consist of at least 20,000 square feet under single ownership or control;
(b) Such fowl must be contained in a secure fenced enclosure at all times;
(c) The enclosure shall have a minimum of 10 square feet of area for each fowl;
(d) No enclosure shall be erected or maintained within the front or side yard, within 5 feet of any property line or within 5 feet of another residence;
(e) The enclosure shall be kept clean, sanitary, and free from accumulations of excrement and objectionable odor;
(f) No more than 20 such fowl shall be kept or maintained per acre. The number of fowl shall be proportionate to the acreage. There will be no discounting for chicks or other young fowl; and
(g) It shall be unlawful for any person to tether any fowl.
(I) It shall be unlawful for any person owning an animal to abandon that animal within the corporate limits of the town. If an abandoned animal is trapped, it will be transported directly to the Duplin County Animal Shelter or like facility as deemed necessary.
(J) It shall be unlawful for any person within the corporate limits of the town, without the consent of the owner or keeper, to knowingly and intentionally harbor, feed and/or keep in their possession by confinement any animal that is not owned by him or her.
(K) It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with, hinder, molest, resist, or obstruct the Animal Control Officer or his or her designee in the performance of any duty authorized by law or ordinance, or to seek to release any animal in the custody of such agents (including from traps, cages, or other enclosures) except as specifically provided by the Animal Control Officer.
(L) It shall be unlawful for any person to conceal, for the purpose of evading the licensing requirement or rabies vaccination requirement of the law or any applicable ordinance, any unlicensed or unvaccinated animal.
(M) It shall be unlawful for the owner of any animal to fail or refuse to remove feces deposited by the animal on any street, sidewalk, park, or other property whether public or private.
(N) It shall be unlawful for any person to allow any animal to run at large off the owner's premises.
(O) Tethering is a form of animal cruelty so therefore it shall be unlawful for any animal to be tied, chained, fastened, or otherwise tethered to any stationary or inanimate object.
(P) Nuisance animals.
(1) Prohibited generally; exceptions. It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, possess, harbor or maintain an animal in such a manner as to annoy or disturb rights and privileges common to the public or to annoy or disturb persons in the enjoyment of private property. By way of example and not of limitation, the following are hereby declared to be a public nuisance and are, therefore, unlawful:
(a) Getting into or turning over waste or garbage containers;
(b) Walking on or sleeping on automobiles of another;
(c) Damaging the real or personal property of anyone other than its owner;
(d) Repeatedly being or running at large;
(e) Being maintained in an unsanitary condition to be offensive to sight or smell;
(f) Not being confined to a building or secure enclosure while in estrus;
(g) Being vicious or chasing, snapping at, attacking, or otherwise molesting others, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motor vehicles, or domestic animals;
(h) Allowing or permitting an animal to make frequent or long continued sounds, including barking, whining, screeching, calling, howling, or yowling in an excessive, continuous, habitual, or untimely fashion, or to make other noise in such a manner so as to result in the serious annoyance or interference with the reasonable use and enjoyment of neighboring premises ("annoying sound") beyond two city blocks. Any such sound which is made for more than 15 minutes during any 30 minute period shall be deemed a serious annoying sound. Three or more complaints have to be reported to the Police Department from the above two city block area, within a 3-day time period;
(i) Being housed or restrained less than 5 feet from a public street, road, or sidewalk such that at the discretion of the Animal Control Officer, the location of the animal poses a threat to the general safety, health, and welfare of the general public;
(j) By virtue of number or type, being offensive or dangerous to the public health, safety, or welfare; and
(k) Being diseased or dangerous to the health of the public.
(Q) All animals within the corporate limits of the town shall remain under the immediate control of their owner or keeper. For the purpose of this section, immediate control by owner or keeper shall be construed to mean:
(1) Restrained upon the property of the owner or keeper of the animal either within the confines of a fence designed to restrain the animal, an electronically operated fence sufficient to restrain the animal upon the property, in the presence of the owner or keeper or other means of restraint approved by the town; and
(2) While being walked or exercised off the premises or property of the owner or keeper, the animal must be restrained by a leash connected to a collar or harness, sufficient to restrain the animal from breaking loose.
