Ben Madilynn
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – The city of Richmond is pushing to change the city code to make it align with state law when it comes to animal cruelty charges.
If approved by City Council, it would give clear penalties for anyone caught abusing or neglecting animals.
If convicted of a misdemeanor, a resident could be banned from owning any animal for five years. If convicted of a felony, a resident could lose their right to own an animal completely.
“This is another tool that we need to send a message you do not do this in the city of Richmond,” said Reva Trammel, Public Safety Committee council member.
“Folks at the state level knew that there needed to be something more robust because we were seeing folks that were getting pets again after they had already been convicted of animal cruelty,” said Rob Leinberger, the deputy director of Richmond Animal Care and Control.
Leaders expressed their gratitude for these changes.
“We have seen some pretty horrific things in the city of Richmond,” said Kristen Nye, a Public Safety Committee member and the president of City Council.
A hope to come out of this is fewer abused animals being turned into local shelters, like RACC.
“If anything, it will keep the wrong people from having pets in the first place,” Leinberger said.
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