Michael Phillips

Henrico County Approves Animal Cruelty Registry — What It Means for Public Safety and Why Citizens Should Pay Attention

By Michael Phillips | VABayNews

Henrico County has taken a historic step for animal welfare and community safety. On December 2, 2025, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to establish a public animal cruelty registry—making Henrico the first county in Central Virginia, and second locality after the City of Richmond, to deploy this tool.

The registry aims to do more than protect animals. Local prosecutors, police, and advocates say it also strengthens public safety, because animal cruelty is often a precursor to violence against people. For Henrico residents, this new registry is both a moral stance and a practical safeguard.

Why This Registry Matters

Henrico’s move builds on 2024 state legislation that gave localities the authority—not the mandate—to create public registries of individuals convicted of felony-level animal cruelty. These crimes include:

  • Animal fighting
  • Maiming or torturing an animal
  • Killing or poisoning an animal
  • Injuring or killing a police animal

The implementation follows months of hearings, expert testimony, legal review, and rising concern over the connection between animal abuse and escalating human violence, documented by research from the FBI and multiple national organizations.

Supervisors stressed that protecting animals protects families — especially children — because individuals who engage in severe cruelty often graduate to domestic violence, child abuse, and other violent crimes.

What the Registry Will Include

Hosted on the Henrico Police Department’s website, the registry will list:

  • Full name of the offender
  • Address at time of conviction
  • Type of offense
  • Date and location of conviction

Only text-based information will appear. Although the law permits photographs, the Board removed images in response to racial bias concerns. Supervisor Roscoe Nelson warned that mugshots disproportionately portray people of color as dangerous and introduce unequal stigma.

The goal, officials said, is accurate vetting without racial profiling.

Who Will Be Listed — and For How Long

  • Only felony convictions on or after July 1, 2024 qualify.
  • Henrico currently has five individuals who meet the criteria; each will be formally notified before their information goes public.
  • Listings are indefinite, unless the offender petitions for removal after 15 years with no further qualifying offenses.

Adoption sites, shelters, and rescue groups will be able to screen potential adopters more effectively, reducing the risk of animals landing back in harmful situations.

Why Henrico Acted Now

The Board’s vote follows a surge in cases since Virginia’s new laws took effect. Prosecutors reported:

  • A repeat offender who starved multiple dogs
  • A stabbing of a crated family dog
  • A man shooting a 6-year-old’s puppy in front of her
  • A couple who confined 23 cats in a vehicle, resulting in four deaths

Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor called the registry “a frontline defense against escalating violence,” pointing out that the county has seen more high-severity animal cruelty cases in just over a year than in several previous years combined.

Advocates from Richmond Animal Care and Control testified that offenders often move across city or county lines, avoiding detection and adopting new animals in jurisdictions unaware of their history. The registry closes this loophole.

Henrico’s Process — From Proposal to Law

  • October 14, 2025: Taylor and Deputy Police Chief Todd Alvis proposed the registry.
  • October 28, 2025: Formal ordinance introduced; public hearing set.
  • November 18, 2025: Ordinance published for public notice.
  • December 2, 2025: Board votes 5–0 to adopt.

Unlike other hot-button issues heard the same night (such as a Dominion solar farm debate), no resident objected to the registry. The measure enjoyed universal public support.

Does It Go Far Enough?

Not everyone thinks so.

Organizations like the ASPCA warn that registries capture only a slice of the problem:

  • Fewer than one-third of household pets come from shelters.
  • Abusers could still acquire animals through breeders, online marketplaces, or private sales.

They urge complementary reforms like:

  • No-contact orders with animals
  • Mental-health evaluations
  • Lifetime ownership bans for repeat offenders

Virginia passed a related law — HB223 — empowering courts to ban convicted offenders from owning pets, in some cases for life. Henrico’s registry will help identify those eligible for such bans.

A Regional Network May Be Next

Henrico officials have already begun working toward a multi-county system, with interest from:

  • Richmond
  • Hanover
  • Chesterfield

The goal is simple: prevent offenders from “shopping” for animals in neighboring jurisdictions.

A unified Metro Richmond Animal Cruelty Database could be operating as early as mid-2026.

A Model for the Commonwealth

Virginia’s 2024 laws made registries optional. Henrico’s move may inspire:

  • Other counties to launch their own databases
  • A future push for a statewide animal cruelty registry
  • More consistent tracking across courts, shelters, and law enforcement

Given the statewide rise in animal neglect and violent abuse cases, momentum is likely to build.

What Citizens Should Know

  • The registry will be public and online through the Henrico Police website.
  • It is focused strictly on serious, felony-level cruelty—not minor infractions or neglect.
  • It is designed to protect animals and families, not perpetuate stigma or unfair targeting.
  • Henrico residents overwhelmingly support the move, and more localities may soon follow.

Where to Learn More

The registry will be available at:
henrico.gov/police

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