For purposes of sections 71-4401 to 71-4412, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Compendium means the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control as published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians;

(2) Department means the Department of Health and Human Services;

(3) Domestic animal means any dog of the species Canis familiaris, cat of the species Felis domesticus, or ferret of the species Mustela putorius furo, and cat means a cat which is a household pet;

(4) Hybrid animal means any animal which is the product of the breeding of a domestic dog with a nondomestic canine species;

(5) Own, unless otherwise specified, means to possess, keep, harbor, or have control of, charge of, or custody of a domestic or hybrid animal. This term does not apply to domestic or hybrid animals owned by other persons which are temporarily maintained on the premises of a veterinarian or kennel operator for a period of not more than thirty days;

(6) Owner means any person possessing, keeping, harboring, or having charge or control of any domestic or hybrid animal or permitting any domestic or hybrid animal to habitually be or remain on or be lodged or fed within such person's house, yard, or premises. This term does not apply to veterinarians or kennel operators temporarily maintaining on their premises domestic or hybrid animals owned by other persons for a period of not more than thirty days;

(7) Rabies control authority means county, township, city, or village health and law enforcement officials who shall enforce sections 71-4401 to 71-4412 relating to the vaccination and impoundment of domestic or hybrid animals. Such public officials are not responsible for any accident or disease of a domestic or hybrid animal resulting from the enforcement of such sections; and

(8) Vaccination against rabies means the inoculation of a domestic or hybrid animal with a United States Department of Agriculture-licensed rabies vaccine administered consistent with its labeling. Such vaccination shall be performed by a veterinarian duly licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the State of Nebraska or licensed in the state where the vaccination was administered.

(1) Every domestic animal in the State of Nebraska shall be vaccinated against rabies with a licensed vaccine and revaccinated at intervals specified by rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the department. Young domestic animals shall be initially vaccinated at the age specified in such rules and regulations. Unvaccinated domestic animals acquired or moved into the State of Nebraska shall be vaccinated within thirty days after purchase or arrival unless under the age for initial vaccination.

(2) The rabies vaccine used to vaccinate domestic animals pursuant to this section shall be sold only to licensed veterinarians.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, every hybrid animal in the State of Nebraska shall be vaccinated against rabies and shall be revaccinated at intervals specified by rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the department. A young hybrid animal shall be initially vaccinated at the age specified in such rules and regulations. An unvaccinated hybrid animal acquired or moved into the State of Nebraska shall be vaccinated within thirty days after purchase or arrival unless under the age for initial vaccination.

(2) The rabies vaccine used to vaccinate a hybrid animal pursuant to this section shall be sold only to licensed veterinarians.

(3) An owner of a hybrid animal in this state prior to the date of development of a licensed vaccine determined scientifically to be reliable in preventing rabies in a hybrid animal shall have one year after such date to comply with this section.

To protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public and to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, efficient and adequate practices, the department shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for the control and prevention of rabies. Such rules and regulations shall generally comply with the compendium and the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Public Health Service of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The department may consider changes in the compendium and recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Public Health Service of the United States Department of Health and Human Services when adopting and promulgating such rules and regulations.

It shall be the duty of each veterinarian, at the time of vaccinating any domestic or hybrid animal, to complete a certificate of rabies vaccination which shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(1) The owner's name and address;

(2) An adequate description of the domestic or hybrid animal, including, but not limited to, such items as the domestic or hybrid animal's breed, sex, age, name, and distinctive markings;

(3) The date of vaccination;

(4) The rabies vaccination tag number;

(5) The type of rabies vaccine administered by dosage and number of years of effectiveness;

(6) The manufacturer's serial number of the vaccine used; and

(7) The date by which the next vaccination is due.

Such veterinarian shall issue a tag with the certificate of vaccination.

The cost of rabies vaccination shall be borne by the owner of the domestic or hybrid animal.

