It shall be unlawful for any person at any time or in any manner to hunt, pursue, take, capture, wound, maim, disfigure, or kill any homing pigeon of another person, or to make use of any pit or pitfall, scaffold, cage, snare, trap, net, baited hook or similar device or drug, poison chemical or explosive, for the purpose of injuring, capturing or killing any such homing pigeon, provided that any officer, employee or agent of a city or county acting pursuant to authority of an ordinance thereof may take, capture and kill pigeons in, on and about any building or structure devoted to business, commercial or industrial purposes when any pigeons are using such premises for roosting, resting or congregating thereon; all pigeons taken upon such premises shall be conclusively deemed not to be homing pigeons or the property of any person.

Attorney's Note

Under the Virginia Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class 3 misdemeanorup to $500
For details, see Va. Code § 18.2-11

Have a question?
Click here to chat with a criminal defense lawyer and protect your rights.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 18.2-145

  • City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230

Any person violating any of the foregoing provisions shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

Code 1950, § 18.1-160; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15.