Burke County, NC Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 6-10(a) makes it unlawful for any person, without the consent of the owner or keeper, to knowingly and intentionally harbor, feed, or otherwise keep possession of an animal that does not belong to them, including strays or abandoned animals, unless the person notifies the Burke County Animal Services Department within 24 hours from the time the animal came into their possession. The purpose stated in the code is administrative: notifying Animal Services creates a record of the animal and its location so an owner searching for it can be reunited through the animal services center.

This section sits in Article I of Chapter 6, alongside the companion rule that it is unlawful to intentionally remove or destroy an electronic collar or tracking device an owner placed on a dog (§ 6-10(b)). Burke County's animal definitions are broad enough to include wild creatures generally ("any live, vertebrate creature"), but the operative feeding/harboring duty in § 6-10 is written around strays and abandoned animals rather than free-ranging wildlife such as deer or geese, which the code instead refers to the state wildlife resources commission for incidents involving wildlife (§ 6-3(b)(3)).

Anyone who gives away, sells, or allows a strayed or abandoned animal to be adopted without first notifying Animal Services gains no ownership authority over it, and ownership legally remains with the identifiable prior owner (§ 6-10(h)).