HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93009_2171The adopted ordinance in its entirety is as follows.
AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE KEEPING
OF WILD AND EXOTIC ANIMALS DANGEROUS TO PERSONS
OR PROPERTY WITHIN IREDELL COUNTY
WHEREAS, the board of commissioners is concerned for the safety and welfare of all
citizens of Iredell County, as well as the safety and welfare of wild animals and desires to enact an
ordinance prohibiting the keeping of wild and exotic animals dangerous to persons and property in
Iredell County pursuant to Article 6 Chapter 143A of the General Statutes of North Carolina.
L The following definitions shall be added to Sec. 3-1 of the Iredell County Code:
Wild Animals Dangerous to Humans and Property.
Wild animals are any animals not normally domesticated. For purposes of this chapter, wild
animals are deemed inherently dangerous. They are deemed as such because of their vicious
propensities and capabilities, the likely gravity of harm inflicted by their attack and unpredictability
despite attempts at domestication. The category of wild animals includes but is not limited to:
1. Members of the Canidae family such as wolves, coyotes, and hybrids of those breeds.
2. Members of the Ursidae family which includes any member of the bear family or hybrids
thereof.
3. Members of the Felidae family such as wild cats, cougars, mountain lions, or panthers.
This definition of wild animal will replace the existing definition in Section 3.1 of the Iredell
County Code.
Exotic Animals Dangerous to Humans and Property. Exotic animals are also considered
to be inherently dangerous for purposes of this chapter. Like wild animals, exotic animals are
dangerous because oftheir vicious propensities and capabilities, the gravity of harm inflicted by their
attack, and unpredictability despite attempts at domestication. The category of exotic animals
includes, but is not limited to:
1. Reptiles which are poisonous or constricting reptiles more than ten feet in length.
2. Nonhuman primates weighing greater than 25 pounds.
3. Members of the feline family other than domestic house cats, including, but not
limited to, lions, tigers and leopards.
4. Reptiles which are members of the crocodile family, including, but not limited to
alligators and crocodiles.
Wild and Exotic animals do not include:
1. Wolf -dog cross breeds.
2. Foreign rodents such as guinea pigs, hamsters, ferrets, and chinchillas.
3. Members of the reptile and amphibian family not specifically mentioned above such as
small lizards and iguanas, salamanders, turtles and frogs.
4. Vietnamese pot bellied pigs, and other members of the Suidae family, except wild boar
and peccary.
5. Horses and other members of the Equidae family.
6. Cows and other members of the Bovidae family.
7. Deer and other members of the Cervidae family.
8. Domestic dogs and cats.
These animals do not have dangerous propensities and pose no serious threat to the safety
of persons and property within Iredell County.
Section 3.8 (g) is to be amended to read as follows:
Il. Section 3.8 (g) Wild Animals and Exotic Animals.
(1) This subsection shall apply to all animals defined as a wild or exotic animal in Section
3.1. Neither this subsection or any section of this chapter shall have the effect of permitting any