Mathews County, VA Nuisance Animals

Title. This article is known and may be sited as the "Public Nuisance Animal Ordinance of Mathews County, Virginia."

Authority. This article is adopted pursuant to the authority granted by §§ 3.2-6552, 3.1-796.117,[1] 3.2-6538, 3.2-6540, 3.2-6503, 3.2-6543, 3.2-6544, and 3.2-6587.

[1]

Editor's Note: Former § 3.1-796.117 was repealed by Acts 2006, cc. 837, 864 and 898. See now § 3.2-6540.

§ 6-37 Control of animal by owner required; behavior constituting a public nuisance.

All owners or custodians of animals shall exercise proper care and control of their animals to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance. Threatening or harassing passersby, habitually obstructing traffic or chasing vehicles, habitually chasing, harassing or attacking livestock or domestic companion animals, or causing damage to property shall be deemed a public nuisance.

§ 6-38 Procedure; civil penalty.

Any person who owns or is a custodian of an animal engaging in behavior constituting a public nuisance as defined above may be summoned before the General District Court to show cause why such animal should not be confined, removed, or the nuisance otherwise abated. Upon proof that the animal constitutes a public nuisance, the animal in question shall, by order of the General District Court, either be confined, removed, or the nuisance otherwise be abated as such Court may order. Upon proof that the animal constitutes a public nuisance, all costs incurred by the confinement, removal or other abatement of said nuisance shall be borne by the owner or custodian of the animal, save and except as provided in § 6-40 below. The Court may also impose a civil penalty up to $100 to be paid by the owner or custodian of such animal. It shall be unlawful for any person to harbor or conceal any animal which has been ordered removed or confined by the General District Court or to fail to confine or restrain an animal when such an order has been entered by the Court. Such acts, when proven, shall constitute contempt of court.

§ 6-39 Custody.

If a Mathews County Animal Control Officer has sufficient reason to believe that an animal has, without provocation, attacked or bitten or caused injury to any person or companion animal, the offending animal shall be taken into custody and confined by the Animal Control Officer in an authorized pound, pending adjudication by the General District Court. Immediately following confinement of an offending animal, the Animal Control Officer shall make a verbal or written report to the animal's owner or custodian, to include details of the offense and the identification of the pound in which the offending animal is confined. The costs of said confinement shall be borne as set out in § 6-38 above and § 6-40 below.

§ 6-40 Responsibility for costs of confinement, removal or abatement.

Any person who owns an animal that has been adjudged a public nuisance or a threat to persons, livestock or companion animals, pursuant to this section, by the General District Court and who appeals that decision to the Circuit Court shall be responsible for costs of confinement, removal or other abatement associated with the offending animal. The Animal Control Officer shall ensure continued impoundment of such animal during the appeal process to prevent a recurrence of the behavior constituting a public nuisance. If, on appeal, the Circuit Court determines that the animal is not a nuisance, no such fees for confinement, removal or other abatement of the animal or its behavior shall be imposed.