(A) The purpose of this chapter is to protect the public against health and safety risks that inherently dangerous exotic animals pose to the community and to protect the welfare of the individual animals held in private possession. By their very nature, certain exotic animals are wild and potentially dangerous, do not adjust well to a captive environment, and present a genuine threat to the safety and well-being of the public.
(B) It is a further purpose of this subchapter to complement those rules already in existence in the State of North Carolina with respect to the regulation of wild animals by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, which includes animals such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, bats, and others, that present a danger to the safety and well-being of the public through their inherently dangerous nature, through carrying rabies, or otherwise. Accordingly, the county intends to exempt from this subchapter those animals which are subject to said rules.
(C) For the reasons set forth above, and pursuant to the authority granted in G.S. §§ 153A-121, 153A-131, and 113-133.1, the county enacts and adopts the regulations set forth herein.
(Ord. passed 8-1-2016)