Franklin County, NC Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Franklin County regulates dangerous animals by individual conduct rather than by breed. Under Sec. 6-12, once an animal services officer investigates a dangerous animal complaint and finds supporting evidence, the Animal Services Director may formally designate that specific animal as dangerous. The owner then receives written notice requiring confinement in a secure enclosure, and must post a plainly visible sign warning that a dangerous animal is on the premises; that sign must be at least one foot by two feet, or two square feet in area, and must read 'Warning!

Dangerous Animal on Premises' in letters legible to an ordinary-vision person from 20 feet away. The owner has 30 days from written notification to build an approved secure enclosure, during which the dangerous animal must stay under constant restraint on the owner's property, unless it has already been confiscated. An animal services officer may confiscate the animal and hold it at the owner's expense while the enclosure is built; if the owner still has not provided an approved enclosure by the end of 30 days from confiscation, the Director is authorized to have the animal humanely destroyed.

Sec. 6-12(e) sets a harsher rule for a dog that kills a human: it is taken into custody immediately, held up to 30 days at a $50.00-per-day boarding fee charged to the owner, and then humanely destroyed unless the owner voluntarily agrees to earlier destruction.