Henrico officials in talks to create first animal cruelty registry in Virginia

During an Oct. 14 Henrico Board of Supervisors meeting, county staffers presented a proposal to construct Henrico’s first animal cruelty registry, which also would be the first registry of its kind in Virginia.

If approved by the board, the registry would be published on the Henrico Police website and would include the names and photos of people convicted of felonies related to animal cruelty, such as animal fighting or maiming, killing or poisoning an animal, and other violent crimes. Only those convicted in the Henrico court system would be eligible for the registry.

A public registry would make it much easier for animal shelters and adoption centers to vet individuals looking to adopt, said Deputy Chief of Police Todd Alvis. Currently, there is “no way to perform a good background check” on individuals’ history with animals, Alvis said; police and shelters make sure to ask relevant questions, but individuals could always be dishonest with their answers.

“The whole purpose for the registry is to ensure that those people who are committing violent acts against animals don’t have the opportunity to adopt animals, especially from a Henrico shelter,” Alvis said. “We really want to adopt out of the betterment of the animals. So it’s really a prevention tool.”

County officials hope that the registry not only would deter crimes against animals, but also prevent an escalation in violence, said Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor. Animal abuse can be an early indicator of other violent crimes, such as child abuse, sexual assault, and homicide, she said.

“Not only are we concerned about the cruelty being impacted on animals, we also know that there’s research that talks about [animal cruelty] being a precursor to other types of abusive behavior,” Taylor said. “So we are very interested in making sure that we are being aggressive in this initiative.”

Through legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2024, any locality in the state is authorized to create a local animal cruelty registry of people who were convicted of a felony on or after July 1, 2024. In Henrico, five people currently meet that requirement, with 10 more felony animal cruelty cases pending.

Henrico Police’s Animal Protection unit “works daily” on investigating serious crimes against animals, according to Police Captain Geoffrey Greene. 

Henrico’s creation of an animal cruelty registry could inspire other nearby localities to create their own registries, Greene said, and may even lead to a statewide registry. Leaders from Hanover County, Richmond, and the Virginia State Police have all expressed interest in forming their own registries, he said, and are looking to Henrico to be the first.

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.