I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7211 

To improve honesty in pet sales, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 

Ms. ROSS (for herself and Mr. BUCHANAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To improve honesty in pet sales, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Petfax Act of 2024’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO PURCHASERS OF 

6 DOGS AND CATS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

9 means the Federal Trade Commission. 


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1 (2) COVERED DOG OR CAT.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 dog or cat’’ means a dog or cat bred and raised by 

3 any dealer that is required to be licensed under sec4 tion 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133). 

5 (3) COVERED SELLER.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered sell7 er’’ means— 

8 (i) a dealer; 

9 (ii) a retail pet store; and 

10 (iii) any other person that sells, or of11 fers for sale, dogs or cats, including 

12 through the internet, for compensation or 

13 profit other than on an intermittent basis. 

14 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered sell15 er’’ does not include— 

16 (i) a public animal shelter; or 

17 (ii) an organization— 

18 (I) described in section 501(c)(3) 

19 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

20 and exempt from taxation under sec21 tion 501(a) of that Code; and 

22 (II) that is involved in bona fide 

23 animal adoption or rescue activities. 


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1 (4) DEALER.—The term ‘‘dealer’’ has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Animal 

3 Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2132). 

4 (5) FINANCIAL CONSIDERATION.—The term ‘‘fi5 nancial consideration’’ means any payment, includ6 ing a donation, but does not include— 

7 (A) a payment made to a public animal 

8 shelter; or 

9 (B) a payment that is made solely to reim10 burse a person for the costs of caring for a dog 

11 or cat. 

12 (6) PURCHASER.—The term ‘‘purchaser’’ 

13 means a person that— 

14 (A) is not a dealer; and 

15 (B) purchases a covered dog or cat. 

16 (b) REQUIREMENT.—A covered seller may not sell, 

17 or offer for sale, a covered dog or cat, including through 

18 the internet, unless, before the purchase of the covered 

19 dog or cat, the covered seller provides to the purchaser, 

20 in a form prescribed by the Commission— 

21 (1) information relating to the source of the 

22 covered dog or cat, including— 

23 (A) the name, address, telephone number, 

24 and Department of Agriculture license or reg25 istration number (if such a number exists) of— 


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1 (i) the dealer that bred and raised the 

2 covered dog or cat, and— 

3 (I) the number of dogs and cats 

4 bred by such dealer during the prior 

5 2 years; and 

6 (II) the number of dogs and cats 

7 sold by such dealer during the prior 2 

8 years; 

9 (ii) the covered seller that acquired 

10 the covered dog or cat from the dealer de11 scribed in clause (i), if any; and 

12 (iii) each covered seller that acquired 

13 the covered dog or cat thereafter, if any; 

14 and 

15 (B) a listing and description of each viola16 tion of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 

17 et seq.), if any, during the prior 2 years by each 

18 dealer and covered seller described in clauses 

19 (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A), as appli20 cable; and 

21 (2) information relating to the health history of 

22 the covered dog or cat, including— 

23 (A) the date of birth of covered dog or cat; 


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1 (B)(i) if the covered dog or cat has re2 ceived individual examinations by a licensed vet3 erinarian— 

4 (I) the most recent date on which the 

5 covered cat or dog received an individual 

6 examination by a licensed veterinarian; and 

7 (II) the name, address, telephone 

8 number, and State license number (if such 

9 a number exists) of the licensed veteri10 narian described in subclause (I); or 

11 (ii) if the covered dog or cat has not re12 ceived an individual examination by a licensed 

13 veterinarian, a statement that the covered dog 

14 or cat has not received an examination by a li15 censed veterinarian; and 

16 (C) a list of— 

17 (i) each vaccine administered to the 

18 covered dog or cat; 

19 (ii) each congenital deformity, disease, 

20 disorder, or condition that the covered sell21 er knows, or should reasonably know, af22 fects the covered dog or cat; and 

23 (iii) each infectious disease, disorder, 

24 or condition that the covered seller knows, 


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1 or should reasonably know, affects the cov2 ered dog or cat. 

3 (c) TRANSFERS.—A covered seller providing to an4 other covered seller a covered dog or cat that will ulti5 mately be sold to a purchaser shall provide to the other 

6 covered seller the information described in subsection (b). 

