The last year has been full of changes for Burke County’s animals. On August 5, 2019, the former Burke County Animal Control Shelter changed hands from the Sherriff’s Department to the County Manager and is now being operated by non-sworn county employees as the Burke County Animal Services Center, where stray animals are housed and cared for.
As of October 3, 2020, Animal Control will no longer be a division of the Sherriff’s Department, and enforcement services will be absorbed by the Animal Services Department under the direction of the County Manager. This new department within Animal Services will be called Burke County Animal Enforcement and will be comprised of an Animal Enforcement Supervisor and two (2) Animal Enforcement Officers. Burke County Animal Enforcement aims to enforce responsible pet ownership, educate the public and provide resources and contact information to help pet owners, and reunite stray animals with their owners.
On behalf of Burke County Animal Services and Animal Enforcement, we are so happy to be able to continue serving the citizens and animals of Burke County. In return, we ask that citizens be patient as these changes take time to implement. Some of the changes include how to contact our specific departments, so please read below for information on how to contact the department you are looking for:
- To contact Burke County Animal Enforcement about a nuisance stray animal in unincorporated Burke County areas, an animal who has bitten someone, or other animal enforcement/control related questions in the county, please call (828) 764-9588 and press option 1.
- To contact the City of Morganton Animal Control about a nuisance stray animal in the City of Morganton, an animal who has bitten someone, or other animal enforcement/control related questions in the city, please call (828) 764-9588 and press option 2 or call (828) 584-2627.
- To contact the Animal Services Center about spay/neuter resources, scheduling to surrender an owned pet, adopting a pet, or to report a lost pet, please call (828) 764-9588 and press option 3. As a reminder, the Burke County Animal Services Center is a managed intake facility and appointments are needed to surrender a pet.
- To contact the Town of Valdese Animal Control about a nuisance stray animal in the Town of Valdese, an animal who has bitten someone, or other animal enforcement/control related questions in Valdese, please call (828) 879-2128.
- Calls concerning deceased animals in or beside roadways should be directed to the Department of Transportation at (828) 438-6274.
- All calls concerning wild animals should be directed to the NC Wildlife Commission at (828) 318-2401.
Burke County’s goal is to save as many animal lives as possible, which can best be done by spaying and neutering your pets. Please reach out to Animal Services if you are in need of spay and neuter resources for your pets or animals you are feeding.