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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>55461</law_id><section_number>3.2-6509</section_number><catch_line>Misrepresentation of animal&amp;#8217;s condition; penalties</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>18.2-403.2</reference><reference>59.1-200</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="3.2">Agriculture, Animal Care, and Food</unit><unit label="subtitle" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="V">Domestic Animals</unit><unit label="chapter" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="65">Comprehensive Animal Care</unit><unit label="article" level="4" order_by="1" identifier="3">Transportation and Sale of Animals</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>No person shall misrepresent the physical condition of any <span class="dictionary">animal</span> at the <span class="dictionary">animal</span>&#x2019;s sale, trade, delivery, or other method of transfer. For the purpose of this section, misrepresentation shall include selling, trading, delivering or otherwise transferring an <span class="dictionary">animal</span> to another person with the knowledge that the <span class="dictionary">animal</span> has an infection, communicable disease, parasitic infestation, abnormality or other physical defect that is not made known to the person receiving the <span class="dictionary">animal</span>. The sale of an agricultural <span class="dictionary">animal</span> that has external or internal parasites that are not made known to the person receiving the <span class="dictionary">animal</span> shall not be a violation of this section unless the <span class="dictionary">animal</span> is clinically ill or debilitated due to such parasites at the time of sale, trade, delivery or transfer of the <span class="dictionary">animal</span>. Violation of this section is a Class 3 <span class="dictionary">misdemeanor</span>.
		Any violation of this section by a pet <span class="dictionary">dealer</span> shall also constitute a prohibited practice under &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Prohibited practices" href="/59.1-200/">59.1-200</a> and shall be subject to the enforcement provisions of the Virginia <span class="dictionary">Consumer</span> Protection Act (&#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Title" href="/59.1-196/">59.1-196</a> et seq.).</p></section></text><history>1984, c. 492, &#xA7; 29-213.42; 1987, c. 488, &#xA7; 3.1-796.72; 1998, c. 817; 2008, c. 860; 2019, c. 566.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
