Licensing Requirements for Dogs and Cats

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Parts 1 and 2

[Docket No. 97-018-2]

RIN 0579-AA95

Licensing Requirements for Dogs and Cats

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: We are considering several changes to the Animal Welfare

regulations to ensure the humane handling, care, and treatment of dogs

and cats, while concentrating our regulatory efforts on those

facilities that present the greatest risk of noncompliance with the

regulations. Specifically, we are considering revising the definition

of ``retail pet store'' so that it includes only nonresidential,

commercial retail stores, rather than any pet retailer. Retail pet

stores are not required to be licensed and inspected under the Animal

Welfare Act (AWA). If the definition were revised, many pet retailers

now exempt from licensing and inspection requirements would have to be

licensed and inspected. We are also considering regulating dealers of

hunting, breeding, and security dogs in the same manner as other

dealers of dogs. Because these changes could severely strain available

Federal resources for carrying out inspections and other enforcement

activities under the AWA, we are considering increasing the total

number of breeding female dogs and/or cats that a person may maintain

on his or her premises and be exempt from licensing and inspection

requirements. If this number were increased, some dealers who would no

longer qualify as retail pet stores under the revised definition of

``retail pet store'' would continue to be exempt from licensing and

inspection requirements, and some pet wholesalers who are currently

required to be licensed would no longer have to be licensed. This

advance notice solicits public comment on the maximum number of

breeding female dogs and/or cats that a person should be able to

maintain on his or her premises and be exempt from licensing and

inspection requirements under the AWA.

We are also interested in obtaining information that would help us

determine the impact of the regulatory changes that we are considering.

Specifically, if we amend the definition of ``retail pet store'' as

described earlier, how many dealers of dogs and cats would be covered

by our regulations under different scenarios for increasing the number

of breeding females that a person may maintain on his or her premises

and be exempt from licensing. In addition, if we begin regulating

dealers of hunting, breeding, and security dogs, how many dealers of

hunting, breeding, and security dogs would be covered by our

regulations under different scenarios for increasing the number of

breeding females that a person may maintain on his or her premises and

be exempt from licensing.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or

before August 24, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 97-018-2, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,

suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please

state that your comments refer to Docket No. 97-018-2. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th

Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to

facilitate entry into the comment reading room. Alternatively, comments

may be submitted via the Internet on an electronic form located at

http://comments.aphis.usda.gov. Comments submitted on the electronic

form need only be submitted once.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Bettye Walters, Veterinary Medical

Officer, AC, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 84, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234,

(301) 734-7833.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) authorizes the

Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate standards and other requirements

governing the humane handling, housing, care, treatment, and

transportation of certain animals by dealers and other regulated

businesses. The Secretary of Agriculture has delegated the

responsibility for enforcing the AWA to the Administrator of the Animal

and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Regulations established

under the AWA are contained in 9 CFR parts 1, 2, and 3. Part 1 contains

definitions for terms used in parts 2 and 3. Part 2 sets forth the

general requirements, and part 3 sets forth the standards for the

humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of covered animals

by regulated entities. Subpart A of part 3 contains the standards

applicable to dogs and cats.

On March 25, 1997, we published in the Federal Register (62 FR

14044-14047, Docket No. 97-018-1) a petition for rulemaking, sponsored

by the Doris Day Animal League, that requested two changes to the

regulations in parts 1 and 3. The requested changes were: (1) To

redefine the term ``retail pet store'' in part 1 as ``a nonresidential

business establishment used primarily for the sale of pets to the

ultimate customer;'' and (2) to regulate dealers of dogs intended for

hunting, security, and breeding under the provisions applicable to

dealers of other types of dogs in part 3.

We solicited comments on the petition for 60 days, ending May 27,

1997. By that date, we received 35,953 comments. They were from dealers

of dogs and cats, representatives of industry, members of animal

protectionist organizations, members of Congress, and other interested

persons. Approximately 65 percent of the commenters supported the

changes requested in the petition. The remaining 35 percent had

concerns about the changes requested in the petition. Most of their

concerns focused on the petition's suggested revision of the definition

of retail pet store. The commenters stated that the proposed revision

would require that many small, ``hobby'' breeders of dogs and cats be

[[Page 34334]]

licensed and inspected under the regulations. They expressed concern

that this not only would be unnecessary, but would severely strain

Federal resources available for carrying out inspection and other

enforcement activities.

We share the concern about the potential strain on Federal

resources, particularly because we do not know how many pet retailers

not now subject to the AWA might be affected by the revised definition

of ``retail pet store.'' In addition, if we begin regulating dealers of

dogs intended primarily for hunting, security, and breeding purposes

under the AWA in the same manner as dealers of other types of dogs,

many of these dealers would also be required to be licensed and

inspected, and we do not know how many dealers of these types of dogs

there are. Therefore, we are soliciting comments on an approach,

discussed below, for amending the Animal Welfare regulations to ensure

that only appropriate facilities are exempt from licensing as retail

pet stores and to allow us to concentrate our regulatory efforts on

those facilities that present the greatest risk of noncompliance with

the regulations.

Definition of Retail Pet Store

In Sec. 1.1, retail pet store is defined as ``any outlet where only

the following animals are sold or offered for sale, at retail, for use

as pets: Dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rats,

mice, gophers, chinchilla, domestic ferrets, domestic farm animals,

birds, and cold-blooded species.'' The definition of ``retail pet

store'' goes on to describe certain establishments that do not qualify

as retail pet stores, even if they sell animals at retail. Those

establishments that do not qualify as retail pet stores are: (1)

Establishments or persons who deal in dogs used for hunting, security,

or breeding purposes; (2) establishments or persons exhibiting,

selling, or offering to exhibit or sell any wild or exotic or other

nonpet species of warm-blooded animals (except birds), such as skunks,

raccoons, nonhuman primates, squirrels, ocelots, foxes, coyotes, etc.;

(3) establishments or persons selling warm-blooded animals (except

birds, and laboratory rats and mice) for research or exhibition

purposes; (4) establishments wholesaling any animals (except birds,

rats, and mice); and (5) establishments exhibiting pet animals in a

room that is separate from or adjacent to the retail pet store, or in

an outside area, or anywhere off the retail pet store premises.

