On behalf of our Virginia members and supporters, we are asking that you promulgate regulations requiring public and private animal shelters to be more transparent about their operations in accordance with the authority vested in your agency under Chapter 65 § 3.2-6500 et seq. Chapter 65 § 3.2-6501 provides that, "The Board may adopt regulations and guidelines consistent with the objectives and intent of this chapter concerning the care and transportation of animals." Section 3.2-6502 gives the “State Veterinarian[ ] power to inspect premises where animals are kept.” Pursuant to the Board’s power under §§ 3.2-6501 and 6502, the Board should issue a regulation that both public and private shelters must keep certain records and have those records available for inspection by the Board and by the public in order to facilitate the inspection and oversight of public and private shelters and insure their compliance with the law. Currently, the Animal Custody Record pursuant to § 3.1-796.105.B is too limited as it only covers intake and disposition dates, animal identification, and the name of the surrendering party. Specifically, the Board should issue a regulation that public and private shelters be required to keep additional records on all animals they take in. Such records should cover when and how each animal was taken in (stray, owner surrendered, taken in at the shelter, picked up in the field, etc.), why the animal was taken in (e.g., the owner did not want) and include a signed surrender form for anyone turning in an animal, the condition of each animal on intake, whether the animal had indicia of ownership and what attempts were made to reunite the animal with the owner, the kinds of care and treatment each animal received, including veterinary treatment, the disposition of each animal, and if the animal was killed, when and why the animal was killed. Those records should also be kept for a minimum of five years and be available to the Board and the public for free public inspection on request. Such records are important to fulfilling the purposes of Chapter 65 § 3.2-6500 et seq.