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SESSION ENROLLED VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY –– CHAPTER E An Act to amend and reenact § 3.2-6500 of the Code of Virginia, relating to animal cruelty;
VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY -- 2022 SESSION CHAPTER 92 An Act to amend and reenact § 3.2-6500 of the Code of Virginia, relating to animal cruelty;
R O [S 604] Approved L L Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
[S 604] Approved April 5, 2022 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
E § 3.2-6500.
§ 3.2-6500.
D "Abandon" means to desert, forsake, or absolutely give up an animal without having secured another owner or custodian for the animal or by failing to provide the elements of basic care as set forth in § 3.2-6503 for a period of four consecutive days.
As used in this chapter unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Adequate care" or "care" means the responsible practice of good animal husbandry, handling, production, management, confinement, feeding, watering, protection, shelter, transportation, treatment, and, when necessary, euthanasia, appropriate for the age, species, condition, size and type of the animal and the provision of veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering or impairment of health.
"Abandon" means to desert, forsake, or absolutely give up an animal without having secured another owner or custodian for the animal or by failing to provide the elements of basic care as set forth in § 3.2-6503 for a period of four consecutive days.
B "Adequate exercise" or "exercise" means the opportunity for the animal to move sufficiently 0o mai"Adequate feed" means access to and the provision of food that is of sufficient quantity andEnutritive value to maintain each animal in good health;
production, management, confinement, feeding, watering, protection, shelter, transportation, treatment, and, when necessary, euthanasia, appropriate for the age, species, condition, size and type of the animal and the provision of veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering or impairment of health.
"Adequate exercise" or "exercise" means the opportunity for the animal to move sufficiently to maintain normal muscle tone and mass for the age, species, size, and condition of the animal.
"Adequate feed" means access to and the provision of food that is of sufficient quantity and nutritive value to maintain each animal in good health;
"Adequate shelter" means provision of and access to shelter that is suitable for the species, age, each animal from injury, rain, sleet, snow, hail, direct sunlight, the adverse effects of heat or cold, physical suffering, and impairment of health;
"Adequate shelter" means provision of and access to shelter that is suitable for the species, age, condition, size, and type of each animal;
provides adequate space for each animal;
is safe and protects each animal from injury, rain, sleet, snow, hail, direct sunlight, the adverse effects of heat or cold, physical suffering, and impairment of health;
Under this chapter, under the animals' weight, or (iii) otherwise do not protect the animals' feet or toes from injury are notsag adequate shelter.
Under this chapter, shelters whose wire, grid, or slat floors (i) permit the animals' feet to pass through the openings, (ii) sag under the animals' weight, or (iii) otherwise do not protect the animals' feet or toes from injury are not adequate shelter.
or (c)(1) during a heat advisory issued by a local or state authority, (2) when the actual or effective outdoor temperature is 85 degrees Fahrenheit or higher or 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, or (3) during the effective period for a severe weather warning issued for the area by the National Weather Service, including a winter storm, tornado, or severe thunderstorm clause (c)(1), (2), or (3), has determined the animal to be safe from predators and well suited and well equipped to tolerate its environment.
or (c)(1) during a heat advisory issued by a local or state authority, (2) when the actual or effective outdoor temperature is 85 degrees Fahrenheit or higher or 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, or (3) during the effective period for a severe weather warning issued for the area by the National Weather Service, including a winter storm, tornado, or severe thunderstorm warning, unless an animal control officer, having inspected an animal's individual circumstances in clause (c)(1), (2), or (3), has determined the animal to be safe from predators and well suited and well equipped to tolerate its environment.
is attached to the animal by a properly applied collar, halter, or harness that is configured so as to protect the animal from injury and prevent the animal or tether from becoming the strangulation or injury of the animal;
is attached to the animal by a properly applied collar, halter, or harness that is configured so as to protect the animal from injury and prevent the animal or tether from becoming entangled with other objects or animals, or from extending over an object or edge that could result in the strangulation or injury of the animal;
is at least 15 feet in length or four times the length of the animal, as measured from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail, whichever is greater, except when the of 4 animal is being walked on a leash or is attached by a tether to a lead line or when an animal control officer, having inspected an animal's individual circumstances, has determined that in such an individual case, a tether of at least 10 feet or three times the length of the animal, but shorter than 15 feet or four times the length of the animal, makes the animal more safe, more suited, and better equipped to tolerate its environment than a longer tether;
is at least 15 feet in length or four times the length of the animal, as measured from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail, whichever is greater, except when the animal is being walked on a leash or is attached by a tether to a lead line or when an animal control officer, having inspected an animal's individual circumstances, has determined that in such an individual of 4 case, a tether of at least 10 feet or three times the length of the animal, but shorter than 15 feet or four times the length of the animal, makes the animal more safe, more suited, and better equipped to tolerate its environment than a longer tether;
of 4 "Euthanasia" means the humane destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that involves instantaneous unconsciousness and immediate death or by a method that involves anesthesia, prodEced by an agent that causes painless loss of consciousness, and death during such loss of consciousness.
