HB 657 North Carolina House · 2025-2026 Session

Duke's Rescue Act.

HB 657, the "Duke's Rescue Act," sets minimum care standards for domestic dogs and cats in North Carolina, directly affecting pet owners and caretakers. The bill requires owners to provide adequate food, water, shelter, space, exercise, and veterinary treatment, with detailed definitions (e.g., shelter must protect from extreme weather like temperatures above 85°F or below 32°F). Exceptions are included for activities like hunting, herding livestock, and agricultural work, where certain standards do not apply. This law establishes concrete, measurable requirements for animal welfare without specifying enforcement mechanisms.

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Apr 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Apr 1, 2025 Last action Jun 16, 2026

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What changed between versions

Edition 1 → Edition 2 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was revised to expand exemptions from shelter and tethering requirements, adding specific allowances for hunting, sledding, sporting, field trials, and obedience training. The renumbering of the care standards section reorganized the list of requirements, moving 'adequate exercise' to a new position before 'adequate feed'. These changes clarify when the law does not apply to working dogs and restructure the presentation of animal care standards.

Scope change

The bill's scope of applicability was narrowed by adding new exemptions for dogs used in hunting, sledding, sporting, field trials, and various training activities, meaning these specific uses are no longer subject to the general tethering and sheltering restrictions.

ELIGIBILITY

Added exemptions for dogs used in hunting, sledding, sporting, field trials, and training events where tethering or sheltering is integral to the activity.

Added an exemption for dogs used in obedience, field, water, law enforcement, or other training activities where specific restraint or sheltering methods are necessary.

REQUIREMENT

Reordered the list of animal care standards by moving 'adequate exercise' to appear before 'adequate feed' and renumbering the subsequent items.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 16, 2026

Committee

Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Jun 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reptd Fav Com Substitute

lower

Jun 11, 2026

Committee

Re-ref to the Com on Judiciary 1, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Jun 11, 2026

Committee

Serial Referral To Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Stricken

lower

Jun 11, 2026

Committee

Serial Referral To Judiciary 2 Stricken

lower

Apr 2, 2025

Committee

Ref to the Com on Wildlife Resources, if favorable, Judiciary 2, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Apr 1, 2025

Introduced

Filed

lower

2 primary · 9 co-sponsors