Angelica Ramos
Contributing Writer
BLACKSBURG- The Blacksburg Town Council voted to approve Ordinance 2067 which amended parts of the town code pertaining to the keeping of animals and fowl.
The issue was brought to the Town of Blacksburg’s attention that some residents own hogs that are not for farm use; they are instead raised as pets. In the past, exceptions have been granted for those families that have pigs as pets, but Ordinance 2067 would simply repeal that part of the town code.
Originally Section 5-105 read: “Any person who shall keep a hog in the town, except in an agricultural, forestal, or agricultural or forestal district established by the town council pursuant to chapter 3 of this Code, shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. The word “hog” shall include all hogs and pigs regardless of age or size. The town manager shall require the keeper of a hog in violation of this section to remove it from the town.”
Now that it is repealed, that part of the code has been withdrawn formally.
Ordinance 2067 also refines the Dangerous Animals policy, which specifically states what is considered a dangerous animal and how those animals are allowed within the Town of Blacksburg or not. Part of that refinement clarifies types of fowl that are not considered dangerous and that one may be legally allowed to own in the Town of Blacksburg.
This section of the ordinance states, “Ownership of a falcon, hawk or owl as permitted by Virginia Code § 29.1-419.”
Lawrence “Larry” Spencer, Town Attorney, said during the public hearing for Ordinance 2067, “We don’t really have a lot of people coming in and doing this. The [town] manager got an inquiry regarding this probably six months ago, it’s kind of just taken a while, with conversation back and forth with the owner and a light going off in my head about how we could solve this issue, but in this case, the person owns, I believe, it’s a falcon. The falcon, it’s not something that you could go to the falcon store and get; it’s highly regulated by the state, as well as hawks and owls. We think that it’s sufficient to rely on the state regulations, inspections and things like that, so the code will change so that there’s an exception for ownership of a falcon, hawk or owl as permitted by the state code that regulates them.”
Aside from hogs and falcons, Ordinance 2067 also clarifies the leash law for dogs to explain that “other means of restraint that are not harmful to the dog” does not include voice commands, electronic or training devices in that law. The dog still needs to be on some sort of physical leash when off the owner’s personal property.
The Blacksburg Town Council voted to approve these changes and adopt Ordinance 2067, with Council Member Susan Mattingly saying, “I think it’s really cool that we have a falcon in town.”
