§ 106-414. Transportation, sale, etc., of diseased livestock; burden of proving health; movement to laboratory; removal of identification.
§ 106‑414. Transportation, sale, etc., of diseased livestock; burden of proving health;movement to laboratory; removal of identification.
No cattle, swine, or other livestock with visible symptoms of acontagious or infectious disease shall be transported or otherwise moved on anypublic highway or street in this State except upon written permission of theCommissioner of Agriculture or his authorized representative. The burden ofproof to establish the health of any animal transported on the public highwaysof this State, or sold, traded, or otherwise disposed of in any public placeshall be upon the vendor. Any person who shall sell, trade, or otherwisedispose of any animal affected with, or exposed to, a contagious or infectiousdisease, or one he has or should have reason to believe is so affected, orexposed, shall be civilly liable for all damages resulting from such sale ortrade; provided that, nothing in this section shall prevent an individual whoowns or has custody of sick animals from transporting sick or dead animals to adisease diagnostic laboratory operated or approved by the North CarolinaDepartment of Agriculture and Consumer Services if reasonable and properprecautions to prevent the exposure of other animals is taken by the owner or transporterthereof.
It shall be a Class 1 misdemeanor to remove before slaughter any eartag, back tag, or other mark of identification approved by the Commissioner ofAgriculture for identifying animals for disease control purposes unless priorwritten authorization has been obtained from the State Veterinarian or hisauthorized representative. (1941, c. 263, s. 9; 1967, c. 894, s. 11; 1993, c. 539, s. 780; 1994,Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1997‑261, s. 109.)