(A) Proof required. It shall be unlawful for an owner to fail to show proof of current vaccination against rabies in accordance with regulations adopted by North Carolina Commission for Health Services on demand of the Animal Services Officer or other law enforcement personnel.
(B) Bite cases: duty of owner. Every vaccinated required animal which has bitten or scratched (per Health Director) any human or which shows signs of rabies shall be confined immediately and shall be promptly reported to the Animal Services Department in addition to the County Director of Public Health, by its owners or persons having the animal in charge, and thereupon shall be securely quarantined at the direction of the County Director of Public Health for a period of 10 days, and shall not be released from such quarantine except by written permission from the Health Director and Animal Services Department. The biting, and/or scratching animal and its records of vaccination and registration shall be inspected by the Animal Services Officer who will then observe the following policy:
(1) A properly vaccinated animal may be confined on the owner’s premises provided, however, that the owner has an adequate means of confinement upon their own premises and the animal is subject to observation by the officer at any time during the 10-day period.
(2) A vaccinated required animal not properly vaccinated, belonging to an owner, shall immediately be confined by the County Animal Shelter, in which case the expense shall be borne by the owner of the animal for the ten day confinement. The animal shall not be vaccinated during confinement.
(3) Bite quarantined animals not reclaimed with 72 hours after the end of quarantine period will be considered abandoned and will be treated as a surrendered animal to the Animal Shelter immediately available for disposition.
(C) Surrender for the quarantine required on demand. Except as provided in division (B) above, it shall be unlawful for the owner of an animal which has bitten a human to refuse to surrender said animal for the purpose of supervised quarantine by the Animal Services Department upon demand. The expense of said supervised quarantine shall be borne by the owner. If rabies does not develop within the 10-day period, the animal may be reclaimed upon payment of a boarding fee as provided in § 90.012, and upon compliance with other provisions of this subchapter.
(D) Rabies diagnosed. If an animal dies while under observation for rabies, then the head of such animal shall be submitted to the State Laboratory.
(E) Emergency quarantine and procedure. When reports indicate a positive diagnosis of rabies, the County Director of Public Health may order an area-wide quarantine for a period as he or she deems necessary; and upon invoking such emergency quarantine by the said Health Director, no animal shall run at large during such time. During such quarantine, no animal may be taken or shipped from the county without written permission from the Animal Services Department. No animal which has been impounded may be adopted from the Animal Shelter during the period of emergency rabies quarantine, except by special authorization of the public health officials. Animals bitten by a known rabid animal shall be immediately destroyed unless the owner agrees to strict isolation of the animal in the Animal Shelter or at a veterinary hospital for a period of 4 months; or provided however in the event said animal has a current rabies vaccination, and if given a booster vaccination it may be returned to its owner.
(Ord. 16, passed 3-2-2015; Am. Ord. passed 8-19-2020) Penalty, see § 90.999