Burke County, NC Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Under the rabies control article, every inoculated animal's owner receives a metallic tab stamped with the inoculation number and year (§ 6-32(a)). Dog owners must provide a collar or harness with the current tag securely attached at all times; failing to do so is unlawful (§ 6-32(b)). Cats and ferrets, unlike dogs, have the option of either a collar or a microchip to ensure proper identification, but if the owner chooses the microchip route, they must maintain records of the animal's rabies vaccinations and current tag rather than relying on the chip alone (§ 6-32(c)).

It is also unlawful for anyone to use a rabies tag issued for one animal on a different animal (§ 6-32(d)). Microchips matter beyond identification tags, too: every animal impounded at the county animal services center is scanned for a microchip specifically to help notify the legal owner that their animal has been picked up (§ 6-71). That scan happens automatically as part of intake, independent of whether the animal also arrived wearing a collar and tag, giving microchipped cats, ferrets, and dogs an extra path back to their owner during the impoundment hold.