I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4239 
To amend the Animal Health Protection Act with respect to the importation 
of live dogs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 29, 2021 
Mr. SCHRADER (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. GARAMENDI, 
and Mrs. HARTZLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Animal Health Protection Act with respect 
to the importation of live dogs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Dog Importa-
tion Act’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPORTATION OF LIVE DOGS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Animal Health Protection 
Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
section 10404 (7 U.S.C. 8303) the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
15:59 Jul 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4239.IH
H4239
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS
‘‘SEC. 10404A. IMPORTATION OF LIVE DOGS. 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3), no person shall import a dog into the 
United States unless, as determined by the Sec-
retary, the dog— 
‘‘(A) is in good health; 
‘‘(B) has received all necessary vaccina-
tions and demonstrated negative test results re-
quired by the Secretary, as evidenced by a cer-
tificate— 
‘‘(i) issued by a licensed veterinarian 
accredited by a competent veterinary au-
thority recognized by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(ii) endorsed by such authority rep-
resenting that the veterinarian issuing the 
certificate was authorized to do so; and 
‘‘(C) is officially identified by a permanent 
method approved by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) TRANSFER.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3), no person shall import or cause the trans-
portation of a dog into the United States from a for-
eign country for the purpose of transfer unless, as 
determined by the Secretary, the dog— 
‘‘(A) meets the criteria specified in para-
graph (1); 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
15:59 Jul 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4239.IH
H4239
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) is at least 6 months old; and 
‘‘(C) is accompanied by an import permit 
issued by the Secretary under this Act. 
‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary, by regula-
tion, shall provide an exception to any requirement 
under this Act in any case in which a dog is im-
ported for purposes of transfer for— 
‘‘(A) research purposes; 
‘‘(B) veterinary treatment, paid for by the 
importer, provided that the dog is taken directly 
to a veterinary facility for treatment with ap-
propriate quarantine until the dog meets the 
criteria specified in paragraph (1) and is then 
exported to its country of origin; or 
‘‘(C) in the case of a dog that is less than 
6 months old, lawful importation into the State 
of Hawaii in compliance with the regulations of 
the State of Hawaii and the other requirements 
of this section if the dog is not transported out 
of the State of Hawaii for resale at less than 
6 months of age. 
‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION
AND REGULATIONS.—The 
Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Home-
land Security, shall— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
15:59 Jul 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4239.IH
H4239
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS
‘‘(1) promulgate such regulations as the Secre-
taries determine to be necessary to implement and 
enforce this section; 
‘‘(2) facilitate electronic submission of all re-
quired documentation and make the submitted infor-
mation available to the Secretary, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Com-
merce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security for 
verification upon arrival; and 
‘‘(3) determine and establish such fees for the 
issuance of permits and the inspection with respect 
to dog importation as necessary to fund implementa-
tion and enforcement of this section. 
‘‘(c) RULE
OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub-
section (b)(3) shall be construed as limiting the avail-
ability of funding made available under section 10417 to 
carry out this section. 
‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall have 
the authority granted under section 10414 to en-
force this section. 
‘‘(2) PENALTIES.—An importer that fails to 
comply with this section shall— 
‘‘(A) be subject to penalties under section 
10414; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
15:59 Jul 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4239.IH
H4239
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) if such importer is a dealer, provide, 
as the Secretary may determine, at the expense 
of the importer, for the care (including appro-
priate veterinary care), forfeiture, quarantine, 
and removal from the United States and return 
to its place of export with due care for the wel-
fare of each applicable dog. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) IMPORTER.—The term ‘importer’ means 
any person who transports or causes the transpor-
tation of a dog into the United States from a foreign 
country. 
‘‘(2) TRANSFER.—The term ‘transfer’ means a 
change of ownership or control of an imported dog 
to another person, including by sale, adoption, ex-
change, or donation.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 18 of the Ani-
mal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2148) is repealed. 
SEC. 3. TRANSPORTATION. 
(a) DEFINITION OF TRANSPORTER.—Section 2 of the 
Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2132) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(p) The term ‘transporter’ means any person, de-
partment, agency, or instrumentality of the United States 
or of any State or local government, other than a carrier 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
15:59 Jul 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4239.IH
H4239
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS
or intermediate handler, who receives an animal from any 
importer, dealer, research facility, exhibitor, operator of 
an auction sale, or department, agency, or instrumentality 
of the United States or of any State or local government 
and receives compensation for moving such animal in com-
merce. 
‘‘(q) The term ‘compensation’ means any act or con-
sideration or thing of value received by a person directly, 
including cash or noncash benefits, cost-avoidance, obtain-
ing positive or avoiding negative publicity, an exchange of 
services, or maintaining a license issued under local, State, 
or Federal government authority. 
‘‘(r) The term ‘sell’ or ‘resell’ means to transfer of 
ownership or control of an animal, including by sale, adop-
tion, exchange, or donation.’’. 
(b) HUMANE STANDARDS.—Section 13 of the Animal 
Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2143) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(4)— 
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘air 
carriers,’’ and inserting ‘‘transporters, air car-
riers,’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘The Secretary shall provide, by regulation, 
that each transporter, intermediate handler, or 
carrier receiving a certificate of veterinary in-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
15:59 Jul 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4239.IH
H4239
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS
spection required under this section shall sub-
mit a copy of the certificate to the Secretary, 
who shall record the information in a central-
ized, publicly available database.’’; and 
(2) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 
subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and 
(3) by striking ‘‘(f) No dogs or cats’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(g) No dogs or cats’’; 
(4) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para-
graph (3)— 
(A) in the first sentence— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘importer,’’ before 
‘‘dealer’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘, transporter,’’ after 
‘‘intermediate handler’’ each place it ap-
pears; and 
(B) in the second sentence— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘, transporters,’’ after 
‘‘intermediate handlers’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘section 10 of this 
Act’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(4)’’ . 
SEC. 4. REGULATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri-
culture shall issue final regulations to implement the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
15:59 Jul 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4239.IH
H4239
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS
amendments made by this Act, including the verification 
upon arrival that each dog being imported into the United 
States from a foreign country meets all applicable impor-
tation requirements and the denial of entry into the 
United States of any dog that fails to meet such require-
ments. 
(b) TRANSITION PERIOD.—Until the date on which 
final regulations are issued under subsection (a), the im-
portation of live dogs shall be regulated in accordance with 
the regulations issued under section 18 of the Animal Wel-
fare Act (7 U.S.C. 2148) in effect on the day before the 
date of the enactment of this Act, but only to the extent 
that such regulations are not in conflict with section 
10404A of the Animal Health Protection Act (as added 
by section 1). 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
15:59 Jul 14, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4239.IH
H4239
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS