[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 45 (Friday, March 30, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S3218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. AKAKA (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Hampshire):
  S. 668. A bill to amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that all 
dogs and cats used by research facilities are obtained legally; to the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Pet Safety 
and Protection Act of 2001. Senator Bob Smith joins me in sponsoring 
this bill that will close a serious loophole in the Animal Welfare Act.
  Over 30 years ago, Congress passed the Animal Welfare Act to stop the 
mistreatment of animals and to prevent the unintentional sale of family 
pets for laboratory experiments. Despite the well-meaning intentions of 
the Animal Welfare Act and the enforcement efforts of the Department of 
Agriculture, the Act routinely fails to provide pets and pet owners 
with reliable protection against the actions of some unethical dealers.
  Medical research is an invaluable weapon in the battle against 
disease. New drugs and surgical techniques offer promise in the fight 
against AIDS, cancer, and a host of life-threatening diseases. I am not 
here to argue whether animals should or should not be used in research. 
Animal research has been, and continues to be, fundamental to 
advancements in medicine. However, I am concerned with the sale of 
stolen pets and stray animals to research facilities.
  There are less than 40 ``random source'' animal dealers operating 
throughout the country who acquire tens of thousands of dogs and cats. 
``Random source'' dealers are USDA licensed Class B dealers that 
provide animals for research. Many of these animals are family pets, 
acquired by so-called ``bunchers'' who sometimes resort to theft and 
deception as they collect animals to sell them to Class B dealers. 
``Bunchers,'' posing as someone interested in adopting a dog or cat, 
usually respond to advertisements such as ``free pet to a good home,'' 
and trick animal owners into giving them their pets. Some random source 
dealers are known to keep hundreds of animals at a time in squalid 
conditions, providing them with little food or water. The mistreated 
animals often pass through several hands and across state lines before 
they are eventually sold by a random source dealer to a research 
laboratory.
  While I am not suggesting that laboratories intentionally seek out 
stolen or fraudulently obtained dogs and cats as research subjects, the 
fact remains that many of these animals end up in research 
laboratories, and little is being done to stop it. It is clear to most 
observers, including animal welfare organizations around the country, 
that this problem persists because of random source animal dealers.
  The Pet Safety and Protection Act strengthens the Animal Welfare Act 
by prohibiting the use of random source animal dealers as suppliers of 
dogs and cats to research laboratories. At the same time, the Pet 
Safety and Protection Act preserves the integrity of animal research by 
encouraging research laboratories to obtain animals from legitimate 
sources that comply with the Animal Welfare Act. Legitimate sources are 
USDA-licensed Class A dealers or breeders, municipal pounds that choose 
to release dogs and cats for research purposes, legitimate pet owners 
who want to donate their animals to research, and private and federal 
facilities that breed their own animals. These four sources are capable 
of supplying millions of animals for research, far more cats and dogs 
than are required by current laboratory demand. Furthermore, at least 
in the case of using municipal pounds, research laboratories could save 
money since pound animals cost only a few dollars compared to the high 
fees charged by random source animal dealers. The National Institutes 
of Health, in an effort to curb abuse and deception, has already 
adopted policies against the acquisition of dogs and cats from random 
source dealers.
  The Pet Safety and Protection Act also reduces the Department of 
Agriculture's regulatory burden by allowing the Department to use its 
resources more efficiently and effectively. Each year, hundreds of 
thousands of dollars are spent on regulating 40 random source dealers. 
To combat any future violation of the Animal Welfare Act, the Pet 
Safety and Protection Act increases the penalties under the Act to a 
minimum of $1,000 per violation.
  As I stated before, this bill in no way impairs or impedes research, 
but will end the fraudulent practices of some Class B dealers. The 
history of disregard for the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act by 
some animal dealers makes the Pet Safety and Protection Act necessary 
and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. I ask 
unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 668

       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 Safety and Protection 
     Act of 2001''.

     SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF PETS.

       (a) Research Facilities.--Section 7 of the Animal Welfare 
     Act (7 U.S.C. 2137) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 7. SOURCES OF DOGS AND CATS FOR RESEARCH FACILITIES.

       ``(a) Definition of Person.--In this section, the term 
     `person' means any individual, partnership, firm, joint stock 
     company, corporation, association, trust, estate, pound, 
     shelter, or other legal entity.
       ``(b) Use of Dogs and Cats.--No research facility or 
     Federal research facility may use a dog or cat for research 
     or educational purposes if the dog or cat was obtained from a 
     person other than a person described in subsection (d).
       ``(c) Selling, Donating, or Offering Dogs and Cats.--No 
     person, other than a person described in subsection (d), may 
     sell, donate, or offer a dog or cat to any research facility 
     or Federal research facility.
       ``(d) Permissible Sources.--A person from whom a research 
     facility or a Federal research facility may obtain a dog or 
     cat for research or educational purposes under subsection 
     (b), and a person who may sell, donate, or offer a dog or cat 
     to a research facility or a Federal research facility under 
     subsection (c), shall be--
       ``(1) a dealer licensed under section 3 that has bred and 
     raised the dog or cat;
       ``(2) a publicly owned and operated pound or shelter that--
       ``(A) is registered with the Department of Agriculture;
       ``(B) is in compliance with section 28(a)(1) and with the 
     requirements for dealers in subsections (b) and (c) of 
     section 28; and
       ``(C) obtained the dog or cat from its legal owner, other 
     than a pound or shelter;
       ``(3) a person that is donating the dog or cat and that--
       ``(A) bred and raised the dog or cat; or
       ``(B) owned the dog or cat for not less than 1 year 
     immediately preceding the donation;
       ``(4) a research facility licensed by the Department of 
     Agriculture; and
       ``(5) a Federal research facility licensed by the 
     Department of Agriculture.
       ``(e) Penalties.--
       ``(1) In general.--A person that violates this section 
     shall pay $1000 for each violation.
       ``(2) Additional penalty.--A penalty under this subsection 
     shall be in addition to any other applicable penalty and 
     shall be imposed whether or not the Secretary imposes any 
     other penalty.
       ``(f) No Required Sale or Donation.--Nothing in this 
     section requires a pound or shelter to sell, donate, or offer 
     a dog or cat to a research facility or Federal research 
     facility.''.
       (b) Federal Research Facilities.--Section 8 of the Animal 
     Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2138) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``No department'' and inserting ``Except as 
     provided in section 7, no department'';
       (2) by striking ``research or experimentation or''; and
       (3) by striking ``such purposes'' and inserting ``that 
     purpose''.
       (c) Certification.--Section 28(b)(1) of the Animal Welfare 
     Act (7 U.S.C. 2158(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``individual 
     or entity'' and inserting ``research facility or Federal 
     research facility''.

     SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       The amendments made by section 2 take effect 90 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 ______