                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

RELEASING AGENCIES OTHER THAN PUBLIC OR PRIVATE ANIMAL SHELTERS; CONFINEMENT AND
DISPOSITION OF COMPANION ANIMALS; RECORDKEEPING; AFFILIATION WITH FOSTER CARE
PROVIDERS; PENALTIES (§ 3.2-6549)

A. A releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter:

   1. May confine and dispose of companion animals in accordance with subsections
   B through G of &#xA7; 3.2-6546 if incorporated and not operated for profit;

   2. Shall keep accurate records of each companion animal received for two years
   from the date of disposition of the companion animal. Records shall (i)
   include a description of the companion animal, including species, color,
   breed, sex, approximate weight, age, reason for release, owner&#8217;s or
   finder&#8217;s name, address, and telephone number, and license number or
   other identifying tags or markings, as well as disposition of the companion
   animal, and (ii) be made available upon request to the Department, animal
   control officers, and law-enforcement officers at mutually agreeable times. A
   releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter shall annually
   submit a summary of such records to the State Veterinarian in a format
   prescribed by him, wherein a post office box may be substituted for a home
   address; and

   3. Shall annually file with the State Veterinarian a copy of its intake
   policy.
   				For purposes of recordkeeping, release of a companion animal by a
   releasing agency to a public or private animal shelter or other releasing
   agency shall be considered a transfer and not an adoption. If the animal is
   not first sterilized, the responsibility for sterilizing the animal transfers
   to the receiving entity.

B. Each releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter shall
obtain a signed statement from each of its directors, operators, staff, or
animal caregivers specifying that each individual has never been convicted of
animal cruelty, neglect, or abandonment, and each such releasing agency shall
update such statement as changes occur.

C. No releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter shall place
a companion animal in a foster home with a foster care provider unless the
foster care provider has read and signed a statement specifying that the foster
care provider has never been convicted of animal cruelty, neglect, or
abandonment, and such releasing agency shall update the statement as changes
occur. A releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter shall
maintain the original statement and any updates to such statement for so long as
the releasing agency has an affiliation with the foster care provider.

D. A releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter that places
a companion animal in a foster home with a foster care provider shall ensure
that the foster care provider complies with &#xA7; 3.2-6503.

E. If a releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter finds a
direct and immediate threat to a companion animal placed with a foster care
provider, it shall report its findings to the animal control agency in the area
where the foster care provider is located.

F. Any releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter that finds
a companion animal or receives a companion animal that has not been released by
its owner and (i) provides care or safekeeping or (ii) takes possession of such
companion animal shall within 48 hours:

   1. In compliance with the provisions of &#xA7; 3.2-6585.1, make a reasonable
   attempt to notify the owner of the companion animal, if the owner can be
   ascertained from any tag, license, collar, tattoo, or other identification or
   markings, or if the owner of the companion animal is otherwise known to the
   releasing agency; and

   2. Notify the public animal shelter that serves the locality where the
   companion animal was found and provide to the shelter contact information
   including at least a name and a contact telephone number, a description of the
   companion animal including at least species, breed, sex, size, color,
   information from any tag, license, collar, tattoo, or other identification or
   markings, and the location where the companion animal was found.

G. A releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter shall comply
with the provisions of &#xA7; 3.2-6503.

H. No releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter shall be
operated in violation of any local zoning ordinance.

I. A releasing agency other than a public or private animal shelter that
violates any provision of this section, other than subsection G, may be subject
to a civil penalty not to exceed $250.

HISTORY: 2002, c. 787, § 3.1-796.96:5; 2003, cc. 770, 1007; 2008, c. 860; 2014,
c. 148; 2016, c. 678; 2022, c. 387.