Chapter 145 |
2019 -- S 0699 SUBSTITUTE B Enacted 07/08/2019 |
A N A C T |
RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY |
Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, Ciccone, Pearson, Lombardo, and Goodwin |
Date Introduced: March 21, 2019 |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
SECTION 1. Sections 4-19-1, 4-19-2, 4-19-4, 4-19-5, 4-19-5.1, 4-19-6, 4-19-7, 4-19-8, |
4-19-10, 4-19-16 and 4-19-20 of the General Laws in Chapter 4-19 entitled "Animal Care" are |
hereby amended to read as follows: |
4-19-1. Purpose. |
The purpose of this chapter is: |
(1) To protect the owners of dogs and cats from the sale or use of stolen pets; |
(2) To ensure that all warm-blooded, vertebrate animals, in the care of facilities licensed |
or registered under this chapter, are provided humane care and treatment by regulating the |
transportation, sale, purchase, housing, care, handling, and treatment of these animals by persons |
or organizations engaged in transporting, selling, handling, housing, and care of these animals; |
(3) To ensure that animals confined in pet shops, kennels, animal shelters, auction |
markets, breeding facilities, and pounds are provided humane care and treatment; |
(4) To release for sale, trade, or adoption only those animals that appear to be free of |
infection, communicable disease, or abnormalities, unless veterinary care subsequent to release is |
assured; and |
(5) To ensure the spaying and neutering of dogs and cats that are adopted from a |
releasing agency; |
(6) To increase transparency concerning where pet shops source dogs and cats; and |
(7) To ensure pet shops can also source puppies and kittens from rescues and shelters to |
help provide homes for puppies and kittens in need. |
4-19-2. Definitions. |
As used in this chapter, chapter 13 of this title, and the regulations promulgated under |
this chapter: |
(1) "Adequate feed" means the provision at suitable intervals, not to exceed twenty-four |
(24) hours, of a quantity of wholesome foodstuff suitable for the species and age, sufficient to |
maintain a reasonable level of nutrition in each animal. The foodstuff shall be served in a |
sanitized receptacle, dish, or container. |
(2) "Adequate veterinary care" means care by a licensed veterinarian sufficient to prevent |
the animal from experiencing unnecessary or unjustified physical pain or suffering. |
(3) "Adequate water" means a constant access to a sufficient supply of clean, fresh, |
potable water provided in a sanitary manner and provided at suitable intervals for the species to |
maintain the health of the animal(s) and not to exceed twenty-four (24) hours at any interval. |
(4) "Adopt" means when an adopting party voluntarily acquires and assumes |
responsibility for an animal from a releasing agency that is properly licensed or registered by the |
department. |
(5) "Adopting party" means any person who enters into a contract acquiring an animal |
from a releasing agency that is properly licensed or registered by the department. |
(6) "Ambient temperature" means the temperature surrounding the animal. |
(7) "Animal" means any dog or cat, rabbit, rodent, nonhuman primate, bird or other |
warm-blooded vertebrate, amphibian, fish, or reptile but shall not include horses, cattle, sheep, |
goats, swine, and domestic fowl. |
(8) "Animal rescue" or "rescue" means an entity, without a physical brick-and-mortar |
facility, that is owned, operated, or maintained by a duly incorporated humane society, animal |
welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit organization |
devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals intended for adoption. |
(9) "Animal shelter" means a brick-and-mortar facility that is used to house or contain |
animals and that is owned, operated, or maintained by a duly incorporated humane society, |
animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit |
organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals. |
(10) "Breeder" means a person engaged in the propagation of purebred or crossbred dogs |
and/or cats for the purpose of improving and enhancing a breed recognized and registered by the |
American Kennel Club, American Field Stud Book, a registered cat breed association, or for sale |
at wholesale or retail, unless otherwise exempted as a hobby breeder as defined below. |
(11) "Broker" means any third party who arranges, delivers, or otherwise facilitates |
transfer of ownership of animal(s), through adoption or fostering, from one party to another, |
whether or not the party receives a fee for providing that service and whether or not the party |
takes physical possession of the animal(s) at any point. |
(12) "Dealer" means any person who sells, exchanges, or donates, or offers to sell, |
exchange, or donate, animals to another dealer, pet shop, or research facility, or who breeds |
animals for the purpose of selling or donating to another dealer or pet shop or research facility. |
