Va. Code Ann. § 3.2-6511.2

This is the official text of Va. Code Ann. § 3.2-6511.2, 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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Dealers; importation and sale of dogs and cats; penalty

Official statutory text

A. No dealer, commercial dog breeder, or cat breeder shall import for sale, sell, or offer for sale, including sale for experimental purposes, any dog or cat bred by a person who has received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, pursuant to enforcement of the federal Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. § 2131 et seq.) or regulations adopted thereunder, (i) a citation for a direct or critical violation or citations for three or more indirect or noncritical violations for at least two years prior to the procurement of the dog or cat or (ii) two consecutive citations for no access to the facility prior to the procurement of the dog or cat.

B. No person shall serve as an owner, director, officer, manager, operator, member of staff, or animal caregiver for a dealer, commercial dog breeder, or cat breeder if such person has been convicted of a violation of § 3.2-6570 .

C. Any person violating any provision of this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for each dog or cat imported, sold, or offered for sale.

D. As used in this section, "dealer," "commercial dog breeder," or "cat breeder" includes any person or entity that breeds dogs or cats regulated under federal law as research animals.

2020, c. 569 ; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 339 ; 2022, cc. 94 , 95 .

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.