Title 20, Title 20: Internal Security and Public Safety

§ 3548. Application to unorganized towns and gores; supervisors The provisions of subchapters 1, 2, 4, and 5 of this chapter shall apply to unorganized towns and gores, and the duties imposed upon municipal clerks by this chapter shall, in unorganized towns and gores, be performe…

§ 3549. Domestic pets or wolf-hybrids; regulation by towns The legislative body of a city or town by ordinance may regulate the licensing, keeping, leashing, muzzling, restraint, impoundment, and destruction of domestic pets or wolf-hybrids and their running at large, except that…

§ 3550. Penalties; enforcement; municipal legislative body; Secretary (a) A municipal legislative body or an officer designated by the Secretary may impose a civil penalty of up to $500.00 per violation in accordance with the provisions of this section. (b) A municipal legislativ…

§ 3551. Search warrants An officer who has attempted to seize a domestic pet or wolf-hybrid under section 3546, 3549, 3624, 3806, or 3807 of this chapter and has not been permitted to search for or take the animal, may apply to a judicial officer authorized to issue search warran…

§ 3581. General requirements (a) A person who is the owner of a dog or wolf-hybrid more than six months old shall annually on or before April 1 cause it to be registered, numbered, described, and licensed on a form approved by the Secretary for one year from that day in the offic…

§ 3581a. Immunization (a) An owner of a domestic pet or wolf-hybrid shall have that animal inoculated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with section 3581 of this title, if applicable, and with rules adopted by the Secretary. (b) No rabies vaccine may be used…

§ 3582. Dogs or wolf-hybrids obtained after April 1 A person who becomes the owner after April 1 of a dog or wolf-hybrid six months old or older that has not been licensed, or a person who owns, keeps, or harbors a dog or wolf-hybrid that becomes six months old after April 1, sha…

§ 3583. Domestic pets and wolf-hybrids kept for breeding purposes (a) The owner or keeper of domestic pets and wolf-hybrids kept for breeding purposes may take out annually, on or before April 1, a special license for the domestic pets or wolf-hybrids, provided: (1) He or she kee…

§ 3587. Dogs brought into State Without obtaining a Vermont license, a person may bring or cause to be brought into the State for a period not exceeding 90 days one or more licensed dog or dogs bearing the identification of the owner, provided that the owner possesses a certifica…

§ 3588. Issuance of licenses; record of licenses Municipal clerks shall issue licenses and receive the money for the license, and pay the amount received into the municipal treasury within 60 days of receipt, retaining to their own use $2.00 for each license or permit, and shall …

§ 3589. Record of licenses Municipal clerks shall also keep a record of licenses issued by them, with the names of the owners or keepers of the dogs or wolf-hybrids licensed and the names registered numbers, and descriptions of such dogs or wolf-hybrids. (Amended 1993, No. 213 (A…

§ 3590. List of dogs and wolf-hybrids not licensed (a) The legislative body shall annually designate one or more persons to maintain a list of unlicensed, inoculated, and licensed dogs and wolf-hybrids owned or kept in their municipality and to submit the list to the municipal cl…

§ 3591. Transfer of license A license from a municipal clerk shall be valid in any part of the State and may be transferred with the dog or wolf-hybrid licensed, provided such license is recorded by the clerk of the municipality where such dog or wolf-hybrid is kept. (Amended 199…

§ 3621. Issuance of warrant to impound; complaint (a)(1) The legislative body of a municipality may at any time issue a warrant to one or more police officers, constables, pound keepers, or appointed animal control officers, directing them to promptly impound all dogs or wolf-hyb…

§ 3622. Form of warrant Such warrant shall be in the following form: State of Vermont: ) ) __________ County, ss. ) To ________________ , constable or police officer of the town or city of _________________ : By the authority of the State of Vermont, you are hereby commanded to i…

§ 3623. Constable to make complaints A constable to whom a warrant has been issued pursuant to section 3621 of this subchapter shall make complaints required by the warrant to the designee of the legislative body of the municipality. (Amended 2017, No. 93 (Adj. Sess.), § 17; 2021…

§ 3624. Who may destroy; fees (a) A police officer or constable shall humanely destroy or cause to be destroyed dogs or wolf-hybrids whenever a warrant has been issued authorizing such actions, except as exempted by section 3587 of this title. Any action must be taken within 90 d…

§ 3625. Return by officers Each police officer or constable to whom a warrant is issued pursuant to section 3621 of this subchapter shall make the return directed by the warrant to the authority issuing the warrant within 90 days from its date. (Amended 1977, No. 215 (Adj. Sess.)…

§ 3626. Certificate to State’s Attorney The selectboard or mayor shall annually, within ten days from July 25, transmit a certificate, subscribed and sworn to, of the fact of the issue of such warrant, and whether the same has been duly executed and returned agreeably to the prov…