7 (d) APPLICATION TO NON-PROFIT SELLERS.—Any 

8 organization described in subsection (a)(3)(B)(ii) that ac9 quires a dog or cat in exchange for financial consideration 

10 shall disclose to any person seeking to acquire such dog 

11 or cat from such organization in exchange for financial 

12 consideration— 

13 (1) the fact that such organization acquired 

14 such dog or cat in exchange for financial consider15 ation and the amount of such consideration; and 

16 (2) the name of the person from which the or17 ganization acquired such dog or cat (if known to the 

18 organization). 

19 (e) REGULATIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis22 sion shall promulgate regulations under section 553 

23 of title 5, United States Code, to carry out this sec24 tion. 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations under 

2 paragraph (1) shall— 

3 (A) include the manner and method by 

4 which the information described in subsection 

5 (b) may be provided to a potential purchaser 

6 under that subsection, or to another covered 

7 seller under subsection (c), as applicable, to 

8 comply with this section; and 

9 (B) provide that a covered seller that uses 

10 a different manner or method than the manner 

11 and method described in subparagraph (A) to 

12 provide the information described in subsection 

13 (b) to a potential purchaser under that sub14 section, or to another covered seller under sub15 section (c), as applicable, may not be deter16 mined to be in noncompliance with this section 

17 solely because of the manner and method used. 

18 (f) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section shall preempt 

19 any State or local law. 

20 SEC. 3. UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES WITH 

21 RESPECT TO THE SALE OF ANIMALS FOR USE 

22 AS PETS. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COMMISSION; COVERED SELLER.—The 

2 terms ‘‘Commission’’ and ‘‘covered seller’’ have the 

3 meanings given those terms in section 2. 

4 (2) HIGH-VOLUME BREEDER.—The term ‘‘high5 volume breeder’’ means any person that— 

6 (A) is engaged in the breeding of dogs or 

7 cats; and 

8 (B)(i) is required to be licensed as a dealer 

9 under section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 

10 U.S.C. 2133); 

11 (ii) keeps on the premises of the person 

12 not fewer than 4 breeding dogs or cats; or 

13 (iii) during a 1-year period, sells not fewer 

14 than 25 dogs or cats that were bred on the 

15 premises of the person. 

16 (b) UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful to engage in 

18 an unfair or deceptive act or practice with respect to 

19 any sale of an animal for use as a pet. 

20 (2) MISREPRESENTATIONS RELATING TO THE

21 SOURCE OF DOGS AND CATS.—It is a violation of 

22 paragraph (1) for a covered seller, in selling, or ne23 gotiating the purchase or sale of, a dog or cat, to 

24 misrepresent where the dog or cat was bred or the 


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1 source from which the covered seller acquired the 

2 dog or cat, including by misrepresenting whether— 

3 (A) a high-volume breeder bred the dog or 

4 cat; or 

5 (B) the covered seller acquired the dog or 

6 cat from a high-volume breeder. 

7 (3) VIOLATION OF REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE

8 CERTAIN INFORMATION.—It is a violation of para9 graph (1) for a covered seller to sell a dog or cat 

10 in violation of section 2 on or after the date that is 

11 60 days after the date on which the Commission 

12 promulgates regulations under subsection (e)(1) of 

13 that section. 

14 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall be en16 forced by the Commission under the Federal Trade 

17 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

18 (2) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC19 TICES.—A violation of this section shall be treated 

20 as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or decep21 tive act or practice prescribed under section 

22 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

23 (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

24 (3) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

2 prevent any person from violating this section 

3 in the same manner, by the same means, and 

4 with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties 

5 as though all applicable terms and provisions of 

6 the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

7 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a 

8 part of this section. 

9 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 

10 person who violates this section shall be subject 

11 to the penalties and entitled to the privileges 

12 and immunities provided under the Federal 

13 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

14 (d) EFFECT.— 

15 (1) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 

16 section shall be construed to limit the authority of 

17 the Commission, the Secretary of Commerce, or the 

18 Secretary of Agriculture under any other provision 

19 of law. 

20 (2) PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

21 preempt any State or local law. 


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1 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON ISSUING LICENSES TO CERTAIN 

2 PERSONS AS A RESULT OF LICENSE REVOCA3 TION. 

4 (a) DEFINITION OF IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.— 

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

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(p) The term ‘immediate family member’ means, 

8 with respect to a dealer— 

9 ‘‘(1) a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, 

10 brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild of the 

11 dealer; and 

12 ‘‘(2) a spouse or domestic partner of a child, 

13 parent, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild of 

14 the dealer.’’. 

