A Safer Future for Pets: Henrico Eyes First Animal Cruelty Registry in Virginia
Henrico County could create Virginia’s first animal cruelty registry. Here’s what you need to know.
It’s about to get easier to protect innocent animals in Central Virginia.
Henrico County is in the process of creating the state’s first animal cruelty registry. The system, which would be publicly accessible, would keep track of residents who have previously received convictions for felony abuse crimes against animals. County staffers presented the registry proposal to the Henrico Board of Supervisors on October 14. It’s still awaiting final approval from the group.
Shannon Taylor, Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney, said that her and her team have been working alongside the police department to create a general overview of what the digital registry would entail. Speaking about the proposal to 12 On Your Side, Taylor said, “We’ve taken some time to kind of figure out not only the idea of what the language would look like for an ordinance, but also for the practical application of how the registry will be maintained, [and] who will be in charge of maintaining it.”
Per initial reports, Henrico Police would be in charge of maintaining the animal cruelty registry. Richmond, Chesterfield, and Hanover have expressed a desire to follow Henrico County’s lead by creating registries of their own in the future.
Taylor emphasized what many pet owners already know to be true: Animals are family members, and “we never want to put an animal in the hands of somebody who has been previously convicted of a felony abuse that can result in the death of that animal.” Todd Alvis, Deputy Chief of Police, told the Henrico Citizen that right now, there isn’t a clear way of tracking people who have a history of committing violent acts against animals.
“The whole purpose for the registry is to ensure that those people who are committing violent acts against animals don’t have the opportunity to adopt animals, especially from a Henrico shelter,” Alvis told the outlet. He added, “We really want to adopt out of the betterment of the animals. So it’s really a prevention tool.”
What information would the registry include?
Animal shelters and members of the public would be able to access the registry once it was approved and created. Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor said that the information listed in the online system would include someone’s photo, name, the type of offense they committed and when they committed it, where their case was tried, and what they were ultimately convicted of.
“There are individuals that are already kind of in that queue that know that as soon as the registry is live, they will be, in fact, on that registry, and the public will have access to their information,” she told 12 On Your Side. People in the database will remain there for around 15 years and will then be removed if they do not amass any other related convictions. Taylor noted that the one exception to the registry is that it won’t track juvenile offenders.
“Society believes that animals deserve that attention and that protection” Taylor said. With the Henrico Board of Supervisors’s approval, animals in Central Virginia will be one step closer to getting that protection.
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