[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2669 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2669

   To amend the Animal Welfare Act to strengthen the ability of the 
         Secretary of Agriculture to regulate the pet industry.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 26, 2005

 Mr. Gerlach (for himself and Mr. Farr) introduced the following bill; 
           which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Animal Welfare Act to strengthen the ability of the 
         Secretary of Agriculture to regulate the pet industry.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 2 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2132) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), 
        (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), and (o) as 
        subsections (k), (o), (c), (p), (m), (e), (a), (f), (j), (b), 
        (g), (h), (l), (d), and (i), respectively and moving the 
        subsections so as to appear in alphabetical order;
            (2) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by paragraph (1))--
                    (A) by striking ``or (2) any'' and all that follows 
                through ``include--'' and inserting ``(2) any dog for 
                hunting, security, or breeding purposes, or (3) any dog 
                imported from outside the United States, unless the dog 
                is imported by the person for the use and enjoyment of 
                the person, except that this term does not include--'';
                    (B) in clause (i), by inserting ``, or which sells 
                any dogs imported from outside the United States'' 
                before the semicolon; and
                    (C) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the 
                following:
                            ``(ii) any person who, during any calendar 
                        year--
                                    ``(I)(aa) sells not more than 25 
                                dogs or cats at wholesale or to the 
                                public; or
                                    ``(bb) does not whelp more than 6 
                                litters of dogs or cats and sells only 
                                dogs or cats bred or raised on the 
                                premises of the person directly at 
                                retail to persons who purchase such 
                                animals for their own use and enjoyment 
                                and not for resale; and
                                    ``(II) derives not more than $500 
                                gross income from the sale of other 
                                animals;''; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (m) (as redesignated by 
        subsection (a)) the following:
    ``(n) Retail Pet Store.--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `retail pet store' means a 
        public retail establishment that sells animals commonly kept as 
        pets in households in the United States, including--
                    ``(A) dogs;
                    ``(B) cats;
                    ``(C) guinea pigs;
                    ``(D) rabbits; and
                    ``(E) hamsters.
            ``(2) Exclusion.--The term `retail pet store' does not 
        include--
                    ``(A) a person breeding animals to sell to the 
                public as pets;
                    ``(B) a person selling hunting, security, or 
                breeding dogs; or
                    ``(C) a person selling wild animals.''.

SEC. 3. ACCESS TO SOURCE RECORDS FOR DOGS AND CATS.

    Section 10 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2140) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ``(a) In General.--
        '' before ``Dealers''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Access to Source Records for Dogs and Cats.--Notwithstanding 
any other provision of this Act, all dealers and retail pet stores 
shall prepare, retain, and make available at all reasonable times for 
inspection and copying by the Secretary, for such reasonable period of 
time as the Secretary may prescribe, a record of--
            ``(1) the name and address of the person from whom each dog 
        or cat was purchased or otherwise acquired; and
            ``(2) whether the person from whom each dog or cat was 
        acquired is required to be licensed or registered under this 
        Act.''.

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSION PERIOD.

    Section 19(a) of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2149) is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(a)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) Extension of Temporary Suspension Period.--If the Secretary 
has reason to believe that a violation that results in a temporary 
suspension pursuant to paragraph (1) is continuing or will continue 
after the expiration of the 21-day temporary suspension period 
described in that paragraph, and the violation will place the health of 
any animal in serious danger in violation of this Act, the Secretary 
may extend the temporary suspension period for such additional period 
as is necessary to ensure that the health of an animal is not in 
serious danger, as determined by the Secretary, but not to exceed 60 
days.''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO APPLY FOR INJUNCTIONS.

    Section 29 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2159) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``or that any person is 
        acting as a dealer or exhibitor without a valid license that 
        has not been suspended or revoked, as required by this Act,'' 
        after ``promulgated thereunder,'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking the last sentence; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Injunctions; Representation.--
            ``(1) Injunctions.--The Secretary may apply directly to the 
        appropriate United States district court for a temporary 
        restraining order or injunction described in subsection (a).
            ``(2) Representation.--Attorneys of the Department of 
        Agriculture may represent the Secretary in United States 
        district court in any civil action brought under this 
        section.''.

SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    Section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133) is amended by 
striking ``: Provided however,'' and all that follows.

SEC. 7. EFFECT ON STATE LAW.

    Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act preempts any 
State law (including a regulation) that provides stricter requirements 
than the requirements provided in the amendments made by this Act.
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