15A NCAC 10H .1405      Captivity License Revocation and Enforcement

(a)  Representatives of the Commission may enter the premises of a license holder's facility upon request or during the facility's business hours for inspection or scientific purposes.

(b)  The Executive Director of the Commission or his or her designee may warn, cite, or revoke a license holder's captivity license if the license holder violates a provision of G.S. 14, Article 47, or G.S. 113, Subchapter IV, rules promulgated by the Commission in this Chapter, or any conditions of the license. The determination whether to warn, cite, suspend, or revoke a captivity license for rehabilitation or holding shall be based upon the seriousness of the violation, and may include:

(1)           failure to provide required facilities for the housing of wild animals and wild birds as specified in Rule .1402(i) and Rule .1404 of this Section;

(2)           providing false or inaccurate information on license applications or reports submitted to the Commission;

(3)           possessing wild animals or wild birds not permitted by the captivity license for rehabilitation, or the captivity license for holding;

(4)           using animals undergoing rehabilitation for education, exhibition, profit, or science;

(5)           allowing wild animals undergoing rehabilitation to have contact with or proximity to the public;

(6)           failure to comply with monitoring or record-keeping requirements;

(7)           taming, imprinting, or otherwise improperly handling animals held for rehabilitation;

(8)           failure to treat conditions that warrant medical attention;

(9)           failure to notify the appropriate agencies after a rabies exposure as described in Rules .1402 and .1403 this Section; or

(10)         allowing a wild animal held under a captivity license for holding to roam free unrestrained outside of its enclosure.

(c)  An individual holding a captivity license for rehabilitation with apprenticeship conditions shall notify the Commission within 10 business days if he or she no longer has a mentor and provide a list of animals in their possession by species and quantity. The apprentice shall obtain another mentor within 30 days and notify the Commission with that individual's information. If the apprentice fails to obtain another mentor the Commission shall revoke their license and he or she shall be required to reapply for a license with apprenticeship conditions.

(d)  If a wild animal or wild bird is unlawfully possessed or the Commission revokes a captivity license for rehabilitation or holding, the Commission may seize and determine future treatment of the wild animal or wild bird, to include release, relocation, or euthanasia.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 106-549.97(b); 113-134; 113-272.5; 113-274;

Eff. January 1, 2020;

Amended Eff. January 1, 2026.