                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CRUELTY TO ANIMALS; PENALTY (§ 3.2-6570)

A. Any person who (i) overrides, overdrives, overloads, ill-treats, or abandons
any animal, whether belonging to himself or another; (ii) tortures any animal,
willfully inflicts inhumane injury or pain not connected with bona fide
scientific or medical experimentation on any animal, or cruelly or unnecessarily
beats, maims, mutilates, or kills any animal, whether belonging to himself or
another; (iii) deprives any animal of necessary food, drink, shelter, or
emergency veterinary treatment; (iv) sores any equine for any purpose or
administers drugs or medications to alter or mask such soring for the purpose of
sale, show, or exhibition of any kind, unless such administration of drugs or
medications is within the context of a veterinary client-patient relationship
and solely for therapeutic purposes; (v) ropes, lassoes, or otherwise obstructs
or interferes with one or more legs of an equine in order to intentionally cause
it to trip or fall for the purpose of engagement in a rodeo, contest,
exhibition, entertainment, or sport unless such actions are in the practice of
accepted animal husbandry or for the purpose of allowing veterinary care; (vi)
willfully sets on foot, instigates, engages in, or in any way furthers any act
of cruelty to any animal; (vii) carries or causes to be carried by any vehicle,
vessel or otherwise any animal in a cruel, brutal, or inhumane manner, so as to
produce torture or unnecessary suffering; or (viii) causes any of the above
things, or being the owner of such animal permits such acts to be done by
another is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
			In addition to the penalties provided in this subsection, the court may, in
its discretion, require any person convicted of a violation of this subsection
to attend an anger management or other appropriate treatment program or obtain
psychiatric or psychological counseling. The court may impose the costs of such
a program or counseling upon the person convicted.

B. Any person who (i) tortures, willfully inflicts inhumane injury or pain not
connected with bona fide scientific or medical experimentation, or cruelly and
unnecessarily beats, maims, mutilates or kills any animal whether belonging to
himself or another; (ii) sores any equine for any purpose or administers drugs
or medications to alter or mask such soring for the purpose of sale, show, or
exhibit of any kind, unless such administration of drugs or medications is under
the supervision of a licensed veterinarian and solely for therapeutic purposes;
(iii) ropes, lassoes, or otherwise obstructs or interferes with one or more legs
of an equine in order to intentionally cause it to trip or fall for the purpose
of engagement in a rodeo, contest, exhibition, entertainment, or sport unless
such actions are in the practice of accepted animal husbandry or for the purpose
of allowing veterinary care; (iv) maliciously deprives any companion animal of
necessary food, drink, shelter or emergency veterinary treatment; (v)
instigates, engages in, or in any way furthers any act of cruelty to any animal
set forth in clauses (i) through (iv); or (vi) causes any of the actions
described in clauses (i) through (v), or being the owner of such animal permits
such acts to be done by another; and has been within five years convicted of a
violation of this subsection or subsection A, is guilty of a Class 6 felony if
the current violation or any previous violation of this subsection or subsection
A resulted in the death of an animal or the euthanasia of an animal based on the
recommendation of a licensed veterinarian upon determination that such
euthanasia was necessary due to the condition of the animal, and such condition
was a direct result of a violation of this subsection or subsection A.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the dehorning of
cattle conducted in a reasonable and customary manner.

D. This section shall not prohibit authorized wildlife management activities or
hunting, fishing or trapping as regulated under other titles of the Code of
Virginia, including Title 29.1, or to farming activities as provided under this
title or regulations adopted hereunder.

E. It is unlawful for any person to kill a domestic dog or cat for the purpose
of obtaining the hide, fur or pelt of the dog or cat. A violation of this
subsection is a Class 1 misdemeanor. A second or subsequent violation of this
subsection is a Class 6 felony.

F. Any person who (i) tortures, willfully inflicts inhumane injury or pain not
connected with bona fide scientific or medical experimentation, or cruelly and
unnecessarily beats, maims, or mutilates any dog or cat that is a companion
animal whether belonging to him or another and (ii) as a direct result causes
serious bodily injury to such dog or cat that is a companion animal, the death
of such dog or cat that is a companion animal, or the euthanasia of such animal
on the recommendation of a licensed veterinarian upon determination that such
euthanasia was necessary due to the condition of the animal is guilty of a Class
6 felony. If a dog or cat is attacked on its owner&#8217;s property by a dog so
as to cause injury or death, the owner of the injured dog or cat may use all
reasonable and necessary force against the dog at the time of the attack to
protect his dog or cat. Such owner may be presumed to have taken necessary and
appropriate action to defend his dog or cat and shall therefore be presumed not
to have violated this subsection. The provisions of this subsection shall not
overrule &#xA7; 3.2-6540, 3.2-6540.1, or 3.2-6552.
			For the purposes of this subsection, &#8220;serious bodily injury&#8221;
means bodily injury that involves substantial risk of death, extreme physical
pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of
the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.

G. Any person convicted of a violation of this section that is punishable as a
felony may be prohibited by the court from possession or ownership of companion
or equine animals for life, and any person convicted of a violation of this
section that is punishable as a misdemeanor may be prohibited by the court from
possession or ownership of such animals for a period of up to five years. In
addition, a violation of any prohibition or restriction imposed by the
sentencing court pursuant to this subsection is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and all
animals under the court&#8217;s order may be seized and forfeited. The court may
order that any animal possessed or owned by such person may be disposed of by a
local governing body pursuant to subsection D of &#xA7; 3.2-6546 or delivered to
another person with a right of property in the animal.

H. Any person who has his rights to possession or ownership of companion or
equine animals prohibited pursuant to a felony conviction in accordance with
subsection G may petition the court where such conviction occurred for a
restoration of his rights after five years from the date of conviction.

HISTORY: 1984, c. 492, § 29-213.91; 1987, c. 488, § 3.1-796.122; 1992, c. 177;
1998, c. 817; 1999, cc. 209, 620, 645; 2002, cc. 351, 500, 583, 613; 2003, cc.
787, 788; 2004, c. 217; 2007, c. 743; 2008, c. 860; 2013, cc. 58, 732; 2015, c.
491; 2019, cc. 536, 537; 2024, cc. 179, 489.