15 (b) PROHIBITION ON ISSUING LICENSES TO CERTAIN

16 PERSONS AS A RESULT OF LICENSE REVOCATION.—Sec17 tion 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by striking the section designation and all 

20 that follows through ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and in21 serting the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 3. LICENSES. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (a) (as so designated), in the 

25 first sentence, in the first proviso— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘or renewed’’ after 

2 ‘‘issued’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘demonstrated that his fa4 cilities’’ and inserting ‘‘demonstrated through 

5 facility inspection that the facilities’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON ISSUING LICENSES TO CER8 TAIN PERSONS AS A RESULT OF LICENSE SUSPENSION

9 OR REVOCATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not 

11 issue or renew a license for the purpose of being a 

12 dealer of dogs or cats to a person who is an imme13 diate family member of, or who resides at the same 

14 address of, a dealer of dogs or cats if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the license is for purposes of oper16 ating a facility for dogs or cats at a location 

17 that the dealer has used as a facility for dogs 

18 or cats; and 

19 ‘‘(B) within the last 10 years, a license of 

20 that dealer has been suspended after notice and 

21 opportunity for hearing or revoked pursuant to 

22 section 19(a). 

23 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

24 apply to a person described in that paragraph if that 


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1 person shows by clear and convincing evidence that 

2 a dealer described in that paragraph— 

3 ‘‘(A) will have no ownership interest in the 

4 facility for which that person seeks a license; 

5 ‘‘(B) will play no role in the care of dogs 

6 or cats at the facility; and 

7 ‘‘(C) will play no role in the management 

8 of the facility. 

9 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON ISSUING LICENSES TO CER10 TAIN LEGAL ENTITIES AS A RESULT OF LICENSE SUS11 PENSION OR REVOCATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not 

13 issue or renew a license for the purpose of being a 

14 dealer of dogs or cats to any person that is a part15 nership, firm, joint stock company, corporation, as16 sociation, trust, estate, or other legal entity if any 

17 person who holds an ownership interest in the part18 nership, firm, joint stock company, corporation, as19 sociation, trust, estate, or other legal entity— 

20 ‘‘(A) previously held a license for purposes 

21 of operating a facility for dogs or cats at the 

22 same address of the facility for which the li23 cense is being sought; and 

24 ‘‘(B) within the last 10 years, that license 

25 has been suspended after notice and opporVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Feb 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7211.IH H7211

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1 tunity for hearing or revoked pursuant to sec2 tion 19(a). 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

4 apply to a person seeking the issuance or renewal of 

5 a license described in that paragraph if that person 

6 shows by clear and convincing evidence that a per7 son who previously held a license for purposes of op8 erating a facility for dogs or cats described in sub9 paragraph (A) of that paragraph— 

10 ‘‘(A) will play no role in the care of dogs 

11 or cats at the facility; and 

12 ‘‘(B) will play no role in the management 

13 of the facility. 

14 ‘‘(d) 10-YEAR BAR FOR SUSPENSION OR REVOCA15 TION OF A LICENSE OF A DEALER OF DOGS OR CATS.— 

16 The Secretary shall not issue or renew a license for the 

17 purpose of being a dealer of dogs or cats to a person if— 

18 ‘‘(1) within the last 10 years, a license for the 

19 purpose of being a dealer of dogs or cats of that per20 son has been suspended after notice and opportunity 

21 for hearing or revoked pursuant to section 19(a); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(2) the license is for purposes of operating a 

24 facility for dogs or cats at a location that the person 

25 has used as a facility for dogs or cats.’’. 


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1 (c) REVOCATION OF IMPROPERLY GRANTED LI2 CENSES.—Section 19 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 

3 2149) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(e) REVOCATION OF IMPROPERLY GRANTED LI5 CENSES.—The Secretary shall revoke a license issued after 

6 the date of enactment of this subsection if the Secretary 

7 subsequently determines that, at the time of issuance, the 

8 issuance of the license violated section 3.’’. 

9 (d) REGULATIONS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

11 may prescribe such regulations as the Secretary of 

12 Agriculture determines to be necessary to implement 

13 the amendments made by this section. 

14 (2) DEADLINE.—Any regulations under para15 graph (1) shall be prescribed not later than 1 year 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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