GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

1983 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 834

HOUSE BILL 376

 

AN ACT RELATING TO THE DISPOSITION OF ANIMALS BY ANIMAL SHELTERS AND POUNDS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 67-32 is rewritten to read:

"§ 67-32. Pound; disposition of impounded dogs.-The board of county commissioners in each county in which a county dog warden is appointed under this Article shall establish and maintain a dog pound in each county, the same to be under the supervision of the county dog warden, for the purpose of impounding lost and stray dogs for a period to be determined by the board of county commissioners, but not less than 72 hours, during which time the county dog warden shall make every reasonable effort to locate and give notice to the owners of such dogs, or if such owners cannot be located, to find new owners for such dogs. If at the end of the holding period to be determined by the board of commissioners but not less than 72 hours, such dogs remain unclaimed by their owners or by prospective owners, such dogs are to be disposed of in one of the following manners: returned to the owner; adopted as a pet by a new owner; sold or donated to institutions within this State registered by the United States Department of Agriculture pursuant to the Federal Animal Welfare Act, as amended; or put to death by a procedure approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Humane Society of the United States or of the American Humane Association. The Animal Control Officer shall maintain a record of all animals impounded under this section which shall include the date of impoundment, the length of impoundment, the method of disposal of the animal and the name of the person or institution to whom any animal has been released. Any owner who delivers a dog to the pound shall be put on notice that such dog may be put to death or sold to an institution if it is not adopted. Such notification shall be posted at the pound. Anyone claiming or redeeming a dog at the pound will be required to pay the actual cost of keeping the dog in the pound, as well as any tax due, before any such dog may be released."

Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 20th day of July, 1983.