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Cats and ferrets shall not be required to wear the metallic tag referred to in § 91.32 of this chapter, but the owner of a cat or ferret shall maintain the rabies vaccination certificates as written evidence to prove that the cat has a current rabies inoculation. A cat that has been eartipped is presumed to have been vaccinated at least once.
(Ord. passed 5-3-2004; Am. Ord. passed 6-4-2012; Ord. passed - - )
(A)
Every dog, cat or ferret which has bitten any person shall be confined immediately and shall be promptly reported to the Animal Control Section and, thereupon, shall be securely quarantined, at the direction of the Animal Control Section, for a period of ten days, and shall not be released from the quarantine except by documented permission from the Animal Control Section.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to report as soon as possible that an animal has bitten a person. It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to inform the Animal Control Section of the whereabouts of an animal that has bitten a person, if the owner or keeper has given the animal away or in any way caused the animal to be taken from the owner’s or keeper’s premises.
(C) If there is any evidence that an animal bite may have occurred, it shall be assumed by law that a bite did occur, and quarantine procedures shall apply if required.
(D) Every dog, cat or ferret quarantined under this section shall be confined at the expense of its owner or keeper in a veterinary hospital or at the county animal shelter, if space is available; provided, however, that, if an animal control officer determines that the owner or keeper of a dog, cat or ferret which must be quarantined has adequate confinement facilities upon his or her own premises, the animal control officer may authorize the dog, cat or ferret to be confined on the premises upon proof of current vaccination against rabies. If the dog, cat or ferret is confined on its owner’s or keeper’s premises, an animal control officer shall revisit the premises for inspection purposes on the fifth and tenth day of the confinement period. If the owner or keeper fails to provide continuous quarantine of the dog, cat or ferret on his or her premises as instructed, the animal shall be removed by an animal control officer and quarantined at a veterinary hospital or at the county animal shelter at the owner’s cost. The owner or keeper shall agree in writing to the above conditions prior to the animal control officer authorizing confinement on the owner or keeper’s property.
(E) In cases of stray animals of unknown ownership, the supervised quarantine required shall be at the county animal shelter or at a licensed veterinary hospital, or in lieu of supervised quarantine at the direction of the Animal Control Section, the animal may be euthanized, and the head examined for rabies.
(F) If rabies does not develop within ten days after a dog, cat or ferret is quarantined under this section, the dog, cat or ferret may be released from quarantine with the documented permission of the Animal Control Section. If the dog, cat or ferret has been confined in the county animal shelter, the owner shall pay any necessary veterinarian fees and a boarding fee approved by the Board of County Commissioners.
(G) In the case of a non-dog, cat or ferret or bat suspected of carrying rabies, the animal may be euthanized, and the head examined for rabies.
(H) (1) The Animal Control Section will make a determination as to whether any stray, owner-surrendered, or abandoned animal that has bitten a person is to be considered adoptable. If the animal is not determined to be adoptable, it may be disposed of as otherwise provided in this subchapter.
(2) Determination of whether or not a bite animal will not be considered adoptable is guided by the Bite Waiver Policy in place at the county animal shelter.
(I) Every dog, cat or ferret which shows symptoms of rabies shall be confined immediately and shall be promptly reported to the Animal Control Section and, thereupon, humanely euthanized by either a licensed veterinarian or at the Wake County Animal Center. If any exposure to a person or other animal is suspected, the dog, cat or ferret will have the head examined for rabies.
(Ord. passed 5-3-2004; Ord. passed - - )
Penalty, see § 91.99
When the local health director or designee 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 dog, cat or ferret 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 (the “Compendium”) shall be the required control measures.
(A) For purposes of applying the required control measures set forth in the Compendium, appropriate documentation of prior rabies vaccination shall be a valid rabies vaccination certificate or an official veterinary record of a prior rabies vaccine for that specific animal, provided by the animal’s owner. It is the sole responsibility of the animal’s owner to provide appropriate documentation of the animal’s prior rabies vaccination.
(B) Dogs, cats and ferrets exposed to rabies shall be seen by a North Carolina licensed veterinarian immediately for wound care and guidance on post-exposure management.
(Ord. passed 5-3-2004; Ord. passed - - )
(A)
When reports indicate a cluster of positive rabies cases, the local health director or designee may order an area-wide emergency quarantine for the period as he or she deems necessary. Upon invoking an emergency quarantine, no dog, cat, ferret or other carnivores shall be taken into the streets or permitted to be in the streets during the emergency quarantine period. During the emergency quarantine, no dog, cat or ferret or other carnivore may be taken or shipped from the county without written permission of the Animal Control Section, and the municipal police departments located within Wake County, and the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, are hereby directed during the emergency quarantine to impound any dog, cat, ferret or other carnivore found running at large in the county. During the quarantine period, the Animal Control Section or local health authorities shall provide for a section of mass immunization by the establishment of temporary emergency rabies vaccination facilities located throughout the county.
(B) In the event there are additional positive cases of rabies occurring during the period of quarantine, the period of quarantine may be extended at the discretion of the local health director or designee.
(Ord. passed 5-3-2004; Ord. passed - - )
(A)
If an animal dies while under observation for rabies, the head of the animal shall be submitted to the State Laboratory of Public Health for rabies diagnosis.
(B) The carcass of any animal suspected of dying of rabies which came in contact with a person or other domestic animal capable of contracting rabies, shall be surrendered to the Animal Control Section. The head of the animal shall be submitted to the State Laboratory of Public Health for rabies diagnosis.
(Ord. passed 5-3-2004; Ord. passed - - )
It shall be unlawful for any person to kill or release any animal under observation for rabies, any animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies, or any animal biting a human, or to remove the animal from the county without permission from the Animal Control Section.
(Ord. passed 5-3-2004; Ord. passed - - )
Penalty, see § 91.99
It shall be unlawful for any person to fail or refuse to surrender any animal for quarantine or euthanasia as required in this subchapter or when the Animal Control Section makes demand.
(Ord. passed 5-3-2004; Ord. passed - - )
Penalty, see § 91.99
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