Senator Santorum Announces PAWS Discussion Draft
March 16, 2006Pet Animal Welfare Statute Discussion Draft
On May 26, 2005 Subcommittee Chairman Santorum introduced S. 1139, the Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS). The bill is intended to modernize the Animal Welfare Act to assure compliance with minimum animal welfare standards in the commercial pet trade, as Congress originally intended. On November 8, 2005 Subcommittee Chairman Santorum convened a hearing of the Subcommittee on Research, Nutrition, and General Legislation to consider the legislation. Based on the findings of the hearing and the suggestions / criticisms received from interested persons, Subcommittee Chairman Santorum further refined the PAWS bill, which follows below. With two exceptions, the changes to the bill are technical in nature and were done in an effort to remedy unintended consequences and make the language more precise. Two new provisions were added, one to expand regulation of the importation of dogs and cats for resale, and the other to provide a third party inspector certification program.
The Chairman remains committed to the core principles set forth in S. 1139:
· Persons who breed and/or sell a high volume of dogs and cats at retail should be regulated, just as breeders and dealers who sell at wholesale are regulated under the Animal Welfare Act.
· Persons who import dogs and cats into the United States for resale should be subject to regulations that protect the health and welfare of the imported animals. The discussion draft strengthens and expands the import provisions of S. 1139.
· The Secretary of Agriculture should have access source records of retail pet dealers to determine that the persons selling dogs and cats to retail pet dealers are complying with the law.
· The Secretary should have meaningful authority to enforce compliance with the law by extending the period for temporary suspensions of licenses in cases where the health of the animal is in serious danger, and by having effective authority to close down operations that refuse to comply with the law.
Inventory of changes made to S. 1139 Discussion Draft:
1. Regulation of imports of dogs and cats for resale -- The discussion draft further expands the language of S. 1139 regulating the importation of puppies and kittens for resale. S.1139 already makes persons who import dogs and cats for resale dealers for the purposes of the Animal Welfare Act. Upon reviewing the PAWS hearing record and working with interested parties, including the relevant federal agencies, it became clear that there is a need for additional statutory authority for the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to the importation of cats and dogs for resale. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) monitors the importation of dogs and cats for zoonotic diseases (diseases that can affect humans), but CDC does not monitor the importation of dogs and cats for animal health and animal welfare purposes. Furthermore, the CDC as a practical matter does not have an infrastructure to monitor and enforce compliance with its regulations with respect to imports of dogs and cats. The USDA#%92s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) does have an infrastructure for monitoring and regulating importation of animals. APHIS works closely with countries that export livestock to the United States, and APHIS regulates and appropriately restricts this commercial activity. But neither APHIS nor CDC has the authority to establish or enforce standards to protect animal health and welfare with respect to mass importation of dogs and cats for resale. It is important to note that nothing in the discussion draft, including the importation provision, limits in any way the existing ability of persons to import dogs and cats for their own use and enjoyment. The import provisions focus solely on the importation of dogs and cats for resale (commercial imports).
Section 6 of the discussion draft creates a new Section 20 of the Act which requires the Secretary of USDA to work with the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Commerce, and Homeland Security to write regulations to govern the importation of dogs and cats for resale. The discussion draft requires that these regulations limit the importation of puppies to those that are more than six months of age. The regulations of the Secretary must also require that imported dogs and cats be in good health and have all necessary vaccinations. The rationale for the importation provision is presented in the findings section of the discussion draft (page 13, line 1
.
The discussion draft also eliminates the unintentional regulation of retail pet stores selling imported dogs or cats that were not directly imported by the retail pet store. The intent is to regulate those who import dogs and cats, not to regulate retail pet stores who sell dogs and cats imported by another person.
2. Certified third party inspections -- It is essential to alleviate the inspection burden placed on APHIS. APHIS is currently struggling to maintain its current inspection program. Bringing high volume retailers under coverage of the Act and strengthening enforcement provisions so as to increase compliance by existing dealers with the Act will further increase the APHIS inspection burden. In many instances there are duplicate inspections of compliant facilities (the same dealers inspected by private entities, APHIS and state or local authorities), while high volume retailers outside the coverage of the Animal Welfare Act and persons who evade coverage of the Act go uninspected. Accordingly, the discussion draft adds an additional exemption for persons who sell dogs or cats solely at retail and are determined to be in compliance with the standards of a nonprofit organization which has been certified by the Secretary as having standards and inspection protocols that are at least as protective of animal welfare as those required under the Animal Welfare Act. In addition, persons who are dealers under the Act may opt for inspection by a certified third party inspector in lieu of inspection by the Secretary. The third party inspection certification provision in the discussion draft does not require a dealer or high volume retailer to opt into a third party inspection program. AHPIS will be required to continue to inspect persons who do not opt for third party inspection.
