Source: https://www.animallaw.info/statute/de-spay-neuter-and-feral-cat-subchapter-ii-animal-population-control-program-and-spayneuter
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 06:31:00+00:00

Document:
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8214 by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014.
c. Twelve thousand six hundred and fifty-nine (57%) were euthanized.
c. Thirteen thousand six hundred and fifty-three animals (56%) were euthanized.
c. Thirteen thousand and sixty-seven animals (61.4%) were euthanized.
c. Thirteen thousand five hundred and eighty three animals (64.4%) were euthanized.
(5) As Delaware's human population growth rate increases so too will the population growth rate of the dog and cat populations, the intake at animal facilities and the consequent disposition rates associated therewith.
f. Reducing cruelty to animals opportunities by addressing and decreasing the presence of unwanted/nuisance populations.
(7) This subchapter recognizes the economic hardships associated with animal population control, the problems associated with homeless animals, and the societal impacts associated with failing to address these problems and establishes a program focused upon addressing dog and cat population control by providing a means by which population control and rabies vaccinations may be financed.
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8215 by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014.
(5) Threats to public health and safety (e.g., from rabies and vehicular accidents).
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8216 by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014.
(a) “Abandoned/free-roaming homeless/stray/unwanted animal”--A cat or dog with no known owner or not wanted by its owner or that may be deserted by its owner.
(b) “Administrator”--Department of Health and Social Services.
(c) “Animal control agency”--Any state, county or municipally authorized animal control agency.
(d) “Animal shelter”--A public or private facility which includes a physical structure that provides temporary or permanent shelter to stray, abandoned, abused, or owner-surrendered animals.
(e) “Cat”--A member of the genus and species known as felis catus.
(f) “Dog”--A member of the genus and species known as canis familiaris.
(g) “Ear-tip”--The removal of approximately a quarter-inch off the tip of the cat's left ear while the cat is anesthetized.
(2) Is a formerly owned cat that has been abandoned and is no longer socialized.
(i) Repealed by 81 Laws 2018, ch. 450, § 2.
(j) “Free-roaming cat caretaker”--A person who provides shelter, medical care, or food to one or more feral or free-roaming cats lacking discernible owner identification, and works to reduce colony numbers by working to spay and neuter the animals within their specific colony or colonies. Free-roaming cat caretakers are not owners.
(k) Repealed by 81 Laws 2018, ch. 450, § 2.
(l) “Owner”--Any person, firm, partnership, association or corporation owning, keeping or harboring a cat, dog or other animal.
(m) “Program”--The mandatory pre-adoption sterilization and rabies inoculation program established by and set forth in this subchapter for cats and dogs.
(n) “Spay/neuter”--To sterilize a female animal by removing the ovaries or to castrate a male animal by removing the testicles or by FDA-approved pharmaceutical sterilization.
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Amended by 76 Laws 2008, ch. 284, § 1, eff. July 1, 2008. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8217 and amended by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014; 81 Laws 2018, ch. 450, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2018.
(a) Spay/Neuter Fund shall be established for the purpose of funding the Animal Population Control Program.
(b) All moneys received by the administrator in accordance with the authority provided by this subchapter shall be deposited into a separate, nonlapsing account and shall be dedicated for use by the administrator exclusively for veterinarian reimbursement and administration costs associated with the Program and set forth in this subchapter.
(c) All interest earnings shall be credited to the assets of the Fund and shall become part of the Fund.
(d) Any balance remaining in the Fund at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward for the next fiscal year for this Program.
(1) On June 29, 2006, $250,000, subject to appropriation, shall be deposited in the account for use during fiscal year 2007.
(2) In addition to the foregoing, a $3.00 surcharge shall be added to each rabies shot administered to cats and dogs in Delaware on or after September 1, 2006. It shall be the responsibility of the veterinarian administering the inoculation to collect said funds and forward same on a monthly basis, together with all applicable rabies inoculation verifications and other forms to the administrator.
(3) The surcharge shall be deposited in the Fund's account and shall become part of the Fund's corpus.
(4) The funding stream established in this section shall be evaluated on or before December 30, 2007, to assess the measurable impacts as set forth in § 8226 [FN 1] of this title and to determine the potential necessity for an extension of subsidized funding compared to the ability of the fund's corpus, as set forth below, to generate sufficient on-going revenues to provide a self-sustaining funding mechanism.
(1) The administrator is authorized to solicit and accept donations, grants, gifts, and bequests of money, property or personal services from individuals and/or organizations including, but not limited to, private foundations or alliances, nonpublic agencies, institutions, organizations or businesses. All funds generated shall be retained by the administrator in order to defray costs associated with the Animal Population Control Program and any volunteer and community service activities and events of the Animal Population Control Program. Funds received will not be used for employee salaries or benefits. All funds received are subject to audit by the Office of Management and Budget, and employees of the administrator or the Animal Population Control Program, if any, are bound by § 5806 of Title 29 when engaging in fundraising activities.
