Bill Text: VA SB1462 | 2019 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Comprehensive animal care; enforceable under Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-03-18 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0566) [SB1462 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2019-SB1462-Chaptered.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§3.2-6509 and 3.2-6512 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§3.2-6509. Misrepresentation of animal's condition; penalties.
No person shall misrepresent the physical condition of any animal at the animal'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 animal to another person with the knowledge that the animal has an infection, communicable disease, parasitic infestation, abnormality or other physical defect that is not made known to the person receiving the animal. The sale of an agricultural animal that has external or internal parasites that are not made known to the person receiving the animal shall not be a violation of this section unless the animal is clinically ill or debilitated due to such parasites at the time of sale, trade, delivery or transfer of the animal. Violation of this section is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Any violation of this section by a pet dealer shall also constitute a prohibited practice under §59.1-200 and shall be subject to the enforcement provisions of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (§59.1-196 et seq.).
§3.2-6512. Sale without pet dealer's animal history certificate violation of Consumer Protection Act; contents of certificate.
It shall be a violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (§59.1-196 et seq.) for any pet dealer to sell a dog or cat within the Commonwealth stating, promising, or representing that the animal is registered or capable of being registered with any animal pedigree registry organization, without providing the consumer with a pet dealer's animal history certificate at the time the consumer takes possession of the dog or cat. The pet dealer's animal history certificate shall be signed by the pet dealer or his agent or employee and shall contain the following information:
1. The animal's breed, sex, age, color, and birth date;
2. The name and address of the person from whom the pet dealer purchased the animal;
3. The breeder's name and address;
4. The name and registration number of the animal's parents;
5. If the animal has been so examined, the date on which the animal has been examined by a licensed veterinarian, the name and address of such veterinarian, and a brief statement of any findings made; and
6. A statement of all vaccinations administered to the animal, including the identity and quantity of the vaccine, and the name and address of the person or licensed veterinarian administering or supervising the vaccinations.
The information contained in the pet dealer's animal history certificate required herein shall be informative only, and the pet dealer shall not be responsible in any manner for the accuracy of such information unless he knows or has reason to know that such information is erroneous.
A copy of the pet dealer's animal history certificate signed
by the consumer shall be maintained by the pet dealer for a period of one
year two years following the date of sale.
A pet shop operating in the Commonwealth shall post in a conspicuous place on or near the cage of any dog or cat available for sale the breeder's name, city, state, and USDA license number. A pet shop or a USDA licensed dealer who advertises any dog or cat for sale in the Commonwealth, including by Internet advertisement, shall provide prior to the time of sale the breeder's name, city, state, and USDA license number.