In accordance with the AWA, retail pet stores are exempt from the

licensing and inspection requirements in part 2. Other retail and

wholesale pet dealers must be licensed in accordance with the

regulations. The definition of retail pet store was established to

ensure that the appropriate retail facilities were exempt from

licensing requirements. However, that definition has prompted a

regulatory interpretation of ``retail pet store'' that includes all

retail outlets, regardless of volume, size, or location of business. As

such, under the current definition of retail pet store, a very large

number of facilities that are not traditional retail pet stores are

exempt from licensing requirements.

To ensure that dogs and cats at these outlets receive humane

handling, care, and treatment, we are considering amending the

definition of ``retail pet store'' to limit retail pet stores to only

traditional ``stores''-- nonresidential, commercial, retail businesses

that sell primarily pets and pet products. If this change were adopted,

many retail pet dealers would no longer be considered retail pet

stores, and, unless otherwise exempt under the regulations, would have

to be licensed and inspected in accordance with part 2.

We are also considering regulating dealers of dogs intended

primarily for hunting, security, and breeding purposes under the

regulations applicable to dealers of other types of dogs. This change,

if implemented, would require both retail and wholesale dealers of

hunting, security, and breeding dogs to be licensed and inspected under

the AWA, unless exempt from licensing requirements based on the total

number of breeding females maintained on a dealer's premises, in

accordance with Sec. 2.1(a)(3)(iii) of the regulations (see ``Number of

Breeding Females,'' below).

Because these changes could severely strain available Federal

resources for carrying out inspections and other enforcement activities

under the AWA, we are considering increasing the total number of

breeding female dogs and/or cats that a person may maintain on his or

her premises and be exempt from licensing and inspection requirements.

If this number were increased, some dealers who would no longer qualify

as retail pet stores under the revised definition of ``retail pet

store'' would continue to be exempt from licensing and inspection

requirements, and some pet wholesalers who are currently required to be

licensed would no longer have to be licensed. We are considering these

changes to the regulations to ensure the humane handling, care, and

treatment of dogs and cats, while concentrating our regulatory efforts

on those facilities that present the greatest risk of noncompliance

with the regulations.

Number of Breeding Females

In Sec. 2.1, paragraph (a)(3) lists those persons who are exempt

from licensing requirements. In addition to retail pet stores, those

who are exempt from licensing requirements include any person who

maintains a total of three or fewer breeding female dogs and/or cats

and who sells the offspring of these dogs or cats, which were born and

raised on his or her premises, for pets or exhibition, and who is not

otherwise required to obtain a license (see Sec. 2.1(a)(3)(iii)).

The licensing exemption based on a total number of three or fewer

breeding female dogs and/or cats maintained on a premises was

established based on a determination that small facilities usually pose

less risk to the welfare of animals than do large facilities. We still

agree with that determination, but we believe that a facility does not

necessarily have to maintain as few as three breeding females in order

to be considered a low risk facility.

We also recognize that, if the revised definition of ``retail pet

store'' discussed above were adopted, a significant number of retail

pet dealers who are now exempt from the licensing requirements in part

2 would be required to be licensed and inspected. APHIS does not have

unlimited resources for enforcing the Animal Welfare regulations. A

reasonable increase in the number of breeding females that an exempt

facility could maintain could help APHIS concentrate its regulatory

resources on those facilities that present the greatest risk of

noncompliance.

Therefore, we are soliciting public comment on amending

Sec. 2.1(a)(3)(iii) to increase the total number of breeding female

dogs and/or cats that a person may maintain on his or her premises and

continue to be exempt from licensing requirements. We believe that the

total number should fall between 3 and 60 breeding females. The low end

of this range of numbers is based on our current regulations. The high

end of this range of numbers is based on our experience enforcing the

AWA. Through that experience, we have determined that the risk of

noncompliance with the regulations significantly increases if

facilities care for more than 60 breeding female dogs and/or cats. At

this time, however, we would like to gather more data to support the

proposal of a specified number. Therefore, we are seeking information

that will help us

[[Page 34335]]

determine the appropriate total number of breeding female dogs and/or

cats that a person may maintain on his or her premises and continue to

be exempt from licensing requirements. We are most interested in

receiving information that is in the form of published industry

standards, published reports in peer-reviewed journals, studies, and

objective data. For those issues on which data or published information

is not available, we ask that commenters supply detailed information on

why the number they have chosen is appropriate.

We are also interested in obtaining the following information to

enable APHIS to target its resources on those facilities that present

the greatest risk of noncompliance:

1. If we amend the definition of ``retail pet store'' as described

earlier, how many dealers of dogs and cats would be covered by our

regulations under different scenarios for increasing the number of

breeding females that a person may maintain on his or her premises and

be exempt from licensing.

2. If we begin regulating dealers of hunting, breeding, and

security dogs, how many dealers of hunting, breeding, and security dogs

would be covered by our regulations under different scenarios for

increasing the number of breeding females that a person may maintain on

his or her premises and be exempt from licensing.

Written comments should be submitted within the 60-day comment

period specified in this document (see DATES and ADDRESSES).

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2131-2159; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(g).

Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of June 1998.

Craig A. Reed,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 98-16807 Filed 6-23-98; 8:45 am]

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