The petitioner is requesting that the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Board) amend the regulation to require that public and private animal shelters keep certain records for five years and make those records available for inspection by the Board and the public.  The petitioner requests that the regulation be amended to require that public and private animal shelters record "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."

The Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services will consider this request at its next scheduled meeting following the public comment period.  This meeting will occur on March 19, 2015.

After considering the analysis and recommendation of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services staff; the nature of the comments received during the public comment period; and the comments offered by representatives of the Virginia Animal Control Association, the Virginia Alliance for Animal Shelters, and the Danville Area Humane Society during the Board meeting, the Board voted to deny the petition.  The Board denied the petitioner’s request for rulemaking because the majority of the recordkeeping requirements requested in the petition are already required by the Code of Virginia or the Virginia Administrative Code.  Specifically, Va Code §§ 3.2-6503, 3.2-6546, 3.2-6548, 3.2-6557, and 54.1-3423 as well as 18 VAC 110-20 include provisions requiring certain recordkeeping by public and private animal shelters.