Henrico County begins process to establish local animal cruelty registry

At a 6 p.m. Henrico Board of Supervisors meeting Oct. 28, county staffers will introduce an ordinance to establish Virginia’s first local animal cruelty registry in Henrico.

The board next would hold a public hearing and then vote on the ordinance at a Dec. 2 meeting. If approved, the registry would include the names and photos of people convicted in Henrico’s court system of felonies related to animal cruelty, such as animal fighting or maiming, killing or poisoning an animal, and other violent crimes.

The registry, which would be the first established by any Virginia locality, would help local animal shelters better vet individuals looking to adopt, according to Henrico Deputy Chief of Police Todd Alvis.

Other items the board will vote on during Tuesday’s meeting include:

• a $16.9-million contract to construct a new parkway over Interstate 95 between Englewood Farms Drive and Scott Road, which would be completed in November of 2027;

• an $8.4-million annual contract for water and sanitary sewer repairs and improvements across the county;

• a $2.9-million annual contract for various types of road, drainage, and maintenance projects in the county;

• a $2.3-million contract to renovate the Henrico Animal Shelter on Woodman Road;

• a $2 million contract amendment to continue consulting services for the county’s Public Safety Communications System project, which is scheduled to be completed in May of 2028;

• a $1.3-million contract to make improvements to the Woodman Department of Public Works building;

• an $875,000 grant agreement with the Capital Region Land Conservancy to support the conservation of land adjacent to Roslyn Hills Park for public park and recreation purposes.

At a 3:45 p.m. special meeting on Tuesday, the board also will meet to hear an update on Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority automatic tolling, information on Vera Health, and to convene a closed session with legal counsel.

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.