(13) "Director" means the director of environmental management of the state of Rhode |
Island. |
(14) "Dog officer" or "animal-control officer" means any person employed, contracted, or |
appointed by the state, or any political subdivision of the state, for the purpose of aiding in the |
enforcement of this chapter or any other law or ordinance relating to the licensing of dogs, cats, |
or other animals; the control of dogs, cats, or other animals; or the seizure and impoundment of |
dogs, cats, or other animals and includes any state or municipal peace officer, animal-control |
officer, sheriff, constable, or other employee whose duties, in whole or in part, include |
assignments that involve the seizure or taking into custody of any dog, cat, or other animal. |
(15) "Euthanasia" means the humane destruction of an animal accomplished by a method |
that involves instantaneous unconsciousness and immediate death or by a method that involves |
anesthesia, produced by an agent that causes painless loss of consciousness and death during that |
loss of consciousness. |
(16) "Guardian" shall mean a person(s) having the same rights and responsibilities of an |
owner, and both terms shall be used interchangeably. A guardian shall also mean a person who |
possesses; has title to or an interest in; harbors or has control, custody, or possession of an animal |
and who is responsible for an animal's safety and well-being. |
(17) "Hobby breeder" means those persons whose regular occupation is not the breeding |
and raising of dogs and cats and whose method of sale is at retail only. A hobby breeder shall not |
exceed the limits set forth in § 4-25-1(4). Any person who sells at retail a number in excess of the |
limits in the aforementioned section shall be considered a breeder. |
(18) "Housing facility" means any room, building, or area used to contain a primary |
enclosure or enclosures. |
(19) "Kennel" means a place or establishment, other than a pound or animal shelter, or |
veterinary hospital that is housing animals during their treatment, where animals not owned by |
the proprietor are sheltered, fed, and watered in return for a fee. This definition shall not apply to |
the following: |
sheltering (i) Sheltering, feeding, and watering in return for a fee in a residential setting, |
of no more than four (4) animals not owned by the proprietor, subject to any applicable municipal |
ordinance that may be more restrictive; |
(ii) Any entity that sells a dog or cat. |
(20) "Licensed releasing agency" means any animal shelter, animal-rescue, pound, |
animal-control officer, or broker that is required to be licensed or registered with the director |
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and is so licensed or registered. |
(21) "Neuter" means to surgically render a male dog or cat unable to reproduce. |
(22) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, joint stock company, corporation, |
association, trust, estate, or other legal entity. |
(23) "Pet shop" means a temporary or permanent an establishment where animals are |
bought, sold, exchanged, or offered for sale or exchange to the general public at retail. This shall |
not include an establishment or person whose total sales are the offspring of canine or feline |
females maintained on their premises and sold from those premises and does not exceed the limits |
set forth in § 4-25-1(4). |
(24) "Pound" or "dog pound" means a facility operated by a state, or any political |
subdivision of a state, for the purpose of impounding or harboring seized, stray, homeless, |
abandoned, or unwanted dogs, cats, and other animals or a facility operated for that purpose under |
a contract with any municipal corporation or incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to |
animals. |
(25) "Primary enclosure" or "enclosure" means the most proximal barrier to an animal |
that will have the intended purpose or effect of containment of that animal or that will effectively |
restrict the liberty of the animal. |
(26) "Public auction" means any place or location where dogs or cats are sold at auction |
to the highest bidder regardless of whether those dogs or cats are offered as individuals, as a |
group, or by weight. |
(27) "Research facility" means any place, laboratory, or institution at which scientific |
tests, investigations, or experiments, involving the use of living animals, are carried out, |
conducted, or attempted. |
(28) "Sanitize" means to make physically clean and to remove and destroy, to a practical |
minimum, agents injurious to health. |
(29) "Sexual maturity" means when a dog or cat reaches six (6) months. In all instances, |
the licensed, releasing agency or a licensed veterinarian will determine the age of the dog or cat. |
(30) "Spay" means to surgically render a female dog or cat unable to reproduce. |
(31) "State veterinarian" means a licensed veterinarian from the department of |
environmental management. |