(2) Any misnomer shall not defeat or annul any gift, grant, devise or bequest to the administrator if it sufficiently appears by the will, conveyance or other writing that the party making the same intended to pass and convey thereby to the administrator, the property, estate or interest therein expressed or described.
(3) Any property, real or personal, acquired by the administrator on behalf of the Animal Population Control Program may be used solely for purposes related to the goals of the Animal Population Control Program or, at the discretion of the administrator, sold at public auction to raise funds to support the Animal Population Control Program.
(4) All money donated or bequeathed to the administrator or otherwise received hereunder shall be deposited with the Secretary of Finance and shall be appropriated semi-annually to the administrator for purposes of the Animal Population Control Program.
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8218 by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014.
[FN 1] So in enrolled bill; probably should read “16 Del.C. § 3021F”.
d. Repealed by 81 Laws 2018, ch. 224.
e. Presents a Delaware feral cat or a Delaware stray dog or is the owner or free-roaming cat caretaker of the Delaware cat or Delaware dog being spayed or neutered to a participating veterinarian or clinic.
d. Is exempt from federal taxation in accordance with Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3) [26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)].
a. Approximately 75% of the funding shall be dedicated to subsidizing the cost of sterilizing domesticated animals owned by those participants qualifying under the terms set forth in paragraph (1) of this section.
b. Approximately 25% of the funding shall be dedicated to subsidizing the cost of sterilizing those abandoned, free-roaming, homeless, stray, or unwanted animals located in communities by participants qualifying under paragraph (2) of this section.
c. An individual seeking a low-income subsidy in accordance with paragraph (1) of this section shall be limited to 3 such procedures per fiscal year and shall be ineligible to seek additional funding by participating in the Program under the terms set forth in paragraph (2) of this section.
d. Division by the Administrator of the program’s fiscal allotment and the numerical spay and neuter procedures established above shall be reevaluated by the Administrator after the first 2 years of operations and thereafter as necessary to assure the program’s continued viability.
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Amended by 70 Laws 1995, ch. 186, § 1, eff. July 10, 1995; 76 Laws 2008, ch. 284, § 2, eff. July 1, 2008; 77 Laws 2009, ch. 174, §§ 1-5, eff. July 22, 2009. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8219 by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014; 81 Laws 2018, ch. 224, § 1, eff. April 17, 2018; 81 Laws 2018, ch. 450, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2018.
(3) An animal shelter as defined herein.
3. The deposit is disbursed subject to and in accordance with the procedures elaborated in § 3017F(c) of this title below.
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8220 by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014; 81 Laws 2018, ch. 224, § 2, eff. April 17, 2018.
(1) Format and content of all forms required under this subchapter.
(2) Proof of eligibility under § 3015F of this title.
(3) Administration of the Fund established under § 3018F of this title.
(4) Any other matter necessary for the administration or enforcement of the Animal Population Control Program and Spay/Neuter Fund established under this subchapter.
(b) Any person who knowingly falsifies proof of eligibility for, or participation in, any program established under this chapter, or who knowingly furnishes any licensed veterinarian with inaccurate information concerning ownership of a pet submitted for sterilization, or who falsifies an animal sterilization certificate shall be guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor and shall be subject to a minimum mandatory fine, which shall not be subject to suspension, of $250.
(1) In the absence of a medical exemption resulting from an examination by an accredited veterinarian, which finds that the dog/cat has reached reproductive age but is in a state of health which precludes the safe and humane implementation of a spay/neuter procedure or rabies inoculation (as is outlined in § 3016F(b)(1) of this title above) the adopter's spay/neuter deposit shall be escheated to the Fund's corpus after the specified timeframe has lapsed, and the proceeds shall be disbursed in accordance with the guidelines and process elaborated in § 3015F of this title.
(2) The administrator shall be notified and prosecution shall follow.
(3) In addition to the forfeiture of the spay/neuter deposit, which shall not be subject to suspension, the adopter shall be responsible for the actual cost of having the animal spayed/neutered and inoculated for rabies within a period of 15 calendar days.
(4) In addition to the forfeiture of the deposit moneys and the actual cost of having the animal spayed/neutered and inoculated for rabies within the established period of 15 calendar days a mandatory minimum fine of $250, plus all enforcement and court costs, all of which shall not be subject to suspension, shall be levied upon the violator for failure to comply with the spay/neuter and inoculation requisite within the established timeframe.
