HB 865 North Carolina House · 2025-2026 Session

Clarify Animal Welfare Statutes.

HB 865 clarifies North Carolina's dangerous dog laws by removing the automatic classification of any dog trained for dog fighting as "dangerous." Instead, it requires local animal control authorities to make individual case-by-case determinations about whether such dogs pose a threat. This change directly affects owners of dogs bred or trained for fighting, shifting oversight from a blanket rule to tailored assessments. The bill takes effect October 1, 2025, and does not alter existing definitions for dogs that have attacked people or caused severe injury.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Apr 9, 2025 Last action Apr 10, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Filed → Edition 1 · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill's header information was updated to reflect multiple sponsors instead of a single sponsor, and the bill number was changed to H865-v-1. These are primarily administrative updates that clarify sponsorship and version tracking without altering the substantive content of the animal welfare laws.
TECHNICAL

Sponsorship information was expanded from Representative Harrison to include Representatives Harrison, Humphrey, and Dahle as primary sponsors, with a reference to the General Assembly website for a complete list.

The bill version identifier was updated from DRH40415-MH-77 to H865-v-1 to reflect the new edition.

The filing date was updated from April 9, 2025 to April 10, 2025, and the House Principal Clerk notation was adjusted.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Apr 10, 2025
Committee
Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
lower
Apr 9, 2025
Introduced
Filed
lower
2 primary · 10 co-sponsors

Sponsors