Virginia Administrative Code › Title 4 - CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES › Agency 15 - DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE RESOURCES › Chapter 30 - DEFINITIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS: IMPORTATION, POSSESSION, SALE, ETC., OF ANIMALS › Section 4VAC15-30-50 - Possession, transportation, and release of wildlife by authorized persons

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Department
				employees in the performance of their official duties; U.S. government
				agencies' employees whose responsibility includes fisheries and wildlife
				management; county, city, or town animal control officers in the performance of
				their official duties related to public health concerns or problem wildlife
				removal; and individuals operating under conditions of a commercial nuisance
				animal permit issued by the department pursuant to §§
									29.1-412 and
				29.1-417
				of the Code of Virginia will be deemed to be permitted pursuant to this section
				to capture, temporarily hold or possess, transport, release, and when necessary
				humanely dispatch wildlife, provided that the methods of and documentation for
				the capture, possession, transport, release, and humane dispatch shall be in
				accordance with director policy.
B.
				Local animal shelters operating under the authority of, or under contract with,
				any county, city, or town with animal control responsibilities shall be
				authorized to receive, temporarily confine, and humanely euthanize wildlife,
				except for state or federal threatened and endangered species, federally
				protected migratory bird species, black bear, white-tailed deer, and wild
				turkey, provided that the methods of and documentation for the possession,
				confinement, and euthanasia shall be in accordance with conditions defined by
				the agency director. Provided further that any person may legally transport
				wildlife, except for those species listed in this subsection, to an authorized
				animal shelter after contacting the facility to confirm the animal will be
				accepted.
C. Wildlife
				rehabilitators permitted by the department shall be authorized to receive,
				temporarily confine, provide medical care to, release, and humanely dispatch
				wildlife provided that the methods of and documentation for such activities
				shall be in accordance with permit conditions defined by the department. Any
				person may capture and transport an injured, debilitated, sick, or orphaned
				wild animal without unnecessary delay directly to a permitted wildlife
				rehabilitator, department employee, or other person authorized by the
				department to possess and transport these animals, but only after contacting
				the facility, employee, or authorized person to confirm the animal will be
				accepted. Prior to transport, no care may be provided to a wild animal, except
				as directed by a permitted wildlife rehabilitator or department employee.
				Following rehabilitation, the transport and release of native wildlife shall be
				allowed as long as such activities are conducted in accordance with permit
				conditions.
D. Employees or agents
				of other state wildlife agencies while in the performance of their official
				duty in transporting wildlife through the Commonwealth will be deemed to be
				permitted pursuant to this section, provided that a list of animals to be
				transported, a schedule of dates and locations where those animals will be
				housed while in the Commonwealth, and a letter of authorization from both the
				forwarding and receiving state agencies are provided to the department 24 hours
				prior to the transporting of such animals, and further provided that such
				animals shall not be liberated within the Commonwealth.
E. Employees or agents of government
				agencies, while in the performance of their official duties, may temporarily
				possess, transport, and dispose of carcasses of wild animals killed by
				vehicles, except for state or federal threatened and endangered species, and
				federally protected migratory bird species.
F. With prior written approval from the
				director or the director's designee and under conditions of an applicable
				department permit, institutions with bona fide accreditation from the
				Association of Zoos and Aquariums may possess, transport, have transported,
				export, or import native and naturalized species defined in the List of Native
				and Naturalized Fauna of Virginia, which is incorporated by reference into
				4VAC15-20-50.
Statutory Authority: §§
											29.1-103
					 and
					 29.1-501
					 of the Code of Virginia.