(Ord. passed 5-8-2018)
Statutory reference:
Authority to exempt cats from wearing tag, G.S. § 130-190
(A) For the purpose of this chapter a POTENTIALLY VICIOUS DOG is defined to mean:
(1) Any dog which has the appearance and characteristics of being violent (aggressive barking, growling, showing teeth, etc.). Any dog with a known propensity, tendency, or disposition to attack unprovoked, to cause injury to, or to otherwise endanger the safety of humans or other domestic animals; or
(2) Any dog which attacks a human being or other domestic animal without provocation.
(B) The keeping of potentially vicious dogs shall be subject to the following requirements:
(1) Confinement. All potentially vicious dogs shall be securely confined indoors or in a securely enclosed and locked pen or kennel. Such pen or kennel shall have secure sides and must be affixed to the property in such a manner as to prevent the animal from digging or climbing out. All structures shall be locked securely when such animals are within the structure. All such structures must be kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
(2) Confinement indoors. No potentially vicious dog may be kept on a porch, patio or in any part of a house or structure that would allow the dog to exit such building on its own volition.
(3) Signs. All owners or keepers of potentially vicious dogs within the corporate limits of the town shall within 10 days of the effective date of this section display in a prominent place on their premises a sign easily readable by the public using the words "Beware of Dog." In addition, a similar sign is required to be posted on the kennel or pen of such animal.
(Ord. passed 5-8-2018)
The following penalties shall pertain to violations of this chapter:
(A) The violation of any provision of this chapter shall be a misdemeanor and any person convicted of such violation shall be punishable as provided in G.S. § 14-4 or other applicable law. Each day's violation of this chapter is a separate offense. Payment of a fine imposed in criminal proceedings pursuant to this section does not relieve a person of his or her liability of fees imposed under this chapter.
(B) Enforcement of this chapter may include any appropriate equitable remedy, injunction or order of abatement issuing from a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to G.S. § 153A-123(d) and (e).
(C) In addition to and independent of any criminal penalties and other sanctions provided in this chapter, a violation of this chapter may also subject the offender to the civil penalties hereinafter set forth.
(1) The Animal Control Supervisor, or designee, may issue to the known owner or keeper of any animal, or to any other violator of the provisions of this chapter, a ticket or citation giving notice of the alleged violations(s). Tickets or citations so issued may be delivered in person or mailed by certified or registered mail to the person charged if that person cannot readily be found. The ticket or citation, except those issued for failure to license an animal, shall
impose upon the violator a minimum civil penalty of $75, or such greater amounts for subsequent offenses as may be set by the ordinance. Tickets or citations issued for failure to license an animal as required by the ordinance shall impose upon the violator a penalty of $50. This civil penalty shall be paid in full to the Town Hall within 14 days of receipt of the citation assessing the civil penalty. This civil penalty is in addition to any other fees, fines or costs authorized by this chapter.
(2) In the event that the owner or keeper of an animal or other alleged violator does not appear in response to the above-described ticket or citation, or the applicable civil penalty is not paid within the time period prescribed, a civil action may be commenced to recover the penalty and costs associated with collection of the penalty, and/or a criminal summons may be issued against the owner or keeper or other alleged violator of this chapter, and upon conviction, the owner shall be punished as provided by state law.
(3) The following civil penalties are hereby established for the indicated violations of this chapter:
Animal Control Civil Penalty Fee Schedule
Violation Description | Fee |
Violation Description | Fee |
Interference of duty of any animal control division employee or agent or trap | $100 |
Concealment of animal for the purpose of evading ordinance | $100 |
Vicious animals | $500 |
Rabies vaccination tag and certificate | $50 |
Keeping stray animal | $50 |
Animals running at large: | |
First violation | Warning |
Second violation | $75 |
Third and subsequent violations | $100 |
Public nuisance: | |
First violation | Warning |
Second violation | $75 |
Third and subsequent violations | $100 |
Tethering of animals: | |
First violation | Warning |
Second violation | $75 |
Third and subsequent violations | $100 |
Failure to confine female animals in estrus: | |
First violation | Warning |
Second violation | $75 |
Third and subsequent violations | $100 |
(Ord. passed 5-8-2018)