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

Adopted September 15, 2025 as §§ 92.11.1 through 92.11.9, the Dangerous Dog Ordinance lets the Animal Services Director classify a dog as dangerous or potentially dangerous purely on conduct, with no breed named anywhere in the criteria. Under § 92.11.2(A), a level 1 dangerous dog is one that killed an unprovoked person, severely injured a child under 12, inflicted severe injury off the owner's property, or repeated a prior level 2 or potentially-dangerous act; a level 1 dog is immediately seized and, once the appeal period expires, humanely destroyed at the owner's expense.

A level 2 dog, defined in § 92.11.2(A)(3) as one that injured a person on the owner's own property, was used for dog fighting under G.S. § 14-362.2, or repeated a lesser potentially-dangerous act, may be redeemed only after the owner installs a secure enclosure meeting the confinement standards in § 92.11.4. A potentially dangerous dog under § 92.11.2(B) is one that killed or injured livestock off the owner's property, approached a person in a vicious or terrorizing manner, or delivered an unprovoked bite, and may be redeemed under restraint conditions in § 92.11.3.

Section 92.11.2(C) exempts law enforcement and registered security dogs, herding or predator-control dogs injuring livestock they are working, and dogs that bite someone who was tormenting, abusing, or assaulting them or committing a crime. An owner may appeal a dangerous or potentially dangerous determination in writing to the Animal Services Director.