House 4054

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4054

By Delegate Pritt

[Introduced January 14, 2026; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend and reenact §19-20-20 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to prohibiting the keeping any vicious pet and permitting a vicious pet to be killed.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 20. DOGS, AND CATS, and other pets.

§19-20-20. Keeping vicious dogs pets; humane officers may kill such dogs pets.

Except as provided in section twenty-one of this article §19-20-21 of this code, no person shall own, keep, or harbor any dog pet known by him or her to be vicious, dangerous, or in the habit of biting or attacking other persons people, whether or not such dog pet wears a tag or muzzle. Upon satisfactory proof before a circuit court or magistrate that such dog pet is vicious, dangerous, or in the habit of biting or attacking other persons people or other dogs or animals, the judge may authorize the humane officer to cause such dog pet to be killed.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the ownership of any vicious pet.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.