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A proposed amendment would place restrictions on importing kittens and would affect some cat breeders.
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A proposed amendment to the federal Farm Bill would modify who is regulated under the Animal Welfare Act and place restrictions on cat and dog imports. Introduced by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), some parts of the amendment, entitled “Regulation of the Pet Industry: Regulation of High-Volume Retailers and Importers,” are modeled after the Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS), which was defeated last year.
The amendment redefines who must obtain a license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to include any retail pet store that breeds or sells dogs or cats for resale or imports animals for resale. The amendment further alters the definition of a retail pet store to require that it maintain a “physical premise” open to the public from which it sells animals.
“This means that Internet retailers would become regulated, unless they also maintain physical premises from which they sell to the public (i.e. a “brick and mortar” pet store that also sells dogs or cats via Internet),” the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council wrote in a pet alert issued Dec. 7.
Anyone who does not import animals for resale, sells only at retail (not at wholesale or otherwise for resale but directly to the new owner of the animal) and breeds or raises 25 or less dogs or cats (or more than 6 litters, whichever is greater) on his or her premises per year would be exempt from regulation. Breeders would be allowed to sell an additional 25 or fewer dogs or cats that were raised elsewhere, not on their premises.
The Cat Fanciers’ Association opposes the new regulation as it did PAWS, saying, “It would subject many hobby breeders of cats and dogs to federal regulation and inspections of their homes.”
In a letter opposing PAWS, Joan Miller, chair of the cat association’s legislative committee, wrote that breeders with four or five cats could be subject to the regulation, which uses dogs as its standard, because cats come into heat year-round and can safely produce two litters per year with an average of about four kittens in each.
Miller called the latest proposal sneaky and deceptive because, “It does not give those of us with concerns the chance to present them within the usual legislative process.”
In addition, the amendment would allow licensees to opt for third-party inspections of their facilities instead of Department of Agriculture inspections. Third-party inspectors would be approved by the USDA and required to adhere to standards “at least as protective of animal welfare” as the agency’s regulations. No one, however, would be required to accept inspections from a third party, which some in the industry have speculated could come from an animal welfare organization.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) supported third-party inspections in PAWS, but noted that this amendment contains “significant differences” on other points.
“Although AKC shares Sen. Durbin’s concerns regarding the safety of imported animals and the changing retail marketplace, including Internet sales, we believe these issues would best be debated in the 2008 session as a separate piece of legislation,” the club said.
The AKC also said that Durbin had assured it the amendment was filed for the sole purpose of ensuring a Congressional debate on concerns raised during the PAWS proposal and that “the amendment will not be formally offered or voted on.”
Citing concerns about the humane treatment and health of imported animals, the amendment would also ban the import of puppies less than 6 months old and require the USDA to set up new requirements for pet importers.
Michael Maddox of PIJAC questioned the point of this addition at a time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has only just closed the comment period for its draft regulations on the importation of dogs, cats and other pet animals.
“I think that having federal legislation when there is a pending rulemaking complicates the issue,” he said.
The CDC is sorting through the comments that are intended to aid the government agency when crafting its new rules on animal importation. The process could several years.
-Rose Gordon, Associate News Editor for CatChannel.com