"Euthanasia" means the humane destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that involves instantaneous unconsciousness and immediate death or by a method that involves anesthesia, produced by an agent that causes painless loss of consciousness, and death during such loss of consciousness.
R "Facility" means a building or portion thereof as designated by the State Veterinarian, other than a enclosures in which animals are housed or kept.g grounds, that is used to contain a primary encOosure or "Farming activity" means, consistent with standard animal husbandry practices, the raising, L management, and use of agricultural animals to provide food, fiber, or transportation and the breeding, exhibition, lawful recreational use, marketing, transportation, and slaughter of agricultural animals pursuant to such purposes.
of 4 "Facility" means a building or portion thereof as designated by the State Veterinarian, other than a private residential dwelling and its surrounding grounds, that is used to contain a primary enclosure or enclosures in which animals are housed or kept.
E "Foster care provider" means a person who provides care or rehabilitation for companion animals through an affiliation with a public or private animal shelter, home-based rescue, releasing agency, or other animal welfare organization.
"Farming activity" means, consistent with standard animal husbandry practices, the raising, management, and use of agricultural animals to provide food, fiber, or transportation and the breeding, exhibition, lawful recreational use, marketing, transportation, and slaughter of agricultural animals pursuant to such purposes.
"Foster home" means a private residential dwelling and its surrounding grounds, or any facility other animal shelter, home-based rescue, releasing agency, or other animal welfare organization care orivate rehabilitation is provided for companion animals.
"Foster care provider" means a person who provides care or rehabilitation for companion animals through an affiliation with a public or private animal shelter, home-based rescue, releasing agency, or other animal welfare organization.
"Foster home" means a private residential dwelling and its surrounding grounds, or any facility other than a public or private animal shelter, at which site through an affiliation with a public or private animal shelter, home-based rescue, releasing agency, or other animal welfare organization care or rehabilitation is provided for companion animals.
S "Home-based rescue" means an animal welfare organization that takes custody of companion ani6als for the purpose of facilitating adoption and houses such companion animals in a foster home or 4 system of foster homes.
"Home-based rescue" means an animal welfare organization that takes custody of companion animals for the purpose of facilitating adoption and houses such companion animals in a foster home or a system of foster homes.
R "Humane" means any action taken in consideration of and with the intent to provide for the animal's health and well-being.
"Humane" means any action taken in consideration of and with the intent to provide for the animal's health and well-being.
"Humane investigator" means a person who has been appointed by a circuit court as a humane inv"Humane society" means any incorporated, nonprofit organization that is organized for the purposes of preventing cruelty to animals and promoting humane care and treatment or adoptions of animals.
"Humane investigator" means a person who has been appointed by a circuit court as a humane investigator as provided in § 3.2-6558.
"Humane society" means any incorporated, nonprofit organization that is organized for the purposes of preventing cruelty to animals and promoting humane care and treatment or adoptions of animals.
"Law-enforcement officer" means any person who is a full-time or part-time employee of a police department or sheriff's office that is part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political enforcement of the penal, traffic or highway laws of the Commonwealth.
"Law-enforcement officer" means any person who is a full-time or part-time employee of a police department or sheriff's office that is part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof and who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the penal, traffic or highway laws of the Commonwealth.
"New owner" means an individual who is legally competent to enter into a binding agreement agency.t to subdivision B 2 of § 3.2-6574, and who adopts or receives a dog or cat from a releasing "Ordinance" means any law, rule, regulation, or ordinance adopted by the governing body of any locality.
"New owner" means an individual who is legally competent to enter into a binding agreement pursuant to subdivision B 2 of § 3.2-6574, and who adopts or receives a dog or cat from a releasing agency.
"Ordinance" means any law, rule, regulation, or ordinance adopted by the governing body of any locality.
limited amount of space, such as a room, pen, cage, compartment, or hutch.
"Primary enclosure" means any structure used to immediately restrict an animal or animals to a limited amount of space, such as a room, pen, cage, compartment, or hutch.
of 4 "Private animal shelter" means a facility operated for the purpose of finding permanent adoptive homes for animals that is used to house or contain animals and that is owned or operated by an incorporated, nonprofit, and nongovernmental entity, including a humane society, animal welfare organization, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or any other similar organization.
"Private animal shelter" means a facility operated for the purpose of finding permanent adoptive homes for animals that is used to house or contain animals and that is owned or operated by an incorporated, nonprofit, and nongovernmental entity, including a humane society, animal welfare organization, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or any other similar organization.
and the primary enclosure is cleaned so as to prevent the animals confined therein from being directly or indirectly sprayed with the stream of water, or directly or indirectly exposed to hazardous chemicals or disinfectants.
and the primary enclosure is cleaned so as to prevent the animals confined therein of 4 from being directly or indirectly sprayed with the stream of water, or directly or indirectly exposed to hazardous chemicals or disinfectants.
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