Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act 2019-08-27 Introduced in House Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act

This bill revises the licensing process of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for animal dealers and exhibitors to expand USDA's oversight and enforcement of animal welfare requirements. The bill also authorizes citizen suits to enforce the Animal Welfare Act.

Dealers and exhibitors must apply to USDA for licenses or renewal licenses each year. Before issuing or renewing licenses, USDA must conduct unannounced facility inspections.

USDA must deny an application for

  • a new license if the applicant fails to meet animal welfare standards during a second inspection,
  • a renewal license if the applicant violates such standards in more than one inspection in the previous two years, or
  • a new or renewal license if the dealer or exhibitor has violated laws relating to animals or if the issuance of the license would facilitate the circumvention of state or local laws that prohibit the private ownership of certain animals.

Further, USDA must suspend the licenses of dealers or exhibitors whose violations present a risk to animal welfare. USDA must revoke the licenses if the violations persist or if the licensees commit multiple violations. Dealers and exhibitors with suspended or revoked licenses may not be (1) granted another license, (2) granted another license through another person or entity, or (3) employed by another licensee to work with animals during the period of the suspension or revocation.

]]> text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.