Forsyth County has no ordinance using the word 'hoarding,' but Sec. 6-7 (Cruelty) bars neglect and depriving animals of necessary sustenance, and Sec. 6-9 prohibits keeping animals so as to create a public nuisance. Severe cases are prosecuted under NC criminal animal-cruelty law.
Excessive-animal and neglect situations are reached through several provisions. Sec. 6-7 (Cruelty to Animals) makes it unlawful to deprive an animal of necessary sustenance, abandon it, or subject it to conditions detrimental to its health and welfare, and defines abuse to include failing to provide adequate veterinary care and structurally sound shelter. Sec. 6-9 prohibits keeping animals so as to create unsanitary or offensive public-nuisance conditions. Endangered animals may be impounded by the Animal Services Division (Sec. 6-44). Serious cruelty and neglect are prosecuted under North Carolina's criminal animal-cruelty statutes (NCGS Ch. 14, Art. 47), which can rise to a felony.
Cruelty/neglect (Sec. 6-7) and nuisance keeping (Sec. 6-9) are a Class 3 misdemeanor, fine up to $500 (Sec. 6-55), with the civil schedule ($50 first offense up to $500 and seizure of animals for the fifth and successive offense). Criminal
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See how Forsyth County's animal hoarding rules stack up against other locations.
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