§ 3681. Pet dealer permit A pet dealer shall apply to the municipal clerk of the town or city in which the cats, dogs, or wolf-hybrids are kept for a pet dealer permit to be issued on forms prescribed by the Secretary and pay the clerk a fee of $25.00 for the permit. A pet dealer…

§ 3682. Inspection of premises (a) The pet dealer’s premises may be inspected upon the issuance of the pet dealer permit or at any time the pet dealer permit is in effect. Inspections may be conducted by a municipal animal control officer, a law enforcement officer as that term i…

§ 3683. Quarantine of premises In the event such officer, representative, or agent and veterinarian shall find that domestic pets or wolf-hybrids are kept under unsanitary or inhumane conditions, that there is communicable disease among them, or that the condition of the domestic…

§ 3684. Offenses; bill of costs in prosecution The person operating a kennel who is found to have neglected to remedy conditions specified in a quarantine order issued pursuant to section 3683 of this subchapter, other than the prevalence of contagious disease, within ten days af…

§ 3748. Action by sheep owner against dog owner If sheep are worried, wounded, or killed by a dog, the owner or keeper of such dog, whether it is accustomed to worry, wound, or kill sheep or not, shall pay to the owner of such sheep double the damages sustained, to be recovered i…

§ 3749. Bounty on dog killing or worrying sheep Selectboard may offer a bounty of $5.00 for anyone killing a dog caught in the act of killing or worrying sheep.

§ 3801. Rabies control authority (a) In the event of an outbreak of rabies, the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets, the Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife, and the Commissioner of Health shall work together to assist the affected towns. In addition to the responsibilities …

§ 3802. Quarantine With the approval of the Governor, a town, county, or the entire State may be placed under quarantine for such time as may be considered necessary by the Commissioner of Health or the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets. (Amended 1993, No. 213 (Adj. Sess…

§ 3803. Notice When a quarantine is established as provided in section 3802 of this title, notice of such quarantine shall be sent to the selectboard chairs, mayors, health officers, and to the town clerk of each municipality in the quarantined area. Notice of such quarantine sha…

§ 3806. Confining or impounding a domestic pet or wolf-hybrid (a) Any person authorized to enforce State livestock disease control, health, wildlife, or criminal laws and any person authorized to enforce local ordinances may confine or impound any domestic pet or wolf-hybrid when…

§ 3807. Killing a domestic pet or wolf-hybrid (a) When the legislative body, a municipal officer designated by the legislative body, the Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Commissioner of the Department of Health, or the Secretary of the Agency of Agricultur…

§ 3808. Fees for killing domestic pets or wolf-hybrids Officers shall be entitled to the same fees for killing domestic pets or wolf-hybrids under the provisions of this subchapter as are provided in section 3624 of this title. The owner of an impounded domestic pet or wolf-hybri…

§ 3809. Killing a domestic pet or wolf-hybrid that attacks a person or domestic animal Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as preventing any person from killing a suspected rabid domestic pet or wolf-hybrid that attacks a person, another domestic pet or wolf-hybrid, or …

§ 3811. Carcass disposal In order to protect the public health, the legislative body of a municipality or a municipal officer designated by the legislative body may dispose of the carcass of any animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies through incineration. Disposal of a…

§ 3812. Immunity from liability for volunteers Any person who as a volunteer conducts or assists at a nonprofit public clinic for inoculating domestic pets, wolf-hybrids, and domestic animals against rabies shall not be liable to any other person for injuries resulting from the l…

§ 3813. Vaccination administration (a) The Commissioner may purchase rabies vaccine for distribution at reduced cost to the public through rabies clinics. (b) The Commissioner shall ensure that reduced cost rabies clinics take place in all geographic areas of the State and shall …

§ 3814. Findings The General Assembly finds: (1) The supply of dogs, cats, and wolf-hybrids in Vermont is a major concern. (2) There are insufficient resources in this State to care for or provide homes for these animals. (3) Many of these animals are ultimately euthanized or bec…

§ 3815. Dog, cat, and wolf-hybrid spaying and neutering program (a) The Agency of Human Services shall administer a dog, cat, and wolf-hybrid spaying and neutering program providing reduced-cost spaying and neutering services and presurgical immunization for dogs, cats, and wolf-…

§ 3816. Animal Spaying And Neutering Fund; creation (a) There is created, pursuant to 32 V.S.A. chapter 7, subchapter 5, in the Agency of Human Services the Dog, Cat, and Wolf-Hybrid Spaying and Neutering Special Fund to finance the costs of the dog, cat, and wolf-hybrid spaying …

§ 3817. Rules; adoption authority The Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets may adopt rules to implement this subchapter. (Added 2003, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 39.)