I 

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.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pet Animal Welfare 

5 Statute of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 2 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2132) 

8 is amended—

9 (1) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), 

10 (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), and 
2

•HR 2669 IH 

1 (o) as subsections (k), (o), (c), (p), (m), (e), (a), (f), 

2 (j), (b), (g), (h), (l), (d), and (i), respectively and 

3 moving the subsections so as to appear in alphabet4 ical order; 

5 (2) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by para6 graph (1))—

7 (A) by striking ‘‘or (2) any’’ and all that 

8 follows through ‘‘include—’’ and inserting ‘‘(2) 

9 any dog for hunting, security, or breeding pur10 poses, or (3) any dog imported from outside the 

11 United States, unless the dog is imported by 

12 the person for the use and enjoyment of the 

13 person, except that this term does not include—

14 ’’; 

15 (B) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, or which 

16 sells any dogs imported from outside the United 

17 States’’ before the semicolon; and 

18 (C) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(ii) any person who, during any cal21 endar year—

22 ‘‘(I)(aa) sells not more than 25 

23 dogs or cats at wholesale or to the 

24 public; or 
3

•HR 2669 IH 

1 ‘‘(bb) does not whelp more than 

2 6 litters of dogs or cats and sells only 

3 dogs or cats bred or raised on the 

4 premises of the person directly at re5 tail to persons who purchase such ani6 mals for their own use and enjoyment 

7 and not for resale; and 

8 ‘‘(II) derives not more than $500 

9 gross income from the sale of other 

10 animals;’’; and 

11 (3) by inserting after subsection (m) (as redes12 ignated by subsection (a)) the following: 

13 ‘‘(n) RETAIL PET STORE.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘retail pet store’ 

15 means a public retail establishment that sells ani16 mals commonly kept as pets in households in the 

17 United States, including—

18 ‘‘(A) dogs; 

19 ‘‘(B) cats; 

20 ‘‘(C) guinea pigs; 

21 ‘‘(D) rabbits; and 

22 ‘‘(E) hamsters. 

23 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘retail pet store’ 

24 does not include—
4

•HR 2669 IH 

1 ‘‘(A) a person breeding animals to sell to 

2 the public as pets; 

3 ‘‘(B) a person selling hunting, security, or 

4 breeding dogs; or 

5 ‘‘(C) a person selling wild animals.’’. 

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

7 CATS. 

8 Section 10 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 

9 2140) is amended—

10 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘(a) IN

11 GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘Dealers’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(b) ACCESS TO SOURCE RECORDS FOR DOGS AND

14 CATS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 

15 all dealers and retail pet stores shall prepare, retain, and 

16 make available at all reasonable times for inspection and 

17 copying by the Secretary, for such reasonable period of 

18 time as the Secretary may prescribe, a record of—

19 ‘‘(1) the name and address of the person from 

20 whom each dog or cat was purchased or otherwise 

21 acquired; and 

22 ‘‘(2) whether the person from whom each dog 

23 or cat was acquired is required to be licensed or reg24 istered under this Act.’’. 
5

•HR 2669 IH 

1 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSION PERIOD. 

2 Section 19(a) of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 

3 2149) is amended—

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSION PE7 RIOD.—If the Secretary has reason to believe that a viola8 tion that results in a temporary suspension pursuant to 

9 paragraph (1) is continuing or will continue after the expi10 ration of the 21-day temporary suspension period de11 scribed in that paragraph, and the violation will place the 

12 health of any animal in serious danger in violation of this 

13 Act, the Secretary may extend the temporary suspension 

14 period for such additional period as is necessary to ensure 

15 that the health of an animal is not in serious danger, as 

16 determined by the Secretary, but not to exceed 60 days.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO APPLY FOR INJUNCTIONS. 

18 Section 29 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 

19 2159) is amended—

20 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or that any 

21 person is acting as a dealer or exhibitor without a 

22 valid license that has not been suspended or revoked, 

23 as required by this Act,’’ after ‘‘promulgated there24 under,’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (b), by striking the last sen26 tence; and 
6

•HR 2669 IH 

1 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(c) INJUNCTIONS; REPRESENTATION.—

3 ‘‘(1) INJUNCTIONS.—The Secretary may apply 

4 directly to the appropriate United States district 

5 court for a temporary restraining order or injunction 

6 described in subsection (a). 

7 ‘‘(2) REPRESENTATION.—Attorneys of the De8 partment of Agriculture may represent the Secretary 

9 in United States district court in any civil action 

10 brought under this section.’’. 

11 SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

12 Section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133) 

13 is amended by striking ‘‘: Provided however,’’ and all that 

14 follows. 

15 SEC. 7. EFFECT ON STATE LAW. 

16 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

17 Act preempts any State law (including a regulation) that 

18 provides stricter requirements than the requirements pro19 vided in the amendments made by this Act.

Æ