Proposed change in USDA regulations

[Eileen Stein]

Has there been any discussion in the rescue community about the US Department of Agriculture's proposal to change its regulations implementing the Animal Welfare Act? If not, I think there should be, because I think the proposed changes would have serious adverse consequences for the great majority of rescue operations.

 

The proposed new regs would require any persons (individuals or corporations) who sell a dog to become licensed by the USDA as a Dealer unless

 

1. Everyone who gets a dog from them personally visits their premises, or

 

2. They maintain no more than four breeding females AND they never sell a dog they didn't breed themselves.

 

All rescues sell dogs they didn't breed themselves, and nearly all rescues sometimes sell a dog without the new owner coming to their premises. There is no exception for rescues written into the regulations (and it would be very difficult to draft one that protected the legitimate rescues while not exempting all the illegitimate ones that would spring up to qualify for the rescue exemption if one were written in). If any payment is received for a dog, even if it is termed a donation or an adoption fee, the transaction would be considered a sale. So the bottom line is that if these regulations are adopted, most rescues would be required to be licensed as dog Dealers. They would need to pay an annual license fee, comply with detailed requirements about kennel facilities, feeding, sanitation, vet care, etc., maintain specified records, and permit inspection of their premises by USDA inspectors.

 

The stated purpose of these regulations is to deal with high-volume breeders who sell over the internet, so as such they are well-intentioned. But they are very poorly designed for that purpose, and IMO would do much more harm than good overall.

 

The USDA is accepting comments from the public about this proposal up until July 16. For more details about the proposal, and information about how you can submit comments, please visit this thread.

[Sue R]

Thank you, Eileen. While I am sure these regulations are not aimed at rescues, they are certainly written in such a manner as to impact them adversely, I would think.

 

I think that, too often when someone tries to write regulations *for a good reason*, too many other entities that are not the target (and do not need to be a target) of the regulations may be harmfully impacted.

[MaryP]

GA Dept. of Ag. already has something like this in place. All rescues (and breeders and kennels) in GA have to be licensed by the GA Department of Ag as a not-for-profit shelter. They have to comply with animal protection rules, have to be inspected, keep records, and have to pay a licensing fee (and a renewal fee - not sure how often). No rescue that I've worked with in GA has complained about it to me. The biggest challenge is for out-of-state rescues that offer to take GA dogs from shelters. They either have to find a licensed rescue that will pull the dog under their rescue license, or "adopt" the dog and meet whatever adoption criteria the shelter has, or they have to pay for an out-of-state license. The fee for an out-of-state license is $400, so unless your rescue takes a lot of GA dogs, it's not worth it.

 

Edit clarification: All rescues, kennels, breeders have to be licensed. But, only rescues and shelters have to be not-for-profit, obviously.

[Alchemist]

Done both (emailed ABCA, posted a "comment" to USDA). It would be a very sorry day indeed for breeders of working Border collies if these regulations were to come into effect as currently written. I for one would hate to see it come to pass that reputable breeders of working Border collies felt they couldn't sell to "pet owners". I'm sure I speak for many here when I say my life has changed (and hopefully will continue to change) by virtue of owning a stockdog-in-training.

 

A wise politician once said "tax the things you don't like". The problem with these regulations is that they address many things that don't necessarily relate to puppy mills at all. YES, if you're going to breed 100 puppies per year, please keep them in sanitary kennels, not in cages heaped on cages. But as a blanket policy, it's certainly misguided.

 

So many problems associated with breeding dogs can be attributed to large-volume breeders. That's where efforts should be focused, and IMO the rules should be crafted as to emphasize individuals who produce more than X puppies per year (with X representing rather more than just the few litters per year typical of reputable breeders).

 

I'd be interested in hearing how best to handle the situation with rescues. I'd hope most litters would be raised in foster homes (with emphasis on "in homes"). I don't personally feel a kennel with lots of dogs barking all around is the best place to be raising a litter of puppies. Hate to see that as part of these proposed regs.

 

ETA: posted this in the wrong place; I was intending to answer the original thread, didn't notice this was an addendum posted in the "Rescue" section.

[Eileen Stein]

GA Dept. of Ag. already has something like this in place. All rescues (and breeders and kennels) in GA have to be licensed by the GA Department of Ag as a not-for-profit shelter. They have to comply with animal protection rules, have to be inspected, keep records, and have to pay a licensing fee (and a renewal fee - not sure how often). No rescue that I've worked with in GA has complained about it to me. The biggest challenge is for out-of-state rescues that offer to take GA dogs from shelters. They either have to find a licensed rescue that will pull the dog under their rescue license, or "adopt" the dog and meet whatever adoption criteria the shelter has, or they have to pay for an out-of-state license. The fee for an out-of-state license is $400, so unless your rescue takes a lot of GA dogs, it's not worth it.

 

Edit clarification: All rescues, kennels, breeders have to be licensed. But, only rescues and shelters have to be not-for-profit, obviously.

 

Very interesting. So with respect to rescue, is it the corporation (if there is one) that needs to be licensed? Do the individual fosters need to be licensed, or do their premises need to be inspected? Do the rules require things like moisture-impermeable surfaces in the quarters where the dogs are kept, or separate kennels? And apart from rescues, is anyone who breeds even one litter required to be licensed?

 

I should say that the USDA regulations would apply on top of whatever state or local regulations apply. The USDA considered providing some sort of exemption for those who are state-regulated already, but decided against it.

[MaryP]

Very interesting. So with respect to rescue, is it the corporation (if there is one) that needs to be licensed? Do the individual fosters need to be licensed, or do their premises need to be inspected? Do the rules require things like moisture-impermeable surfaces in the quarters where the dogs are kept, or separate kennels? And apart from rescues, is anyone who breeds even one litter required to be licensed?

 

I should say that the USDA regulations would apply on top of whatever state or local regulations apply. The USDA considered providing some sort of exemption for those who are state-regulated already, but decided against it.

 

Since I'm not in GA, I'm not a GA licensed rescue, and we do not have a requirement for licensing in FL. We do have requirements for kennels and dog dealers (anyone who sells dogs and is not a 501©3 is considered a dealer, even if they hang out a rescue sign). I know that GA rescues have to be inspected, and I assume that includes foster homes, but I'm not sure. I also don't know all the specifics of all of their pet protection and reporting requirements. But, that info can be easily found on the GA Dept of Ag website. I don't know anything about any requirements for breeders in GA.