AN ACT to authorize transfers to other shelters or animal welfare organizations as a PERMISSIBLE disposition of lost or surrendered animals.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 130A‑192(a) 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.animal and take the following actions:

(1)        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.

(2)        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 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.

(3)        If the animal is not reclaimed by its owner during the impoundment period, period required by subdivision (a)(2) of this section, the animal shall be disposed of in one of the following manners: (i) returned to the owner; (ii) adopted as a pet by a new owner; (iii) transferred to another animal shelter or animal welfare nonprofit organization, or (iv) 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 2.  G.S. 19A‑32.1(f) reads as rewritten:

(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 or animal welfare nonprofit organization.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2021, and applies to animals brought to or held in animal shelters on or after that date.