A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT regarding the disposition of unowned cats and to amend laws for disposal of animals surrendered to an animal shelter.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 130A‑190(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Issuance. – A person who administers a rabies vaccine shall issue a rabies vaccination tag to the owner of the animal. The rabies vaccination tag shall show the year issued, a vaccination number, the words "North Carolina" or the initials "N.C." and the words "rabies vaccine." Dogs shall wear rabies vaccination tags at all times. Cats and ferrets must wear rabies vaccination tags unless they are exempt from wearing the tags by local ordinance, or are unowned outdoor cats that have been eartipped to indicate vaccination."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 130A‑192 reads as rewritten:
"§ 130A‑192.  Animals not wearing required rabies vaccination tags.
(a)	The Animal Control Officer shall canvass the county to determine if there are any animals not wearing the required rabies vaccination tag. If an animal required to wear a tag is found not wearing one, the Animal Control Officer shall check to see if the owner's identification can be found on the animal. If the animal is wearing an owner identification tag with information enabling the owner of the animal to be contacted, or if the Animal Control Officer otherwise knows who the owner is, the Animal Control Officer shall notify the owner in writing to have the animal vaccinated against rabies and to produce the required rabies vaccination certificate to the Animal Control Officer within three days of the notification. If the animal is not wearing an owner identification tag and the Animal Control Officer does not otherwise know who the owner is, the Animal Control Officer may impound the animal. The duration of the impoundment and the disposition of these animals shall be established by the county board of commissioners, but the duration shall not be less than 72 hours. During the impoundment period, the Animal Control Officer shall make a reasonable effort to locate the owner of the animal. If the Animal Control Officer has access at no cost or at a reasonable cost to a microchip scanning device, the Animal Control Officer shall scan the animal and utilize any information that may be available through a microchip to locate the owner of the animal, if possible. If the animal is not reclaimed by its owner during the impoundment period, the animal shall be disposed of in one of the following manners: returned to the owner; returned to an animal advocate group; adopted as a pet by a new owner; transferred to another shelter; or put to death by a procedure approved by rules adopted by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or, in the absence of such rules, by a procedure approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Humane Society of the United States or of the American Humane Association.
…."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 19A‑32.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19A‑32.1.  Minimum holding period for animals in animal shelters; public viewing of animals in animal shelters; disposition of animals.
…
(f)	An animal that is surrendered to an animal shelter by the animal's owner and not reclaimed by that owner during the minimum holding period may be disposed of in one of the following manners:
(1)	Returned to the owner.
(2)	Adopted as a pet by a new owner.
(3)	Euthanized by a procedure approved by rules adopted by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or, in the absence of such rules, by a procedure approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Humane Society of the United States, or the American Humane Association.
(4)	Transferred to another animal shelter.
…."
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2019.