Chap. 203.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act approved February 18, 1896,
entitled an act to provide for the protection of domestic animals, and to
authorize and empower the board of control of the experiment station of the
Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College at Blacksburg to establish live
stock quarantine lines, rules and regulations and to prescribe penalties for
violating the same, as amended by an act approved March 6, 1900, and as
further amended by an act approved May 20, 1903, and to repeal sections 2214
and 2215 of the Code of Virginia and section 1599-a of the act approved May
20, 1908, which deal with the same subject.

Approved March 12, 1908.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the act
approved February eighteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, entitled
“an act to provide for the protection of domestic animals, and to au-
thorize and empower the board of control of the experiment station of
the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College at Blacksburg to
establish live stock quarantine lines, rules and regulations, and to pre-
scribe penalties for violating the same,” as amended by an act approved
March sixth, nineteen hundred, and as further amended by an act ap-
proved May twentieth, nineteen hundred and three, be amended and re-
enacted so as to read as follows:

§1599. Agricultural experiment station—The agricultural experi-
ment station established at the said college shall be continued, and the
same to be maintained by such appropriations as the congress of the
United States may make for the purpose.

§1599a. The board of control of the experiment station at the Vir-
ginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute
at Blacksburg is hereby designated as the State live stock sanitary board.

First. It shall be the duty of the said live stock sanitary board to
protect the domestic animals of the State from all contagious and in-
fectious diseases of a malignant character, whether said diseases exist
in the State or elsewhere, and for this purpose they are hereby author-
ized and empowered to establish, maintain and enforce such quarantine
lines and sanitary rules and regulations as they may deem necessary.
It shall also be the duty of the said board to co-operate with live stock
quarantine commissioners and officers of other States and territories,
and with the secretary of agriculture of the United States in establishing
such interstate quarantine lines, rules and regulations as shall best pro-
tect the live stock industry of this State against Texas or splenetic
fever, and other infectious and contagious diseases of domestic animals.

Second. The said board shall employ a qualified veterinarian, who
shall be known as the State veterinarian, whose duty it shall be to carry
out the rules and regulations of the board, and who shall reside at such
point in the State as the board may, from time to time, designate as
most suited to the efficient dispatch of the business of his office. The
board may employ such clerical and other assistants as they may deem
necessary. The board shall have power to carry into effect all orders
given by them, and the expense incurred in the administration of this
act shall be paid out of the treasury of the State upon warrants drawn
by the chairman of the said board.

Third. It shall be the duty of the said board, upon receipt of reliable
information of the existence among domestic animals of the State of
any malignant disease, to cause the State veterinarian to go at once to
the place where any such disease is alleged to exist and make a careful
examination of the animals believed to be affected with such disease, and
ascertain, if possible, what, if any, disease exists among the live stock
reported to be affected, and whether the same is contagious or infectious
and if said disease is found to be of a malignant, contagious or infectious
character they shall direct and enforce such quarantine lines and sanitary
regulations as are necessary to prevent the spread of any such disease.
And no domestic animal infected with disease, or capable of com-
municating the same shall be permitted to enter or leave the district,
premises or grounds so quarantined, except by authority of said board
or its veterinarian.

The said board shall also from time to time give and enforce such
directions and prescribe such rules and regulations as to separating,
feeding and caring for such diseased and exposed animals as they shall
deem necessary to prevent the animals so affected with such disease, or
capable of communicating disease, from coming in contact with other
animals not so affected And the said board and its veterinarian are
hereby authorized and empowered to enter upon any grounds or prem-
ises to carry out the provisions of this act. When the said board shall
hhave determined the quarantine lines and other regulations necessary
to prevent the spread among domestic animals of this State of any
malignant, contagious or infectious disease found to exist among the
live stock of this State or elsewhere, and given their orders as herein-
before provided, prescribing quarantine and other regulations, they shall
notify the governor of the State, who shall issue his proclamation, pro-
claiming the boundary of such quarantine around such diseased stock,
and the orders, rules and regulations prescribed by the board; and said
board shall give such notice as to it may seem best to make the quaran-
tine established by them effective.

Fourth. When said board shall have good reason to believe that the
health of the live stock of the State is endangered.by the existence of
contagious and infectious diseases in certain localities in other States,
territories or counties, or that there are conditions which render such
domestic animals from such infected districts liable to convey such dis-
ease, they shall notify the governor, who shall, by proclamation, prohibit
the importation of any live stock of the kind diseased into the State,
unless accompanied by a certificate of health given by a properly au-
thorized veterinarian, and all such animals arriving in this State shall
be examined immediately by a veterinarian designated by the board;
and if in his opinion there is any danger from contagion or infection,
they shall be placed in close quarantine at the expense of the owner until
such danger of infection or contagion is passed, when they shall be re-
leased by order of the said veterinarian.

Fifth. It shall be the duty of the railway corporations doing business
in the State to cleanse and disinfect the cars used by them in transport-
ing live stock in or through the State at such times and places, and in
such manner as the board may designate, whenever, in the opinion of
the board, any such order may be necessary to prevent the spread of
infectious or contagious disease. Any such corporation violating the
provisions of this section shall be liable to a penalty of five hundred
dollars for each offense, to be recovered in a civil action to be prosecuted
under the direction of the attorney general in the name of the Com-
monwealth of Virginia.

