North Carolina HB 657: Clarify Car Dealer Law applies to RVs.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 657
Committee Substitute Favorable 6/16/26

Short Title: Duke's Rescue Act. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 2, 2025
*H657-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROVIDE MINIMAL STANDARDS OF CARE FOR COMPANION ANIMALS. 2
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
SECTION 1. Article 47 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding 4
a new section to read: 5
"§ 14-360.5. Care of companion animals. 6
(a) Minimum Standards. – Except as set forth in subsection (b) of this section, any person 7
who owns a companion animal shall provide all of the following: 8
(1) Adequate care. 9
(2) Adequate exercise. 10
(3) Adequate feed. 11
(4) Adequate shelter. 12
(5) Adequate space. 13
(6) Adequate water. 14
(7) Appropriate veterinary treatment, including emergency veterinary treatment. 15
(b) Exception. – The requirements of this section pertaining to adequate shelter and 16
adequate space shall not apply to any of the following: 17
(1) Dogs used or kept for the purpose of lawful hunting, sledding, sporting, or 18
field trials or events where tethering or sheltering the dog in a particular 19
manner is integral to the training or conditioning of the dog for one of those 20
purposes. 21
(2) The conduct of obedience training, field and water training, law enforcement 22
training, or other dog training activities where tethering or sheltering the dog 23
in a particular manner is integral to those activities. 24
(3) The use of a restraint on a dog while the owner and dog engage in conduct 25
directly related to the business of shepherding or herding cattle or livestock. 26
(4) The use of a restraint on a dog while the owner and dog engage in conduct 27
directly related to the business of cultivating agricultural products. 28
(5) The use of a restraint on a dog pursuant to the requirements of a camping or 29
recreational area. 30
(c) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section: 31
(1) Adequate care. – The responsible practice of good animal husbandry, 32
handling, confinement, feeding, watering, protection, shelter, transportation, 33
treatment, and, when necessary, euthanasia, appropriate for the age, species, 34
condition, size, and type of the animal and the provision of veterinary care 35
when needed to prevent suffering or impairment of health. 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 657-Second Edition
(2) Adequate exercise. – The opportunity for the animal to move sufficiently to 1
maintain normal muscle tone and mass for the age, species, size, and condition 2
of the animal. 3
(3) Adequate feed. – The provision of food meeting all of the following 4
requirements: 5
a. It is of sufficient quantity and nutritive value to maintain the animal in 6
good health. 7
b. It is accessible to the animal. 8
c. It is prepared so as to permit ease of consumption for the animal's age, 9
species, condition, size, and type. 10
d. It is provided in a clean and sanitary manner to minimize 11
contamination by excrement and pests. 12
e. It is provided at suitable intervals for the species, age, and condition 13
of the animal, but at least once daily, except as otherwise prescribed 14
by a veterinarian. 15
(4) Adequate shelter. – Shelter that meets all of the conditions of this subdivision. 16
Adequate shelter does not include the outdoor tethering of an animal during 17
any period of extreme weather at the site where the animal is tethered. 18
a. The shelter is suitable for the species, age, condition, size, and type of 19
each animal. 20
b. The shelter protects each animal from injury, rain, sleet, snow, hail, 21
direct sunlight, the adverse effects of heat or cold, physical suffering, 22
and impairment of health. 23
c. The shelter is properly lighted and cleaned and enables each animal to 24
remain clean and dry, except when detrimental to the species. For 25
purposes of this subdivision, shelter is properly cleaned when (i) 26
carcasses, debris, food waste, and excrement are removed from the 27
primary enclosure with sufficient frequency to minimize the animals' 28
contact with those contaminants; (ii) the primary enclosure is sanitized 29
with sufficient frequency to minimize odors and the hazards of 30
disease; and (iii) the primary enclosure is cleaned so as to prevent the 31
animals confined therein from being directly or indirectly sprayed with 32
the stream of water or directly or indirectly exposed to hazardous 33
chemicals or disinfectants. 34
d. The shelter is properly shaded and does not readily conduct heat during 35
periods when the ambient air temperature at the shelter is greater than 36
85 degrees Fahrenheit. 37
e. The shelter provides a windbreak at its entrance and, during periods 38
when the ambient air temperature at the shelter is less than 32 degrees 39
Fahrenheit, bedding material consisting of straw, cedar shavings, or 40
the equivalent sufficient to protect the animal from cold and p