Under this new provision the certified third party inspector would have to undergo a rigorous certification process, and would be subject to ongoing surveillance by the Secretary of USDA. The discussion draft grants the Secretary broad authority to carry out the third party certification program, including audit authority and mandatory training for third party inspectors. The discussion draft prohibits third parties from spending funds appropriated by Congress, and reserves enforcement authority for the Secretary of USDA. In addition to the requirements described above, the Secretary#%92s regulations governing third party certification must:
· Require recertification at least once every 3 years
· Include procedures under which the Secretary may decertify a certified third party inspector who fails to maintain program standards
· Require that the certified third party inspector immediately notify the Secretary of any inspected person whose conduct places the health of an animal in imminent danger or otherwise fails to comply with the third party inspector#%92s standards
· Notify the Secretary of the specific reason persons were determined not to be in compliance with a third party inspectors standards
· Submit an annual report detailing the number of inspections conducted, the number of persons found to be out of compliance, the types of non compliance found, and such other information that the Secretary shall require without revealing personal information about inspected persons
3. Hunting, breeding, and security dogs -- The discussion draft removes from the dealer definition in the Animal Welfare Act all references to the sale of “hunting, security, or breeding” dogs. This change assures that persons who sell hunting, security or breeding dogs will be treated exactly the same as persons who sell dogs for any other purposes. It precludes potential litigation arguing that the dealer definition currently in the Act requires that sellers of hunting, security or breeding dogs be regulated on a more stringent basis than persons who sell dogs as pets.
4. Animal shelters, rescue operations and other nonprofit persons -- The discussion draft clarifies that not-for-profit animal shelters, rescue organizations and other persons that do not sell dogs imported into the United States for resale and do not operate for profit are excluded from coverage as a dealer. The sponsors of PAWS do not intend to change the status of nonprofits with regard to Animal Welfare Act regulation.
5. Retail pet store exemption -- The discussion draft restates the retail exemption language. The discussion draft defines a retail pet store as a retail business establishment that maintains a physical premise that is open to the public and that sells pet animals directly to the public from the retail business premise. Retail pet stores who do not import dogs and cats were exempted from the Animal Welfare Act in S. 1139 just as they are in the discussion draft. The discussion draft also requires retail pet stores to keep records of the federal license number only of persons who are federally licensed from whom they acquire dogs or cats.
6. Exemption for the sale of other Animal Welfare Act animals -- The discussion draft changes the existing wholesale exemption in the Animal Welfare Act for the sale of animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act other than dogs and cats (e.g. rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, etc.) from $500 to $2500. Changing the threshold level from $500 to $2500 modernizes current law to reflect the value of today#%92s dollar as compared to the value of the dollar when the Animal Welfare Act was enacted. The discussion draft also clarifies the language of the dealer definition to assure that only retailer sellers of dogs and cats, and not retail sellers of other regulated species, are brought under coverage of the Act.
7. Hobbyist, show breeder, sporting dog owner, and pet owner threshold exemption -- The discussion draft clarifies that a person who sells dogs or cats bred or raised on the seller#%92s premises is exempted from the dealer definition if they sell not more than 25 such dogs and cats, or such dogs and cats from not more than 6 litters, whichever is greater. Therefore a person who sells 36 dogs/cats from 6 litters of 6 each would be exempted because the person did not sell dogs/cats from more than 6 litters. And, similarly a person who sells 24 dogs/cats from 12 litters of 2 each would be exempted because the person did not sell more than 25 dogs/cats.
8. Threshold exemption for dogs not bred or raised on the premises -- Clarifies that a person who sells dogs bred or raised on the seller#%92s premises that does not exceed the above numerical limitations may sell up to 25 other dogs and cats (i.e. dogs and cats not bred or raised on the premises) without becoming a dealer.
9. Strengthening the USDA#%92s enforcement authority.-- The discussion draft makes no change in the provisions of S. 1139 permitting the Secretary to suspend the license of a dealer for up to 60 days or until the violation is corrected in the case of a violation of the Act that places the health of an animal in serious danger. It also does not change the provision making operation without a valid license which has not been suspended or revoked a basis for the Secretary to seek a temporary restraining order or injunction, and permitting the Secretary to go to court with USDA lawyers to seek a temporary restraining order or injunction.