4-19-4. Registration of animal shelters, rescues, and brokers. |
No person shall operate an animal shelter, rescue, or as a broker unless a certificate of |
registration for that animal shelter, rescue, or broker has been granted by the director. Application |
for that certificate shall be made in the manner provided by the director. No fee is required for the |
application or certificate. Certificates of registration are valid for a period of one year, or until |
revoked, and may be renewed annually on the first day of January for like periods upon |
application in the manner provided. |
4-19-5. Pet shop licenses. |
No person shall operate a pet shop, as defined in this chapter, unless a license to operate |
that establishment shall have been granted by the director. Application for that license shall be |
made in the manner provided by the director. The license period is the state's fiscal year and the |
license fee is one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each license period or partial period part thereof |
beginning with the first day of the fiscal year. |
4-19-5.1. Breeder licenses. |
No person shall act as a breeder, as defined in § 4-19-2, unless in possession of a valid |
license to operate as a breeder granted by the director. Application for that license shall be made |
in the manner provided by the director. The license period is the state's fiscal year and the license |
fee is one hundred dollars ($100) for each license period or partial period part thereof beginning |
with the first day of the fiscal year. |
4-19-6. Public auction and kennel licenses. |
(a) No person shall operate a public auction or a kennel, as defined in this chapter, unless |
a license to operate that establishment has been granted by the director. Application for the |
license shall be made in the manner provided by the director. The license period is the fiscal year |
and the license fee shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) for each license period or part thereof beginning |
with the first day of the fiscal year. |
(b) This section shall not be interpreted to interfere in any manner with the issuing of a |
public auction or kennel license by any city or town, nor any fee charged by any city or town. No |
license shall be issued by the director except for those premises as shall be designated for the |
licensure by the respective city or town council. |
(c) Pursuant to § 4-19-2(19), any person who provides the sheltering, feeding, and |
watering in return for a fee in a residential setting of no more than four (4) animals not owned by |
the proprietor is: |
(1) Exempt from licensure as a kennel under this chapter; and |
(2) Subject to inspection by an authorized agent of the department of environmental |
management (hereinafter "the department") upon the department receiving a written complaint |
against the person. Only complaints related to animal care, animal health, and animal welfare |
may initiate an inspection. Any inspection that is conducted by the department shall be conducted |
during the hours of eight o'clock a.m. (8:00 a.m.) through five o'clock p.m. (5:00 p.m.), unless the |
person who is the subject of the complaint agrees to an inspection at another time; and |
(3) Required to be compliant with the department's rules and regulations governing |
animal care facilities, RICR 250-RICR-40-05-4, §§ 4.7 and 4.8.A.1 through 8 (excluding the |
sanitation log requirements of § 4.8.A.3). Any inspection conducted by an authorized agent of the |
department shall be limited to the aforementioned sections and shall be limited to areas to which |
the animals being cared for have access. Any violations of these sections are punishable in |
accordance with § 4.12 of the rules and regulations governing animal care facilities and any |
appeal for any enforcement action shall be made in accordance with § 4.11.B of those rules and |
regulations; and |
(4) Any person who is subject to inspection pursuant to the conditions set forth in |
subsection (c)(2), but who denies access to authorized inspectors from the department, is subject |
to a civil fine of three hundred fifty dollars ($350). Each day that access is denied shall constitute |
a separate punishable offense. |
4-19-7. Dealer licenses. |
No person shall be operate as a dealer, as defined in this chapter, after the first day of the |
fiscal year unless a license to deal has been granted by the director to that person. Application for |
the license shall be made in the manner provided by the director. The license period is the fiscal |
year and the license fee is one hundred dollars ($100) for each license period or part thereof |
beginning with the first day of the fiscal year. |
4-19-8. Denial of certificates of registration or licenses. |
(a) A certificate of registration may be denied to any pound or animal shelter, rescue, or |
broker, and a license may be denied to any public auction, kennel, breeder, pet shop, or dealer or, |
