North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 15A - Environmental Quality › Chapter 10 - WILDLIFE RESOURCES AND WATER SAFETY › Subchapter H - REGULATED ACTIVITIES › Section .1400 - WILDLIFE CAPTIVITY AND REHABILITATION › Section 10H .1401 - DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CAPTIVITY LICENSES

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) The rules in this Section apply to all
				  captivity licenses issued by the Wildlife Resources Commission, including those
				  applicable to non-farmed cervids in accordance with
				  G.S.
				  106-549.97.
(b) The possession of any species of native
				  wild animal or wild bird and any member of the family Cervidae is unlawful,
				  unless the individual in possession obtains a captivity license from the
				  Commission as provided by this Rule. This Rule shall not apply to any
				  endangered, threatened, or special concern species as defined by
				  15A NCAC
				  10I .0100 or farmed cervids as defined by
				  G.S.
				  106-549.97.
(c) Captivity licenses may be issued by the
				  Commission to qualified individuals meeting the requirements for rehabilitation
				  and captivity licenses detailed in this Section for holding of wild animals or
				  wild birds alive in captivity for scientific, educational, exhibition, or other
				  purposes, as specified in
				  G.S.
				  113-272.5.
(d) The following definitions shall apply to
				  all rules in this Section:
(1) "Animal" means
				  a wild animal and wild bird, as defined in this Rule.
(2) "Category" means a designation on a
				  captivity license for rehabilitation that defines a species or subset of
				  species.
(3) "Educational
				  institution" or "scientific research institution" means any public or private
				  school, facility, organization, or institution of vocational, professional, or
				  higher education that uses live animals as part of a course of training, or for
				  research, or other experiments, and is at least 50 percent funded by grants,
				  awards, loans, or contracts from a department, agency, or instrumentality of
				  federal, State, or local government. These terms do not include elementary or
				  secondary schools.
(4) "Education"
				  means providing instruction or information to the public about wild animals or
				  wild birds.
(5) "Enclosure" means a
				  structure housing captive wild animals or wild birds that prevents escape,
				  protects the animal from injury, and is equipped with structural barriers to
				  prevent any physical contact between the animal and the public.
(6) "Exhibition" means any display of wild
				  animals or wild birds for the public, whether for-profit or
				  not-for-profit.
(7) "Facility"
				  means a designated location in North Carolina where wild animals or wild birds
				  are held for rehabilitation or holding purposes. This includes enclosures,
				  rooms, and buildings.
(8) "Farmed
				  cervid" means the term as defined in
				  G.S.
				  106-549.97.
(9) "Foster" or "surrogate" means a bird held
				  under a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service federal migratory bird rehabilitation
				  permit used to rear wild birds being held under a captivity license for
				  rehabilitation.
(10) "Habituation"
				  means causing a wild animal or wild bird to temporarily lose fear of humans,
				  pets, or objects that impacts its ability to survive in the wild
				  unassisted.
(11) "Imprinting" means
				  causing a wild animal or wild bird to permanently lose fear of humans, pets, or
				  objects that impacts its ability to survive in the wild unassisted, and is a
				  non-reversible condition.
(12)
				  "Migratory birds" means the term as defined in
				  G.S.
				  113-129.
(13) "Native" means a wild animal or wild
				  bird that occurs or historically occurred in the wild in North
				  Carolina.
(14) "Nest box" or "den"
				  means a structure that provides a retreat area that is within, attached to, or
				  adjacent to an enclosure.
(15)
				  "Non-farmed cervid" means the term as defined in
				  G.S.
				  106-549.97.
(16) "Non-native" means a wild animal or wild
				  bird that has not historically occurred in the wild in North
				  Carolina.
(17) "Pet" means any
				  animal kept or used for amusement or companionship.
(18) "Publicly operated zoo" means a park or
				  facility where living animals are kept and exhibited to the public, and that is
				  operated by a federal, State, or local government agency.
(19) "Rabies species" are raccoon, skunk,
				  fox, bat, bobcat, or coyote.
(20)
				  "Residence" means a private home, dwelling unit in a multiple family structure,
				  hotel, motel, camp, manufactured home, or any other place where people
				  reside.
(21) "Shelter" means a
				  structure or feature that protects captive wild animals or wild birds from
				  direct sunlight and precipitation.
(22) "Scientific use" and "scientific
				  purpose" means the use of wild animals or wild birds for application of the
				  scientific method to investigate any relationships amongst natural phenomena or
				  to solve a biological or medical problem. This definition applies only to
				  educational or scientific research institutions unless otherwise approved by
				  the Commission.
(23) "Unfit" means
				  wild animals or wild birds that are:
(A)
				  incapacitated by injury or other means to the extent that they cannot feed or
				  care for themselves without human assistance;
(B) rendered imprinted by proximity to
				  humans, pets, or objects; or
(C) a
				  non-native species.
(24)
				  "Wild animal" means game animals, fur-bearing animals, and all other wild
				  mammals except feral swine or marine mammals found in coastal fishing
				  waters.
(25) "Wild bird" means the
				  term as defined in
				  15A NCAC
				  10B .0121.