{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-json\/56-439.1.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-text\/56-439.1.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-xml\/56-439.1.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-html\/56-439.1.html"}],"law_id":370406,"edition_id":2,"section_id":370406,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-439.1","catch_line":"Notice of injury or death of certain livestock; penalty","history":"1994, c. 352.","full_text":"Whenever any horses, cattle, or other livestock are injured or killed by the cars or locomotives operating on a railroad, the section master or employee of the railroad having charge of the road at the place where the injury or death occurred shall, if he knows of the incident or should have known of it, within seventy-two hours, notify the owner of the animal or animals or the local law-enforcement agency of the injury or death and the location of the incident in relationship to state routes as well as railroad mile posts. Disposal of any such animal or animals without proper notification shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.\n\n","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":1381613,"text":"Whenever any horses, cattle, or other livestock are injured or killed by the cars or locomotives operating on a railroad, the section master or employee of the railroad having charge of the road at the place where the injury or death occurred shall, if he knows of the incident or should have known of it, within seventy-two hours, notify the owner of the animal or animals or the local law-enforcement agency of the injury or death and the location of the incident in relationship to state routes as well as railroad mile posts. Disposal of any such animal or animals without proper notification shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":52752,"edition_id":2,"name":"Rights-Of-Way; Fires; Fences; Cattle Guards, Etc","identifier":"8","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":8,"parent_id":52743,"metadata":{"child_laws":17,"child_structures":0},"date_created":"2026-08-02 03:04:09","date_modified":"2026-08-02 12:35:42","permalink":{"id":1476733,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":52752,"identifier":"8","token":"56\/13\/8","url":"\/56\/13\/8\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":52743,"edition_id":2,"name":"Railroad Corporations","identifier":"13","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":27,"parent_id":52702,"metadata":{"child_laws":86,"child_structures":11},"date_created":"2026-08-02 03:03:58","date_modified":"2026-08-02 12:35:41","permalink":{"id":1476441,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":52743,"identifier":"13","token":"56\/13","url":"\/56\/13\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":52702,"edition_id":2,"name":"Public Service Companies","identifier":"56","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":121,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{"child_laws":710,"child_structures":93},"date_created":"2026-08-02 03:03:25","date_modified":"2026-08-02 12:35:34","permalink":{"id":1475475,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":52702,"identifier":"56","token":"56","url":"\/56\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":370392,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-426","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/56-426\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-426","metadata":false},{"id":370391,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-426.1","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/56-426.1\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-426.1","metadata":false},{"id":370393,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-427","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/56-427\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-427","metadata":false},{"id":370394,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-428","catch_line":"Railroads liable for damage from fires set out by their engines or trains","url":"\/56-428\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-428","metadata":false},{"id":370395,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-429","catch_line":"Company to erect fences along roadbed; cattle guards, etc","url":"\/56-429\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-429","metadata":false},{"id":370397,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-430","catch_line":"Construction of \u00a7 56-429; burden of proof","url":"\/56-430\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-430","metadata":false},{"id":370398,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-431","catch_line":"When company not liable for injury on enclosed track","url":"\/56-431\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-431","metadata":false},{"id":370399,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-432","catch_line":"Liability for injury on track not enclosed","url":"\/56-432\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-432","metadata":false},{"id":370400,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-433","catch_line":"Cattle guards; remedy of aggrieved landowner; penalty","url":"\/56-433\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-433","metadata":false},{"id":370401,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-434","catch_line":"When cattle guards may be discontinued","url":"\/56-434\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-434","metadata":false},{"id":370402,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-435","catch_line":"Appeal from general district court to circuit court in cattle-guard cases","url":"\/56-435\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-435","metadata":false},{"id":370403,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-436","catch_line":"Board of appraisers to appraise injured or killed livestock; duty of appraisers","url":"\/56-436\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-436","metadata":false},{"id":370404,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-437","catch_line":"Effect of appraisal in case of suit; costs","url":"\/56-437\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-437","metadata":false},{"id":370405,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-438","catch_line":"Fee of appraisers","url":"\/56-438\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-438","metadata":false},{"id":370407,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-439","catch_line":"Application of \u00a7\u00a7 56-436 through 56-438","url":"\/56-439\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-439","metadata":false},{"id":370406,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-439.1","catch_line":"Notice of injury or death of certain livestock; penalty","url":"\/56-439.1\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-439.1","metadata":false},{"id":370409,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-440","catch_line":"Penalty for failure to remove cause of complaint in cities or towns","url":"\/56-440\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-440","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":370407,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-439","catch_line":"Application of \u00a7\u00a7 56-436 through 56-438","url":"\/56-439\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-439","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":370409,"structure_id":52752,"section_number":"56-440","catch_line":"Penalty for failure to remove cause of complaint in cities or towns","url":"\/56-440\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-440","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/56-439.1\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1994. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 352<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":1476795,"object_type":"law","relational_id":370406,"identifier":"56-439.1","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-439.1","url":"\/56-439.1\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/56-439.1\/","token":"56\/13\/8\/56-439.1","dublin_core":{"Title":"Notice of injury or death of certain livestock; penalty","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 56-439.1","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Whenever any horses, cattle, or other livestock are injured or killed by the cars or locomotives operating on a railroad<\/span>, the section master or employee of the railroad<\/span> having charge of the road at the place where the injury or death occurred shall, if he knows of the incident or should have known of it, within seventy-two hours, notify the owner of the animal or animals or the local law<\/span>-enforcement agency of the injury or death and the location of the incident in relationship to state routes as well as railroad<\/span> mile posts. Disposal of any such animal or animals without proper notification shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor<\/span>.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nNOTICE OF INJURY OR DEATH OF CERTAIN LIVESTOCK; PENALTY (\u00a7 56-439.1)\n\nWhenever any horses, cattle, or other livestock are injured or killed by the\ncars or locomotives operating on a railroad, the section master or employee of\nthe railroad having charge of the road at the place where the injury or death\noccurred shall, if he knows of the incident or should have known of it, within\nseventy-two hours, notify the owner of the animal or animals or the local\nlaw-enforcement agency of the injury or death and the location of the incident\nin relationship to state routes as well as railroad mile posts. Disposal of any\nsuch animal or animals without proper notification shall constitute a Class 1\nmisdemeanor.\n\nHISTORY: 1994, c. 352.","edition":{"id":2,"name":"2026","slug":"2026","date_created":"2026-07-16 18:40:23","date_modified":"2026-08-02 15:14:36","current":1,"order_by":2,"last_import":"2026-08-02 12:37:30"}}