Va. Code Ann. § 3.2-6502

This is the official text of Va. Code Ann. § 3.2-6502, part of Virginia’s Code of Virginia — the complete compiled statutory law of Virginia, organized into 60+ numbered titles by subject.

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State Veterinarian's power to inspect premises where animals are kept; investigations and search warrants

Official statutory text

A. The State Veterinarian and each State Veterinarian's representative shall have the power to conduct inspections of public and private animal shelters, and inspect any business premises where animals are housed or kept, including any boarding establishment, kennel, pet shop, or the business premises of any dealer, exhibitor or groomer, at any reasonable time, for the purposes of determining if a violation of: (i) this chapter; (ii) any other state law governing the care, control or protection of animals; or (iii) any other state law governing property rights in animals has occurred.

B. Provisions for investigation of suspected violations of this chapter and other laws pertaining to animals are provided in § 3.2-6564 . Provisions for obtaining a warrant and the power of search for violations of animal cruelty laws are provided in § 3.2-6568 .

1993, c. 601, § 3.1-796.67:2; 1998, c. 817 ; 2002, c. 787 ; 2003, c. 1007 ; 2008, c. 860 ; 2014, c. 148 .

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.