if granted, the certificate or license may be revoked by the director if, after a hearing, it is |
determined that the housing facilities and/or primary enclosures are inadequate for the purposes |
of this chapter or if the feeding, watering, sanitizing, and housing practices at the pound, animal |
shelter, public auction, pet shop, or kennel are not consistent with the intent of this chapter or |
with the intent of the rules and regulations that may be promulgated pursuant to the authority of |
this chapter. |
(b) Upon revocation of a certificate of registration, all animals in the possession of the |
pound, rescue, broker, or animal shelter must be transferred to another licensed releasing agency |
for disposition. |
(c) Upon the revocation of a license, all animals in the possession of the public auction, |
kennel, pet shop, breeder, or dealer must be disposed of by the former licensee in a manner |
approved by the department. Such disposition must not be for profit and must occur in a |
timeframe that is determined by the department. Inspectors from the department or from the |
Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals must have access to the facility |
where the animals being housed by the former licensee are being held until disposition so that the |
welfare of said animals can be assured. |
4-19-10. Dealing in animals without a license. |
Any person dealing in who operates as a dealer of animals, as defined in this chapter, |
without a currently valid license shall, upon conviction, plea of guilty, or plea of nolo contendere, |
be punished pursuant to § 4-19-11.3. Each day of operation shall constitute a separate offense. |
4-19-16. Mandatory spaying and neutering of dogs and cats adopted from a licensed |
releasing agency. |
(a)(1) No licensed releasing agency shall release, sell, trade, give away, exchange, adopt |
out, or otherwise transfer, with or without a fee, any dog or cat that has not been spayed or |
neutered unless the adopting party executes a written agreement with the licensed releasing |
agency to have the dog or cat spayed or neutered in accordance with subdivisions (2) and (3) of |
this section subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3). |
(2) The licensed releasing agency is authorized to enter into a written adoption agreement |
with the adopting party provided that at the time of execution of the written agreement, the |
licensed releasing agency collect from the adopting party an amount equal to the cost to the |
licensed releasing agency for the spaying or neutering of the dog or cat to be adopted. The written |
agreement must include the dog or cat's age, sex, and general description; the date the adoption |
agreement was executed; the date by which the licensed releasing agency anticipates that the dog |
or cat will be spayed or neutered; the date by which the adoptive party shall claim the dog or cat; |
the adopting party's name, address, phone number, and signature; the licensed releasing agency's |
name, address, phone number, and the dollar amount remitted to the licensed releasing agency for |
the cost of spaying or neutering the dog or cat. |
(3) After execution of the agreement, the licensed releasing agency shall cause the dog or |
cat to be spayed or neutered and, when medically fit, shall transfer custody of the dog or cat to the |
adopting party. Any dog or cat that is not claimed by the adoptive party within ten (10) days of |
the date enumerated in the written adoption agreement shall be considered unclaimed and may be |
offered for adoption to another party. |
(b) The following are exemptions from the provisions of subsection (a): |
(1) A licensed releasing agency returns a stray dog or cat to its owner. |
(2) A licensed releasing agency receives a written report from a licensed veterinarian |
stating that the life of the dog or cat would be jeopardized by the surgery and that this health |
condition is likely to be permanent. |
(3) A licensed releasing agency receives a written report from a licensed veterinarian |
stating that there is a temporary health condition, including sexual immaturity, which would make |
surgery life threatening to the dog or cat or impracticable, in which instance the licensed releasing |
agency shall enter into a written agreement for the spaying or neutering of the dog or cat upon |
resolution of the temporary health condition or the animal reaching maturity and shall collect |
from the adopting party an amount equal to the cost to the licensed releasing agency for the |
spaying or neutering of the dog or cat to be adopted. The licensed releasing agency may then |
allow the transfer of the dog or cat to the adopting party who shall return the dog or cat to the |
licensed releasing agency for spaying or neutering upon resolution of the temporary health |
condition or the animal reaching sexual maturity. The licensed releasing agency may grant the |
adopting party an appropriate extension of time in which to have the dog or cat spayed or |
