Notice is hereby given in accordance with § 2.2-4007.01 of the Code of Virginia that the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services intends to consider (i) repealing 2VAC5-110, Rules and Regulations Pertaining to a Pound or Enclosure to be Maintained by Each County or City, and (ii) adopting 2VAC5-111, Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Public and Private Animal Shelters, to update requirements and in accordance with changes in the Code of Virginia enacted by Chapter 148 of the 2014 Acts of Assembly. The purpose of the proposed action is to ensure that a consistent standard of confinement and care is applied to all companion animals held in trust, whether by public or private animal shelters. In addition, the agency has determined that it is in the public interest to ensure that all companion animals subject to a holding period in shelter facilities be maintained in a manner that protects the animals from injury, illness, and theft for this short period, while allowing public animal shelters greater freedom in housing animals that have satisfied holding period requirements.

The agency intends to hold a public hearing on the proposed action after publication in the Virginia Register.                                                   

Statutory Authority: § 3.2-6501 of the Code of Virginia.

Public Comment Deadline: September 24, 2014.

Agency Contact: Dr. Dan Kovich, Staff Veterinarian, Animal Care and Health Policy, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218, telephone (804) 786-1771, FAX (804) 371-2380, TTY (800) 828-1120, or email dan.kovich@vdacs.virginia.gov.