Sixth. Any railroad company, navigation company or other corpora-
tion or common carrier, who shall knowingly or wilfully violate, disre-
gard or evade any of the rules or directions of the board or veterinarian,
establishing or governing quarantine, or who shall evade, or attempt to
evade, any quarantine proclamation of the governor of this State de-
claring quarantine limits, upon conviction thereof shall be fined not
less than five hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars for
each and every offense, and shall be liable for all damages caused to any
live stock by its failure to comply with the requirements of this act.

Seventh. It shall be the duty of any owner or person in charge of any
domestic animal, or animals, who discovers, suspects or has reason to
believe that any of his domestic animals, or domestic animals in his
charge are affected with any contagious or infectious disease, to imme-
diately report such fact, belief or suspicions to the said board and to
the chairman of the board of supervisors of the county in which said
domestic animals are found.

Eighth. The board of supervisors of each county, whenever any cases
of contagious or infectious disease are reported to them in their county,
shall immediately investigate the same. The investigation may be made
by the board of supervisors or any member thereof, or by the employ-
ment of a qualified veterinarian; and should such investigation show a
reasonable probability that a domestic animal is affected with a con-
tagious or infectious disease, the supervisors shall immediately establish
such temporary quarantine as may be necessary to prevent the spread
of the disease, and report all action taken to the State live stock sanitary
board or some member thereof; and the acts of the supervisors estab-
lishing temporary quarantine shall have the same force and effect as
though established by the State live stock sanitary board itself, until
such time as the said State live stock sanitary board shall take charge
of the case, or cases. And that the board of supervisors of each county
be hereby authorized and empowered to quarantine against any other
county in the State of Virginia on account of Texas or splenetic fever
or parasites which may convey said disease, under the supervision of
the State live stock sanitary board or its veterinarian. Before estab-
lishing such county quarantine the board of supervisors shall advise with
the State live stock sanitary board or its veterinarian, and the. county
quarantine established by the board of supervisors shall conform to the
rules and regulations which may be prescribed by the State live stock
sanitary board or its veterinarian. It shall be the duty of the board of
supervisors to rigidly enforce any such quarantine established in their
county, and all expense incurred by the supervisors in carrying out such
quarantine shall be paid in like manner as other expenses incurred by
said supervisors in the discharge of their official duties. The quarantine
established against other infected counties may be so established without
proclamation by the governor.

Ninth. Any person who shall knowingly bring into this State any
domestic animal which is infected with any contagious or infectious
(disease, or any animal which has been exposed to any contagious or
infectious disease, or which bears upon its body fever ticks or other
germs or causes of disease, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum not less than
one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
When cattle are brought into this State from districts south of or
below this State or Federal quarantine line in violation of the authori-
ties, or the board of supervisors acting under the advice of State au-
thorities, the burden of proof shall be on the person or corporation
bringing them to show that said cattle were not transported from below
said quarantine line, or lines.

Wherever in this chapter the word “cattle” is used it shall be read
and construed as if preceded by the word “neat.”

Tenth. Any person who owns or who is in possession of live stock
which is reported to be affected with any contagious or infectious dis-
ease, or insects which may produce disease, who shall refuse to allow
said board, or any one acting under its order, to examine such stock,
or shall hinder or obstruct the said board or appointee in any examina-
tion of or any attempt to examine such stock, shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum
not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.

Eleventh. Any person who shall have in his possession any domestic
animal infected with any contagious or infectious disease or fever ticks,
knowing such animals to be affected, who shall permit such animals to
run at large, or who shall keep such animals where other domestic ani-
mals not affected by or previously exposed to such disease may be ex-
posed to its infection or contagion, or who shall ship, drive, sell, trade
or give away such diseased animal or animals which have been exposed
to such infection or contagion, or who shall move or drive any domestic
animal in violation to any direction, rule, regulation or order of the
State live stock sanitary board, establishing and regulating live stock
quarantine, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon con-
viction thereof, shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars, nor
more than one hundred dollars, for each of such exposed or diseased
domestic animals which he shall permit to run at large or sell, ship,
drive, trade or give away in violation of the provisions of this act: pro-
vided, that the owner of any domestic animals which have been affected
with or exposed to any contagious or infectious disease may dispose of
same after having obtained from the said board or its veterinarian a bill
of health for such animal or animals.

Twelfth. The State live stock sanitary board shall have power to call
upon any sheriff or deputy sheriff or constable to execute their orders,
and such officers shall obey the orders of the said board, and the officer
or ‘officers performing these duties shall each be entitled to one dollar
and fifty cents per day for himself and horse, which payment shall be
made upon his sworn account, approved by the said board: provided,
said expenses under this section shall not exceed in any event five hun-
dred dollars per annum.

Thirteenth. Except as otherwise provided in this act, any person
who shall violate, disregard, evade, or attempt to violate, disregard, or
evade any of its provisions, or who shall violate, disregard or evade,: or
attempt to violate, disregard or evade any of the rules, regulations,
orders or directions of the State live stock sanitary board of establish-
ing and governing quarantine, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum not less than
ten dollars nor more than one hundred dollars.
Fourteenth. Be it further enacted, That the disease known as tuber-
culosis shall be classed as a highly infectious and contagious disease, and
such measures shall be taken by the board and its authorized veterina-
rian, as to them may seem necessary to eradicate and prevent the spread
of said disease.