Section 20. General provisions

A. Persons holding animals listed in subsection G of this section in Virginia for the purpose of recreational shooting must make application for and obtain an annual shooting enclosure license from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). A topographic map showing the boundaries of the fenced shooting enclosure and a contingency plan that they are capable of executing, specifying how they will eradicate and control any disease outbreak or recover escaped animals must accompany the application for a license.

B. Applicants must state on the application that the shooting enclosure complies with all county and city ordinances and statutes.

C. No license shall be issued without prior inspection and approval from a representative of VDACS. The applicant must contact the regional veterinary supervisor in the respective region to schedule an appointment for the inspection.

D. A one-time application fee plus an annual license fee as set forth in § 3.2-6038 of the Code of Virginia will be required of each licensee.

E. Operators of a shooting enclosure shall be liable for all costs incurred by any person, city, county, the Commonwealth of Virginia or federal government, resulting from escape of animals or disease eradication or control efforts resulting from animals confined to or escaped from the shooting enclosure.

F. Operators of shooting enclosures must notify VDACS Regional Veterinary Supervisor within 24 hours of first discovering a diseased, dead, or escaped animal; and the carcass must be submitted to the nearest VDACS regional laboratory for necropsy.

G. Animals allowed under a shooting enclosure permit are restricted to the following:

1. Goats: Ibex (Capra ibex), Iranian Ibex (C. hircus), Angora (C. hircus);

2. Sheep: Four-horned or Jacob's (Ovis aries), Black Hawaiian (O. musimon), Corsican (O. corsican), Merino (O. aries), Mouflon (O. musimon); and

3. Swine: Swine (Sus scrofa).

H. A shooting enclosure shall have a minimum of 100 adjoining acres. The applicant shall own or have the area under written lease. Shooting enclosures not contiguous with each other shall be operated under separate licenses.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 14, Issue 19, eff. July 8, 1998; amended, Virginia Register Volume 25, Issue 11, eff. March 4, 2009.

Statutory Authority

§ 3.2-6039 of the Code of Virginia.