I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1141 
To amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that all dogs and cats used 
by research facilities are obtained legally. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 16, 2017 
Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. SMITH of New 
Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that all dogs 
and cats used by research facilities are obtained legally. 
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 ‘‘Pet Safety and Protec-
tion Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF PETS. 
(a) RESEARCH FACILITIES.—Section 7 of the Animal 
Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2137) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
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‘‘SEC. 7. SOURCES OF DOGS AND CATS FOR RESEARCH FA-
CILITIES. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF PERSON.—In this section, the 
term ‘person’ means any individual, partnership, firm, 
joint stock company, corporation, association, trust, es-
tate, pound, shelter, or other legal entity. 
‘‘(b) USE OF DOGS AND CATS.—No research facility 
or Federal research facility may use a dog or cat for re-
search or educational purposes if the dog or cat was ob-
tained from a person other than a person described in sub-
section (d). 
‘‘(c) SELLING, DONATING, OR OFFERING DOGS AND 
CATS.—No person, other than a person described in sub-
section (d), may sell, donate, or offer a dog or cat to any 
research facility or Federal research facility. 
‘‘(d) PERMISSIBLE SOURCES.—A person from whom 
a research facility or a Federal research facility may ob-
tain a dog or cat for research or educational purposes 
under subsection (b), and a person who may sell, donate, 
or offer a dog or cat to a research facility or a Federal 
research facility under subsection (c), shall be— 
‘‘(1) a dealer licensed under section 3 that has 
bred and raised the dog or cat; 
‘‘(2) a publicly owned and operated pound or 
shelter that— 
‘‘(A) is registered with the Secretary; 
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‘‘(B) is in compliance with section 28(a)(1) 
and with the requirements for dealers in sub-
sections (b) and (c) of section 28; and 
‘‘(C) obtained the dog or cat from its legal 
owner, other than a pound or shelter; 
‘‘(3) a person that is donating the dog or cat 
and that— 
‘‘(A) bred and raised the dog or cat; or 
‘‘(B) owned the dog or cat for not less 
than 1 year immediately preceding the dona-
tion; 
‘‘(4) a research facility licensed by the Sec-
retary; and 
‘‘(5) a Federal research facility licensed by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(e) PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person that violates this 
section shall be fined $1,000 for each violation. 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL PENALTY.—A penalty under 
this subsection shall be in addition to any other ap-
plicable penalty. 
‘‘(f) NO REQUIRED SALE OR DONATION.—Nothing 
in this section requires a pound or shelter to sell, donate, 
or offer a dog or cat to a research facility or Federal re-
search facility.’’. 
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(b) FEDERAL RESEARCH FACILITIES.—Section 8 of 
the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2138) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Sec. 8. No department’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘SEC. 8. FEDERAL RESEARCH FACILITIES. 
‘‘Except as provided in section 7, no department’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘research or experimentation 
or’’; and 
(3) by striking ‘‘such purposes’’ and inserting 
‘‘that purpose’’. 
(c) CERTIFICATION.—Section 28(b)(1) of the Animal 
Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2158(b)(1)) is amended by striking 
‘‘individual or entity’’ and inserting ‘‘research facility or 
Federal research facility’’. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by section 2 take effect on 
the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
Æ 
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