Permits for threatened or endangered species
http://www.dgif.state.va.us/permits/guide.asp
3.1-796.126:9. Hybrid canine ordinance; penalty.
A. Any county, city or town may, by ordinance, establish a permit system to ensure the adequate confinement and responsible ownership of hybrid canines. Such ordinance may include requirements pertaining to: (i) the term and expiration date of the permit, (ii) the number of hybrid canines that may be owned by a permittee, (iii) identification tags or tattooing of the animal, (iv) where the animal may be kept, (v) handling of the animal while not on the property of the owner, and (vi) information required to be provided when applying for a permit, such as the sex, color, height, vaccination records, length, or identifying marks of the hybrid canine. The ordinance shall not require that hybrid canines be disposed of by the owner unless the owner fails or refuses to obtain or renew any required permit or violates a provision of the ordinance or any other law pertaining to the responsible ownership of the hybrid canine. The locality may impose a permit fee to cover the cost of the permitting system.
B. Violation of an ordinance enacted pursuant to this section shall be a Class 3 misdemeanor for the first violation and a Class 1 misdemeanor for a second or a subsequent violation. The ordinance may require a violator to surrender the hybrid canine for euthanasia in accordance with 3.1-796.119.
C. The provisions of this section shall not affect any ordinance adopted prior to the effective date of this section.
(1997, c. 918.)
3.1-796.94:1. Regulation of keeping of animals and fowl.
A. Any county may, whenever, in the judgment of the board of supervisors, the same is necessary for the preservation of public health, regulate by ordinance the keeping of animals or fowl, other than dogs and cats, within a certain distance of residences or other buildings or wells, springs, streams, creeks, or brooks, and provide that all or certain of such animals shall not be kept within certain areas.
B. Any county, city, or town may, by ordinance, prohibit cruelty to and abuse of animals and fowl; and may regulate or prohibit the running at large and the keeping of animals and fowl and provide for the impounding and confiscation of any such animal or fowl found at large or kept in violation of such regulations. Any such ordinance may require that owners of any exotic or poisonous animal found running at large pay a fee to cover the locality’s actual cost in locating and capturing or otherwise disposing of the animal.
(Code 1950 15-20.1, 15-20.2; 1952, c. 694; 1954, c. 94; 1962, c. 623, 15.1-517, 15.1-870; 1997, cc. 411, 587; 1999, c. 663.)
Hybrid cats require a permit in Hanover County, Virginia. Hybrid wolves do not require a permit:
http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=10338 Chapter 4, Article III
Chapter 4, Article I, Sec. 4.1 Definitions:
Wild or exotic animal: The term “wild or exotic animal” shall include any raccoon, skunk, fox, squirrel, sugar glider, marmoset or other similarly-sized primate, opossum, chipmunk, chinchilla, degu or any other warm-blooded animal which can normally be found in the wild state, and any type of hybrid of a warm-blooded animal which can normally be found in the wild state with any type of domesticated or companion animal, including but not limited to cats. Ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, and other similar small mammals which have been bred in captivity and which have never known the wild shall be excluded from this definition. The term wild or exotic animal shall not include wolf-canine hybrids.
Chapter 4, Article III, Section 4-80:
Sec. 4-80. Permit required to keep wild, exotic or vicious animals.
(a) No person shall keep or permit to be kept on his premises any wild, exotic or vicious animal, unless that person shall have previously obtained a permit from the county for such animal, except that persons holding a category I, II, or III wildlife rehabilitation permit issued by the state department of game and inland fisheries may possess native wild animals for the purpose of rehabilitation pursuant to the conditions of their wildlife rehabilitation permit.
(b) Application for a wild or exotic animal permit or a vicious animal permit, and any amendments thereto, shall be made to the chief animal control officer on an application form prescribed by the chief animal control officer.
(1) The chief animal control officer has the authority to issue or deny permits for wild or exotic animals. A decision by the chief animal control officer to deny a permit may be appealed to the board of supervisors.
(2) The board of supervisors has the authority to issue or deny permits for vicious animals. Prior to deciding whether to issue or deny a permit for a vicious animal, the board of supervisors shall advertise and conduct a public hearing. For no less than two (2) weeks prior to the public hearing, the applicant for such a permit shall post a sign, provided by the chief animal control officer, on the premises where the animal(s) is proposed to be kept, providing notice of the application and the time, date and place of the public hearing. In addition, the applicant shall send the same information by certified mail to the owners of record of each adjacent property.
(c) No permit shall be approved by the chief animal control officer or the board of supervisors unless the applicant has demonstrated in the application:
(1) That the wild, exotic or vicious animal(s) will be securely enclosed at all times in a manner that is appropriate for the character of the animal;
(2) That the animal(s) will be provided with an appropriate habitat and be properly fed, cared for and handled;
(3) That the keeping of such animal(s) on the premises is consistent with the nature and character of the neighborhood;
(4) That the owner has obtained any federal or state permits required for possession of that particular species of animal(s); and
(5) That, for vicious animals, the owner has obtained a surety bond or liability insurance or bond in the amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) which covers incidents or occurrences involving the vicious animal.
The permit shall be nontransferable and subject to such conditions as are deemed necessary to assure the public safety and welfare and appropriate care of the animal(s). The permit shall list, by species and quantity, each wild, exotic, or vicious animal permitted to be kept on the premises, and shall authorize the applicant to keep only the animals identified in the application at the address listed in the application. Any permitted animal that dies or is sold or relocated out of the county may be replaced by an animal of the same species. Any additions, as a result of breeding of permitted animals or acquisition of additional wild, exotic, or vicious animals, shall require an amendment to the permit. No animal may be moved to another location within the county without prior issuance of a permit for the new location.
(d) Applications for vicious animal permits shall be accompanied by a permit application fee of three hundred dollars ($300.00).
(e) Upon notice and an opportunity to be heard, any permit shall be subject to revocation by the approving authority for any of the following reasons:
(1) Failure to comply with the terms of this section or the conditions of the permit;
(2) Falsification of any information on the permit application; or
(3) Violation of any local, state or federal laws applicable to animals.
(f) It shall be unlawful for the owner of any wild, exotic or vicious animal to allow such wild, exotic or vicious animal to run at large in the county. It shall be the duty of the animal control officer or other officer who finds any wild, exotic or vicious animal running at large in violation of this section to take such wild, exotic or vicious animal into custody.
(Ord. No. 04-14, § 1, 6-9-04; Ord. No. 08-22, § 2, 7-23-08)
State law references: Regulation of keeping of animals and fowl, Code of Virginia, § 3.1-796.94:1. Sec. 4-80. Permit required to keep wild, exotic or vicious animals.
Updated 8/6/12
Disclaimer: Please check all local, city, county, township, homeowners’ ordinances in your area first before acquiring any hybrid or exotic animals.