CODE OF VIRGINIA

ANIMAL ATTACK RESULTING FROM OWNER’S DISREGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE; PENALTY (§
18.2-52.2)

A. Any owner of an animal is guilty of a Class 6 felony if his willful act or
omission in the care, control, or containment of such animal is so gross,
wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life and is the
proximate cause of such animal attacking and causing serious bodily injury to
any person.

B. The provisions of subsection A shall not apply to any animal that at the time
of the act complained of was responding to pain or injury, was protecting
itself, its kennel, its offspring, a person, or its owner’s property, or
was a police dog engaged in the performance of its duties at the time of the
attack.

C. The court may determine that a person convicted under this section shall be
prohibited from owning, possessing, or residing on the same property with an
animal of the type that led to such conviction.

HISTORY: 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 464.