4 Va. Admin. Code § 15-290-60 - Holding wild animals for exhibition purposes
A. Where an exhibit is educational and
purposeful in nature, wild animals may be exhibited with a permit provided for
in §
29.1-417
of the Code of Virginia, under such restrictions and conditions as the board
may prescribe.
B. Elementary or
secondary school teachers may possess and display wildlife for educational
purposes without a permit to exhibit wildlife, provided that:
1. Notification of the display is made to the
department by mail to Permits Section, VDGIF, P.O. Box 3337, Henrico, VA
23228-3337. This notification shall be made within 48 hours of the beginning of
the display, shall be updated any time that additional wildlife is added to the
display, and shall include:
a. Number and
species of wildlife held for display;
b. Physical address of the location of the
display; and
c. Duration for which
the display is intended to be maintained.
2. Species allowed to be possessed and
displayed pursuant to this subsection shall be limited to those species
included in the List of Native and Naturalized Fauna of Virginia, which is
incorporated by reference in 4VAC15-20. In addition, in no case shall the
following species be possessed and displayed without a permit to exhibit
wildlife:
a. Those species included on the
list contained in
4VAC15-30-40,
whether of native or exotic origin.
b. Fur-bearing animals as defined in §
29.1-100 of the Code
of Virginia.
c. Those species
defined as nonnative or exotic animals pursuant to
4VAC15-20-50.
e. Federal and state threatened and
endangered species pursuant to
4VAC15-20-130.
f. Nuisance species designated by §
29.1-100 of the Code
of Virginia or
4VAC15-20-160,
or nonindigenous aquatic nuisance species designated by §
29.1-571 of the Code
of Virginia or
4VAC15-20-210.
g. Predatory or undesirable animals or birds
for which a permit is required by
4VAC15-30-20.
3. Any person bitten by mammalian
wildlife must report the injury to the local health department. The offending
animal must be segregated and housed separately from other animals and humans
until the health department is notified.
4. Wildlife must be confined under sanitary
and humane conditions that are appropriate for the species in captivity. All
cages and enclosures shall be locked at all times when wildlife is not under
the immediate control or direct supervision of the handler to prevent wildlife
escape and unauthorized contact with individuals.
5. No wildlife held, possessed, or displayed
may be released for any purpose without the written authorization of the
department.
6. The department shall
be notified within 24 hours of an instance of wildlife sickness or disease or
in the event of an escape.
7.
Teachers possessing and displaying wildlife for educational purposes in
accordance with this section shall comply with all other local, state, and
federal laws and regulations pertaining to species possessed and
displayed.
Notes
Statutory Authority: §§ 29.1-103 and 29.1-501 of the Code of Virginia.
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.