neutered based on the veterinarian's report. |
(4) A licensed releasing agency transfers a dog or cat to another licensed releasing |
agency. |
(c) If requested to do so, a licensed releasing agency shall refund fees collected for the |
purpose of spaying or neutering the dog or cat to the adopting party upon reasonable proof being |
presented to the releasing agency by the adopting party that the dog or cat died before the spaying |
or neutering was required to be completed. |
(d) Any and all licensed releasing agencies: |
(1) May enter into cooperative agreements with each other and with veterinarians in |
carrying out this section; and |
(2) Shall make a good faith effort to cause an adopting party to comply with this section. |
4-19-20. Severability. |
If any provision of this chapter or the application of any provision to any person or |
circumstances are is held invalid, the remainder of the chapter and the application of any |
provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid shall not be |
affected by this invalidity. |
SECTION 2. Chapter 4-19 of the General Laws entitled "Animal Care" is hereby |
amended by adding thereto the following sections: |
4-19-4.1. Sales by pet shops. |
(a) A pet shop shall send the following records to the department of environmental |
management on or before May 1 and November 1 of every year, documenting the following for |
each dog or cat offered for sale during the previous six (6) months: |
(1) A health certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian that indicates that the dog or cat |
was examined and in good health seven (7) days after the dog or cat was acquired by the pet |
shop; |
(2) Original source information including: |
(i) The name, business name, if applicable, street address, city, and state of the breeder; |
(ii) Any applicable federal and state license number for the breeder; |
(iii) Any federal and state inspection reports the breeder received in the previous six (6) |
months, without redactions, unless the reports are unavailable because the breeder had not been |
inspected by federal or state agencies in the previous six (6) months; |
(iv) The total number of dogs and cats on the premises of the breeder at the time the dog |
or cat offered for sale by the pet shop left the breeder’s premises; |
(3) Broker or dealer information, if applicable, including: |
(i) The name, business name, if applicable, street address, city, and state of the broker or |
dealer who obtained the dog or cat from the breeder and resold the dog or cat to the pet shop; |
(ii) Any applicable federal and state license number for the broker or dealer who sold the |
dog or cat to the pet shop; |
(iii) Any federal and state inspection reports the broker or dealer received in the previous |
six (6) months, without redactions, unless such reports are unavailable because the broker or |
dealer has not been inspected by federal or state agencies in the previous six (6) months. |
(b) A pet shop shall post on the enclosure of each dog and cat offered for sale: |
(1) The breed, age, and date of birth of the dog or cat; |
(2) The information required under subsection (a) of this section. |
(c) Subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall not apply to any dog or cat obtained from |
an animal rescue, shelter, or dog pound. |
(1) For those dogs or cats obtained from an animal rescue, shelter, or dog pound, a pet |
shop must post on each enclosure the name and address of the animal rescue, animal shelter, or |
dog pound, and the organization’s federal tax identification number, if applicable. |
(d) A pet shop owner or operator who violates any provision of this section, shall be |
punished by a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for a first offense, by a fine |
of not more than three hundred dollars ($300) for a second offense, and a fine of not more than |
five hundred dollars ($500) for a third or subsequent offense. Each failure to report or post in |
violation of this section shall constitute a separate offense. |
4-19-4.2. Prohibition on sales in public places. |
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, exchange, trade, barter, lease, or display for |
a commercial purpose any dog or cat on any roadside, public right-of-way, parkway, median, |
park, other recreation area, flea market or other outdoor market, or commercial or retail parking |
lot regardless of whether such access is authorized. |
(b) This section shall not apply to the following: |
(1) The display or adoption of dogs or cats by an animal shelter, pound, or rescue as |
defined in this chapter; or |
(2) The display of dogs or cats as part of a state or county fair exhibition, 4-H program, or |
similar exhibitions or educational programs. |
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2020. |
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LC002016/SUB B |
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