Hanover County requires that kennel licenses be purchased by Tuesday, Jan. 31.

“We will be checking up on people and enforcing this law,” Animal Control Chief Kevin Kilgore said.

A kennel is defined as any parcel on which five or more adult canines are kept.

If you have a kennel with between five and 20 adult dogs, the cost of a kennel license is $35. It costs $50 to get a license for a kennel with 21 to 50 dogs.

A special exception must be obtained from the Board of Supervisors for any kennel containing more than 50 dogs. Anyone found in violation may be fined and/or relocate and possibly have their animals seized. 

The special exception process should only be considered before obtaining more than 50 dogs. This process includes a public hearing, which may take several weeks to schedule.

All dogs within a kennel must have rabies certificates that are valid for the calendar year.

Copies of valid rabies certificates are required before you can receive the kennel license.

A kennel license application can be downloaded from the Animal Control website at www.co.hanover.va.us/anmlctrol/licenses.htm. A list of places where kennel licenses can be bought can be read on the same webpage.

Kennels are not permitted within any of the following residential zones: R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, R-6, RC, RRC or RS.

For more information, call the Treasurer’s Office at 365-6050 or Animal Control at 365-6485.