Section 23-36-01 - DefinitionsAs used in this chapter:
1. "Bite" means any penetration of the skin by an animal's teeth.2. "Clinical signs of rabies" means physical signs or animal behavior that would lead a reasonably prudent veterinarian to suspect an infection of rabies and the pursuit of a rabies diagnosis is indicated.3. "Confinement" means separation of an animal from humans, other than the owner, caretaker, a member of the owner's family, or the caretaker's employees, and from other animals, by means of a building, cage, fence, pen, or other secure enclosure that restricts the animal's movement within definite boundaries and prevents the animal from exiting the enclosure.4. "Department" means the department of health and human services.5. "Domestic animal" means any dog [canis familiaris], cat [felis domestica], horse, mule, bovine animal, sheep, goat, bison, llama, alpaca, swine, or captive-bred ferret.6. "Emergency" means a situation in which an immediate search and seizure of an animal is necessary and authorized by section 8 of article I of the Constitution of North Dakota and the fourth amendment to the Constitution of the United States because of a risk of death or serious bodily injury to a human or another animal.7. "Euthanasia" means the use of humane techniques to induce the most rapid, painless, and distress-free death possible in an animal.8. "Exposure to rabies" means any bite or scratch, and includes any nonbite contact with an animal, animal tissue, or fluids which is defined as an exposure to rabies by the federal advisory committee on immunization practices referred to in Public Law No. 103-66 [107 Stat. 636, 642; 42 U.S.C. 1396s(e)].9. "Impound" means quarantining an animal at a public pound or an animal facility of a licensed veterinarian.10. "Law enforcement officer" has the meaning of that term as set forth in section 12.1-01-04.11. "Quarantine" means confinement in a fixed area that keeps an exposed animal secure and segregated from all other animals and individuals so there is no reasonable possibility of rabies being mechanically transmitted from the confined area.12. "Vaccinated animal" means an animal that has been vaccinated in compliance with the 2016 compendium of animal rabies control issued by the national association of state public health veterinarians.13. "Suspect rabies exposure" means an animal bitten or otherwise exposed to a wild carnivore, skunk, bat, or an animal, as determined by a veterinarian, which may have been exhibiting signs of rabies, and a rabies exposure could not be ruled out through laboratory testing.14. "Wild animal" means any animal of the class mammalia which is not a domestic animal and includes any hybrid of a domestic animal and a wild animal regardless of whether the animal is:a. Wildlife as defined in section 20.1-01-02; orb. Held in private ownership.Amended by S.L. 2021 , ch. 352( HB 1247 ), § 243, eff. 9/1/2022.Amended by S.L. 2019 , ch. 212( SB 2092 ), § 1, eff. 8/1/2019.