                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

UNLAWFUL ACTS; PENALTIES (§ 3.2-6587)

A. The following shall be unlawful acts and are Class 4 misdemeanors:

   1. For any person to make a false statement in order to secure a dog or cat
   license to which he is not entitled.

   2. For any dog or cat owner to fail to pay any license tax required by this
   chapter before February 1 for the year in which it is due. In addition, the
   court may order confiscation and the proper disposition of the dog or cat.

   3. For any dog owner to allow a dog to run at large in violation of an
   ordinance passed pursuant to &#xA7; 3.2-6539.

   4. Unless otherwise punishable under subsection B, for any person to fail to
   obey an ordinance passed pursuant to &#xA7;&#xA7; 3.2-6522 and 3.2-6525.

   5. For any owner to fail to dispose of the body of his companion animals in
   accordance with &#xA7; 3.2-6554.

   6. For the owner of any dog or cat with a contagious or infectious disease,
   other than rabies, to permit such dog or cat to stray from his premises if
   such disease is known to the owner.

   7. For any person to conceal or harbor any dog or cat on which any required
   license tax has not been paid.

   8. For any person, except the owner or custodian, to remove a legally acquired
   license tag from a dog or cat without the permission of the owner or
   custodian.

   9. Any other violation of this chapter for which a specific penalty is not
   provided.

B. It is a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to:

   1. Present a false claim or to receive any money on a false claim under the
   provisions of &#xA7; 3.2-6553.

   2. Impersonate a humane investigator.

   3. Permit a dog or cat that he owns or is in his custody to stray from his
   premises when he knows or has been told by the local health department,
   law-enforcement agency, animal control agency, or any other person who has a
   duty to control or respond to a risk of rabies exposure that the dog or cat is
   suspected of having rabies.

HISTORY: 1984, c. 492, § 29-213.99; 1987, c. 488, § 3.1-796.128; 1993, cc.
174, 775, 817; 1998, c. 817; 2008, c. 860; 2020, c. 1183.