AN ORDINANCE TO PROHIBIT THE KEEPING OF
DANGEROUS, WILD, EXOTIC OR VICIOUS ANIMALS
BE IT HEREBY ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors as follows:
1. The following definitions are hereby added in alphabetical order to Section 21-1 of
Chapter 21 of the County Code:
Exempt Animals
The following animals are Exempt Animals for purposes of this Chapter:
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(F)
Nonvenomous reptiles and amphibians;
Rodents - Gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats, mice, squirrels and chipmunks;
Rabbits, hares, moles and shrews;
Ferrets and chinchillas;
Llamas, alpacas, guanacos, vicunas, camels, giraffes;
Avian species to include Columbidae (pigeons and doves), Fringillidae (Finches) and
Psittacidae (parrots);
(G) All fish held in aquaria with the exception of piranha;
(H) Bovidae (bison, zebu);
(I) Equidae (zebra);
(J) Hybrids (wolf hybrid, savannah cat) and
(K) The following non-human primates:
(i) All genus of Lemuroidea (a/k/a Lemurs) having body weight of 8 lbs or less;
(ii) Genus Cebus or Sapajus (a/k/a Capuchin Monkeys) having body weight of 9 lbs or
less; and
(iii) Genus Chlorocebus (a/k/a Vervet, Grivet, or Green Monkey) having body weight of
15 lbs or less.
All references to monkeys or non-human primates in Chapter 21 of the County Code shall be
deemed to exclude any non-human primate described in paragraph (K) above and housed in the
County, upon presentation to the animal control officer of a certificate pertaining to such nonhuman primate signed by a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the
Commonwealth of Virginia that such non-human primate meets the standards set forth in
paragraph (K) above.
Exemption Criteria
Exempt Animals shall also include any animal meeting all of the following Exemption Criteria
as determined by the County's animal control officer or a court of competent jurisdiction:
(A) Any fish, reptile, amphibian, bird or mammal, the release of which will not result in an
adverse effect on the ecology;
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(B) Any animal that if such animal were to escape, it would pose no substantial danger to
humans; and
(C) Any animal the proper care of which is no more demanding in any major respect than the
proper care of domestic animals.
Service Animal
Any dog or miniature horse that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the
benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual,
or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or
untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The work or tasks
performed by a service animal must be directly related to the handler's disability. Examples of
work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low
vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the
presence of people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work, pulling a
wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of
allergens, retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and
assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping persons
with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or
destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the provision of
emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the
purposes of this definition.
Traveling animal exhibition
Any spectacle, display, act or event, including circuses and carnivals, where animals are
maintained, whether or not the animals actually perform, the owners or operators of which (i) do
not have their principal place of business in Caroline County, Virginia, (ii) do not house the
animals used in the exhibition in Caroline County, Virginia except during the exhibition, which
must be temporary in nature, and (iii) are required to obtain a temporary special permit pursuant
to the County's zoning ordinance. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a horse or pony ride is not a
traveling animal exhibition.
Vicious animal
Any animal or animals that constitute a physical threat to human beings or other animals, not to
include vicious dogs, which are addressed separately within this Chapter.
Wild or exotic animal
Any live monkey (non-human primate), raccoon, skunk, wolf, squirrel, fox, leopard, panther,
tiger, lion, cougar, lynx or any other warm-blooded animal, venomous snake or tarantula that can
normally be found in the wild or any other member of the crocodilian species, including but not
limited to alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gavials. Ferrets, non-venomous snakes, rabbits,
and laboratory rats that have been bred in captivity and that have never known the wild are
excluded from this definition.
