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9 <br /> expanded to provide more adequate space for animals <br /> and staff, and the American Humane Association <br /> awarded the Animal Protection Society with a <br /> certificate for Standards of Excellence in the areas <br /> of euthanasia, operational programs, facilities and <br /> staff, community relations, and planning. A survey <br /> of county animal control ordinances, conducted by <br /> the Wilson County Health Department, indicated that <br /> the Orange County Ordinance contains more of the <br /> desired components than most of the ordinances <br /> across the state. <br /> B. Should the County continue to contract for the <br /> management of the County Animal Shelter? <br /> The contract with the Animal Protection Society <br /> remains a valuable arrangement for several reasons. <br /> First of all, Orange County aspires to high <br /> standards of excellence and community involvement. <br /> The Animal Protection Society through its well- <br /> trained staff, as well as its highly committed <br /> volunteers and contributors, generates a level of <br /> community support as a non-profit entity that would <br /> be difficult for a governmental agency to emulate. <br /> Secondly, it reinforces the notion that community <br /> based problems require more than governmental <br /> intervention to be resolved. Thirdly, it creates <br /> options for citizens to receive services from a <br /> private, non-profit source when that is more <br /> desirable to those citizens. <br /> C. Should the County consider managing the shelter with <br /> county staff? <br /> The current arrangement with the Animal Protection <br /> Society has many strengths and benefits as outlined <br /> above. The misunderstandings and confusion are <br /> issues that can be resolved through structural and <br /> functional changes which will be described in the <br /> Findings and Recommendations Section. <br /> D. Should the animal control progam continue to be <br /> organizationally housed in the Health Department or <br /> should it be transferred to another Orange County <br /> Department such as the Sheriff' s Department or the <br /> County Manager's Office? <br /> The recent upsurge in the incidence of rabid animals <br /> in North Carolina has led the Division of Epidemi- <br /> ology of the Department of Environment, Health and <br /> Natural Resources to question whether rabies may be <br /> the next public health epidemic in North Carolina. <br /> Measures have already been taken by the state to <br /> streamline the testing of suspicious animals because <br /> 7 <br />