A. 
Any person who overrides, overdrives, overloads, tortures, ill-treats, abandons, willfully inflicts inhumane injury or pain not connected with bona fide scientific or medical experimentation or cruelly or unnecessarily beats, maims, mutilates or kills any animal, whether belonging to himself or another; or deprives any animal of necessary food, drink or shelter; or willfully sets on foot, instigates, engages in or in any way furthers any act of cruelty to any animal; or carries or causes to be carried in or upon any vehicle, vessel or otherwise any animal in a cruel, brutal or inhumane manner so as to produce torture or unnecessary suffering; or causes any of the above things or being the owner of such animal permits such acts to be done by another shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
B. 
Any person who abandons any dog, cat or other domesticated animal in any public place, including the right-of-way of any public highway, road or street or on the property of another, shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
C. 
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the dehorning of cattle.
D. 
For the purposes of this section and § 62-29, the word "animal" shall be construed to include birds and fowl.
E. 
This section shall not prohibit authorized wildlife management activities or hunting, fishing or trapping as regulated under the Code of Virginia, including but not limited to Title 29.1, or to farming activities.
F. 
In addition to the penalties provided in Subsection A, the court may, in its discretion, require any person convicted of a violation of Subsection A to attend an anger management or other appropriate treatment program or obtain psychiatric or psychological counseling. The court may impose the costs of such a program or counseling upon the person convicted.
G. 
It is unlawful for any person to kill a domestic dog or cat for the purpose of obtaining the hide, fur or pelt of the dog or cat. A violation of this subsection shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.