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2. Article III of Chapter 21 of the County Code is hereby rescinded in its entirety and
the following Article III, consisting of Sections 21-19, 21-20, and 21-21, is ordained,
adopted and substituted in its place and stead:
Article III
Exotic Animals
Section 21-19 Keeping prohibited; exceptions. No person shall keep, permit to be kept, or
have in his or her possession, any wild, exotic or vicious animal, as those terms are defined in
Section 21-1, for any purposes, except that this prohibition shall not apply to (i) Exempt
Animals, (ii) animals meeting the Exemption Criteria as determined by the County's animal
control officer or a court of competent jurisdiction, (iv) a single certified service animal in a
household, (v) traveling animal exhibitions, circuses, and (vi) veterinary clinics that are properly
licensed and permitted by the Federal Government, the Commonwealth of Virginia and Caroline
County, as applicable. The wild or exotic animals of such licensed and permitted establishments
shall not be exhibited or displayed in such a manner that persons other than their handlers can
pet, fondle, or otherwise come in direct physical contact with such animals; however, this
prohibition shall not apply to (iii) the riding of elephants by persons other than the elephants'
handlers while under the direct supervision of the elephants' handlers where such elephants are
performing in animal exhibitions or circuses that are properly licensed and permitted by the
Federal Government, the Commonwealth of Virginia and Caroline County.
Section 21-20 Notice required at place of sale. Any person who offers for sale an exotic
animal as defined by Section 21-1 shall post conspicuously at the place of sale or display the
following notice:
"No person may lawfully keep or permit to be kept in Caroline County, other than a certified
service animal, any live monkey (non-human primate) not expressly excepted under the County
Code, raccoon, skunk, wolf, squirrel, fox, leopard, panther, tiger, lion, cougar, lynx or any other
warm-blooded animal, venomous snake or tarantula, crocodile or alligator, that can normally be
found in the wild state or any other member of the crocodilian species, including but not limited
to, alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gavials."
Section 21-21 Disposition of animals; violations. Any person who keeps or possesses a wild,
exotic, or vicious animal in contravention of this Article shall dispose of the animal by removal
of the animal from Caroline County, by giving or selling the animal to a properly licensed
zoological park or by releasing the animal to the County's animal control officer, who shall
release the animal to the wild, to a zoological park, or other entity approved for the care or
protection of the particular species. Failure to dispose of a wild, exotic or vicious animal as
required by this ordinance within ninety (90) days after receipt of notice to do so from the
County's animal control officer shall constitute a violation of this Article and a Class 3
misdemeanor. Each day thereafter that such animal or animals are not disposed of as required
hereby shall constitute a separate violation.
Section 21-22 Seizure of animals kept in violation of ordinance. The County's animal control
officer is hereby authorized to seize, impound and/or dispose of any wild, exotic, or vicious
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animal kept in contravention of this Article III. Any costs associated with such seizure,
impoundment and disposal shall be assessed against and paid by the person keeping such wild,
exotic or vicious animal. Prior to disposing of a wild, exotic or vicious animal, the law
enforcement officer or animal control officer shall petition the Caroline County General District
Court for a hearing. The hearing shall be to determine whether the animal is being kept in
contravention of the provisions of Article III of Chapter 21 of the County Code and is subject to
seizure thereunder by the animal control officer. The court, through its contempt powers, may
compel the owner, custodian or harborer of the animal to produce the animal. If the court
determines that such animal has been kept in contravention of this Article, then the court shall
order the removal of the animal from the County or its destruction if removal cannot be effected
by the animal control officer within a reasonable period of time.
Notice of hearing
The law enforcement officer or animal control officer shall cause to be served upon the person
with a right of property in the animal or the custodian of the animal notice of the hearing. If
such person or the custodian is known and residing within the County, written notice shall be
given at least five days prior to the hearing of the time and place of the hearing. If such person or
the custodian is known but residing out of the County, written notice by any method or service of
process as is provided by the Code of Virginia shall be given. If such person or the custodian is
not known, the law enforcement officer or animal control officer shall cause to be published in a
newspaper of general circulation in the County notice of the hearing at least one time prior to the
hearing and shall further cause notice of the hearing to be posted at least five days prior to the
hearing at the place provided for public notices at the courthouse wherein such hearing shall be
held.
Procedure
The procedure for appeal and trial shall be the same as provided by law for misdemeanors. The
Commonwealth shall be required to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Restitution
In addition to punishment by fine or imprisonment, or both, allowed by applicable law, any
person convicted of violating §§ 21-19, 21-20 or 21-21 above shall be ordered by the court to
make restitution to the County for actual expenses incurred by the animal control officer as a
result of such violation.
ADOPTED this 16th day of February 2016.
______________________________ (SEAL)
Chairman,
Caroline County Board of Supervisors
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Attest:
______________________________ (SEAL)
Clerk,
Caroline County Board of Supervisors
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