(1) The provisions of sections 71-4401 to 71-4412 with respect to vaccination shall not apply to any domestic or hybrid animal owned by a person temporarily remaining within the State of Nebraska for less than thirty days, to any domestic or hybrid animal brought into the State of Nebraska for field trial or show purposes, or to any domestic or hybrid animal brought into the state for hunting purposes for a period of less than thirty days. Such domestic or hybrid animals shall be kept under strict supervision of the owner. It shall be unlawful to bring any domestic or hybrid animal into the State of Nebraska which does not comply with the animal health laws and import rules and regulations of the State of Nebraska which are applicable to domestic or hybrid animals.

(2) Domestic or hybrid animals assigned to a research institution or a similar facility shall be exempt from sections 71-4401 to 71-4412.

Any domestic animal which has bitten any person or caused an abrasion of the skin of any person shall be subjected to post-incident management as provided in rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the department.

Domestic or hybrid animals or livestock known to have been exposed to a confirmed or suspected rabid animal shall be subjected to postexposure management as provided in rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the department.

(1) The rabies control authority may authorize an animal pound or pounds or may enter into a cooperative agreement with a licensed veterinarian for the establishment and operation of a pound.

(2) Any dog or hybrid of the family Canidae found outside the owner's premises whose owner does not possess a valid certificate of rabies vaccination and valid rabies vaccination tag for such dog or hybrid of the family Canidae shall be impounded. The rabies control authority may require the impoundment of domestic or hybrid animals other than dogs or hybrids of the family Canidae. All impounded domestic or hybrid animals shall be given proper care, treatment, and maintenance. Each impounded domestic or hybrid animal shall be kept and maintained at the pound for a period of not less than seventy-two hours unless reclaimed earlier by the owner.

(3) Notice of impoundment of all animals, including any significant marks of identification, shall be posted at the pound as public notification of impoundment. Any unvaccinated domestic or hybrid animal may be reclaimed by its owner during the period of impoundment by payment of prescribed pound fees and by complying with the rabies vaccination requirement of sections 71-4401 to 71-4412 within seventy-two hours of release. Any vaccinated domestic or hybrid animal impounded because its owner has not presented a valid certificate of rabies vaccination and a valid rabies vaccination tag for such domestic or hybrid animal may be reclaimed by its owner by furnishing proof of rabies vaccination and payment of all impoundment fees prior to release.

(4) At the expiration of impoundment, a domestic or hybrid animal may be claimed by payment of established pound fees and by compliance with the rabies vaccination requirement of sections 71-4401 to 71-4412 within seventy-two hours of release. If the domestic or hybrid animal is unclaimed at the end of five days, the authorities may dispose of the domestic or hybrid animal in accordance with applicable laws or rules and regulations.

The rabies control authority shall enforce sections 71-4401 to 71-4412.

In the event that the health and law enforcement officials of a county, township, city, or village fail to act with sufficient promptness in enforcing sections 71-4401 to 71-4412, the department may take all actions necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of such sections relating to vaccination and impoundment of domestic or hybrid animals. In such a case no authorized representatives of the department or any law enforcement officials enforcing such sections shall be responsible for any accident or disease of a domestic or hybrid animal resulting from the enforcement of such sections.

The owner of any domestic or hybrid animal or any person who violates any of the provisions of sections 71-4401 to 71-4412 shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor. When the owner of any domestic or hybrid animal or other animal fails or refuses to comply with section 71-4406 or 71-4407, the rabies control authority shall obtain an order for seizure of such animal pursuant to Chapter 29, article 8.

Impoundment fees shall be paid by the owner. Fees for impoundment at public facilities shall be established by the rabies control authority.

In the State of Nebraska, all laws, ordinances, codes, or rules and regulations concerning the control of rabies or the vaccination of domestic or hybrid animals against rabies shall be enforced by the county, township, city, and village health and law enforcement officials or those other officers with regulatory authority as specified by the governing political subdivisions.

Whenever a county, township, city, or village requires the licensure of domestic or hybrid animals, it may require that, before a license is issued for the possession or maintenance of any domestic or hybrid animal in any such county, township, city, or village, the owner or keeper of the domestic or hybrid animal shall furnish to the clerk of such political subdivision a certification that the domestic or hybrid animal has been vaccinated against rabies in accordance with sections 71-4401 to 71-4412.