Action | Promulgate regulation required by Chapter 319 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 12/14/2018 |
Please include a metric in the final version of 2 VAC 5-115 “Regulations for Determining Whether a Facility Meets the Purpose of Finding Permanent Adoptive Homes for Animals.” The currently proposed regulations do not include a metric. A metric must be added to ensure the intent of SB 1381 which passed by a super majority in the 2015 General Assembly and enjoyed tremendous public support. The regulations should require that a private animal shelter adopt out (or transfer for the purpose of adoption) at least 50% of the animals brought in, and may not euthanize more than 50% of the animals in their care. All but one of Virginia’s private shelters save the lives of the overwhelming majority of animals in their care (the majority of Virginia's open-access, public shelters save over 50% of the animals in their care as well). This metric would be very simple to implement due to Virginia’s progressive shelter and rescue reporting requirements. Each shelter and rescue – including all of the private shelters – must report intake and disposition information to VDACS for every animal they take into custod y each year. One of the specific dispositions tracked is the number of adoptions. Therefore, VDACS already has this information readily available. I ask you to please include this metric in the final regulations to ensure that all private shelters in Virginia operate in a way that reflects the legislative intent and the public trust.