Metro Richmond is leading Virginia's animal cruelty registry effort

State of play: Chesterfield's registry went live on June 6, county animal services manager Lt. Carrie Jones tells Axios.

• Like Richmond's and Henrico's, the registry was created under a state law that went into effect last year.

How it works: The registry includes people convicted of felony animal cruelty offenses, including animal fighting and killing, poisoning or permanently injuring animals.

• It also includes the offender's name, address, offense and conviction date.
• And it will eventually include all convictions going back to Jan. 1, 2009, per the county. Henrico's goes back to 2024 and Richmond's to 2005.

Zoom in: Two offenders are on Chesterfield's registry as of this week: one person convicted of animal cruelty causing death in 2018 and another for dog fighting in 2020.

• But additions could be coming, including "a few pending court disposition," Jones tells Axios.
• "As we have more felony convictions, they will automatically be uploaded to the registry," she adds.

The fine print: Offenders can request removal through the county if it's been 15 years since their conviction — and they've had no additional animal cruelty felony convictions since, per state law.