Iowa Code § 162.2 — IA Code / Title V / Chapter 162 / Section 162.2
Definitions.
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter, except as otherwise expressly provided:

(1) “Adequate feed” means the provision at suitable intervals of not more than twenty-four hours or longer if the dietary requirements of the species so require, of a quantity of wholesome foodstuff suitable for the species and age, sufficient to maintain a reasonable level of nutrition in each animal. The foodstuff shall be served in a clean receptacle, dish or container.

(2) “Adequate water” means reasonable access to a supply of clean, fresh, potable water provided in a sanitary manner or provided at suitable intervals for the species and not to exceed twenty-four hours at any interval.

(3) “Animal shelter” means a facility which is used to house or contain dogs or cats, or both, and which is owned, operated, or maintained by an incorporated humane society, animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of such animals.

(4) “Animal warden” means any person employed, contracted, or appointed by the state, municipal corporation, or any political subdivision of the state, for the purpose of aiding in the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter or any other law or ordinance relating to the licensing of animals, control of animals, or seizure and impoundment of animals and includes any peace officer, animal control officer, or other employee whose duties in whole or in part include assignments which involve the seizure or taking into custody of any animal.

(5) “Animal Welfare Act” means the federal Animal Welfare Act, 7 U.S.C. ch. 54, and regulations promulgated by the United States department of agriculture and published in 9 C.F.R. ch. 1.

(6) “Authorization” means a state license, certificate of registration, or permit issued or renewed by the department to a commercial establishment as provided in section 162.2A.

(7) “Boarding kennel” means a place or establishment other than a pound or animal shelter where dogs or cats not owned by the proprietor are sheltered, fed, and watered in return for a consideration.

(8) “Commercial breeder” means a person, engaged in the business of breeding dogs or cats, who sells, exchanges, or leases dogs or cats in return for consideration, or who offers to do so, whether or not the animals are raised, trained, groomed, or boarded by the person. A person who owns or harbors three or fewer breeding males or females is not a commercial breeder.

(9) “Commercial establishment” or “establishment” means an animal shelter, boarding kennel, commercial breeder, commercial kennel, dealer, pet shop, pound, public auction, or research facility.

(10) “Commercial kennel” means a kennel which performs grooming, boarding, or training services for dogs or cats in return for a consideration.

(11) “Dealer” means any person who is engaged in the business of buying for resale or selling or exchanging dogs or cats, or both, as a principal or agent, or who claims to be so engaged.

(12) “Department” means the department of agriculture and land stewardship.

(13) “Euthanasia” means the humane destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that involves instantaneous unconsciousness and immediate death or by a method that involves anesthesia, produced by an agent which causes painless loss of consciousness, and death during the loss of consciousness.

(14) “Federal license” means a license issued by the United States department of agriculture to a person classified as a dealer or exhibitor pursuant to the federal Animal Welfare Act.

(15) “Federal licensee” means a person to whom a federal license as a dealer or exhibitor is issued.

(16) “Housing facilities” means any room, building, or area used to contain a primary enclosure or enclosures.

(17) “Permittee” means a commercial breeder, dealer, or public auction to whom a permit is issued by the department as a federal licensee pursuant to section 162.2A.

(18) “Person” means person as defined in chapter 4.

(19) “Pet shop” means a facility where vertebrate animals, excluding fish, not born and reared on the facility’s premises are bought, sold, exchanged, or offered for sale or exchange to the public, at retail. “Pet shop” does not include a facility if one of the following applies:

(19) (a) The facility receives less than one thousand dollars from the sale or exchange of vertebrate animals, excluding fish, during a twelve-month period.

(19) (b) The facility sells or exchanges less than twelve vertebrate animals, excluding fish, during a twelve-month period.

(20) “Pound” means a facility for the prevention of cruelty to animals operated by the state, a municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the state for the purpose of impounding or harboring seized stray, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted dogs, cats, or other animals; or a facility operated for such a purpose under a contract with any municipal corporation or incorporated society.

(21) “Primary enclosure” means any structure used to immediately restrict an animal to a limited amount of space, such as a room, pen, cage, or compartment.

(22) “Public auction” means any place or location where dogs or cats, or both, are sold at auction to the highest bidder regardless of whether the dogs or cats are offered as individuals, as a group, or by weight.

(23) “Registrant” means a pound, animal shelter, or research facility to whom a certificate of registration is issued by the department pursuant to section 162.2A.

(24) “Research facility” means any school or college of medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, or osteopathic medicine, or hospital, diagnostic or research laboratories, or other educational or scientific establishment situated in this state concerned with the investigation of, or instruction concerning the structure or function of living organisms, the cause, prevention, control or cure of diseases or abnormal conditions of human beings or animals.

(25) “State fiscal year” means the fiscal year described in section 3.12.

(26) “State licensee” means any of the following:

(26) (a) A boarding kennel, commercial kennel, or pet shop to whom a state license is issued by the department pursuant to section 162.2A.

(26) (b) A commercial breeder, dealer, or public auction to whom a state license is issued in lieu of a permit by the department pursuant to section 162.2A.

(27) “Vertebrate animal” means those vertebrate animals other than members of the equine, bovine, ovine, and porcine species, and ostriches, rheas, or emus.

[C75, 77, 79, 81, §162.2]86 Acts, ch 1245, §611; 88 Acts, ch 1186, §1 – 4; 92 Acts, ch 1094, §1; 92 Acts, ch 1212, §6; 95 Acts, ch 43, §4; 2005 Acts, ch 3, §40; 2009 Acts, ch 133, §70; 2010 Acts, ch 1030, §2, 3, 29; 2023 Acts, ch 64, §24; 2023 Acts, ch 154, §1; 2024 Acts, ch 1177, §17