Virginia Law

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Animal holding area" means any part of the terminal facility where animals are kept, maintained, or housed.

"Carrier" means the operator of any airline, railroad, motor carrier, shipping line, or other enterprise which, for hire, engages in the business of transporting animals.

"Commerce" means trade, traffic or transportation.

"Companion animal" means any domestic or feral dog, domestic or feral cat, nonhuman primate, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit not raised for human food or fiber, exotic or native animal, reptile, exotic or native bird, or any feral animal or any animal under the care, custody, or ownership of a person or any animal that is bought, sold, traded, or bartered by any person. Agricultural animals, game species, or any animals regulated under federal law as research animals shall not be considered companion animals for the purposes of this chapter.

"Dealer" means any person who in the regular course of business for compensation or profit buys, sells, transfers, exchanges or barters companion animals. The following shall not be considered dealers: (i) any person who transports companion animals in the regular course of business as a common carrier or (ii) any person or organization whose primary purpose is to find permanent adoptive homes for companion animals.

"Exhibitor" means any person who has animals for or on public display, excluding an exhibitor licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture. Such term includes carnivals, circuses, animal acts, and zoos exhibiting such animals, whether operated for profit or not; but such term excludes retail pet stores, organizations sponsoring and all persons participating in state and county fairs, livestock shows, rodeos, purebred dog and cat shows, and any other fairs or exhibits intended to advance agricultural arts and sciences.

"Exotic animal" means any animal that is not a species native to the United States.

"Handling" means petting, feeding, manipulating, crating, shifting, transferring, immobilizing, restraining, treating, training, working or performing any similar activity with respect to any animal.

"Humane society" means any chartered not-for-profit organization incorporated under the laws of this Commonwealth and organized for the purpose of preventing cruelty to animals and promoting humane care and treatment of animals.

"Intermediate handler" means any person, including a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States or of any state or local government who is engaged in any business in which he receives custody of animals in connection with their transportation in commerce.

"Pound" means a facility operated by the Commonwealth, or any political subdivision for the purpose of impounding or harboring seized, stray, homeless, abandoned or unwanted animals; or a facility operated for the same purpose under a contract with any county, city, town or incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.

"Primary conveyance" means the main method of transportation used to convey an animal from origin to destination, such as a motor vehicle, plane, ship or train.

"Primary enclosure" means any structure used to immediately restrict an animal or animals to a limited amount of space, such as a room, pen, cage, compartment or hutch. For tethered animals, the term includes the shelter and the area within reach of the tether.

"Terminal facility" means any building or structure, and its grounds, which serves as a point of ingress to or egress from a primary conveyance during transportation.