Moore County, NC Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Chapter 4 of the Moore County Code, enforced by the Moore County Sheriff's Office animal control program, defines 'at large' as an animal that is off the property of its owner or keeper and not under physical restraint (Section 4-1). Restraint is defined broadly: control by leash or similar device, being close enough to the handler to obey commands, riding in a vehicle, confinement in a secure enclosure, or simply staying within the owner's or keeper's own property line. Moore County does not make a single at-large incident a crime by itself; instead, Section 4-1's nuisance definition lists being 'repeatedly at large' (with feral cats exempted) as one of the conditions that makes an animal a nuisance.

Section 4-5(a) then makes it unlawful for an owner or keeper to permit an animal in their care to become a nuisance. Enforcement in unincorporated Moore County starts with a written notice from an animal control officer, law enforcement officer, or the animal operations director giving the owner 48 hours to abate the problem; a complaint from a neighbor triggers the same investigation and written notice process. Failing to abate after that window is itself a separate violation. 00 cap.