(5) If the adopter fails to comply with the spay/neuter and inoculation process within the extended 15-day timeframe, the minimum mandatory fine, which shall not be subject to suspension, shall be doubled and the animal shall be forfeited to the original adopting agency.
(6) The administrator shall employ all available remedies at law in any court of competent jurisdiction in pursuing the collection of any and all fines.
(1) Any agency, organization, or other entity cited under § 3016F of this title failing to comply with the mandatory pre-adoption spay/neuter and rabies inoculation program set forth in this subchapter shall be subject to a mandatory minimum fine of $500, which shall not be subject to suspension, for each violation of this subchapter.
(2) An agency's holding of animals of reproductive age until such time as said animals are the subject of an adoption application does not constitute a violation of this subchapter.
(e) All fines collected in association with this subchapter shall be deposited in and become a part of the Fund's corpus, shall be invested with the proceeds thereof and the moneys earned therefrom, together with other interest income generated by the Fund's corpus shall be disbursed according to the guidelines and process elaborated in § 8015F [FN 1] of this title.
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Amended by 76 Laws 2008, ch. 284, §§ 3, 4, eff. July 1, 2008. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8221 and amended by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014; 81 Laws 2018, ch. 224, § 3, eff. April 17, 2018.
(5) Obtaining the maximum number of spay/neuter/inoculation procedures available to the Program's financial parameters per calendar year.
(b) All reimbursement shall be through the administrator.
(c) The cost of the program manager position to administer the Pet Population Control Spay/Neuter Program shall be paid for out of General Funds until this Special Fund of $500,000, at which time the position and support costs shall be paid for out of Appropriated Special Funds.
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Amended by 76 Laws 2008, ch. 284, § 5, eff. July 1, 2008. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8222 by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014; 81 Laws 2018, ch. 224, § 4, eff. April 17, 2018; 81 Laws 2018, ch. 450, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2018.
(a) Any veterinarian licensed in the State of Delaware may participate in the Program established under this chapter. To participate, a veterinarian must file an application provided by the administrator agreeing to all preset fees and program conditions. Preset fees shall be set by the administrator, in consultation with the Delaware Veterinary Medical Association and shall be subject to revision as determined necessary by the administrator.
(b) For all cats or and dogs sterilized under this Program, the administrator shall reimburse the veterinarians or business they work for or the 501(c)(3) [26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)] organization for services on a monthly basis. The preset fee shall cover the cost of a presurgical medical evaluation; spay/neuter surgery, rabies vaccination and routine postsurgical care required by the servicing veterinarian's postoperative protocol. The owner/caretaker shall be responsible for the payment of any additional fees for procedures mutually agreed upon and administered by the veterinarian that are not covered under this Program.
(c) To receive reimbursement for procedures performed, the participating veterinarian or business they work for or the 501(c)(3) [26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)] organization shall submit a copy of the completed Spay/Neuter Fund Certificate signed by the veterinarian who performed the surgery to the administrator.
(d) The current rabies forms shall be revised in such a manner as to create an area for recording a serialized tag number for purposes of accountability.
(e) This process shall also apply to all inoculations clinics except that it shall also be the responsibility of the organization conducting the clinic to maintain copies of the certificates for a minimum of 12 months after the expiration date of the vaccination.
(f) In addition to that which is already established by law, a copy of the rabies registration form shall be generated and provided to the Program's administrator. The administrator's copy shall be utilized for establishing and maintaining a database for enforcement, performance review analysis and tax credit reporting purposes.
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Amended by 76 Laws 2008, ch. 284, § 6, eff. July 1, 2008. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8223 by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014; 81 Laws 2018, ch. 224, § 5, eff. April 17, 2018; 81 Laws 2018, ch. 450, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2018.
Performance measurement is necessary to determine the success of the Program and to assess if any changes in the Program should be made.
e. Such other criteria as the administrator shall find necessary for the purposes of performance review analysis.
j. Six additional members appointed by the Chairperson, including 2 members from each county, each of whom shall be a veterinarian or a representative of an animal rescue organization not cited above.
(3) The Chairperson shall schedule Committee meetings as often as is necessary. The Committee shall issue recommendations to the Department of Health and Social Services as often as the Chairperson deems necessary, but no less often than annually. Any member who fails to attend 3 consecutive meetings, or who fails to attend at least ½ of all regular business meetings during any calendar year, shall automatically upon such occurrence be deemed to have resigned from the Committee and a replacement shall be appointed by the Chairperson.
(4) Subject to and in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, a quorum shall consist of 51% of the Committee's membership and actions by the Committee may only be taken by majority vote of those members present. The members shall receive no compensation for their services. The Committee is authorized to adopt such rules and procedures as may be necessary or convenient to accomplish the purposes set forth in this subchapter, including without limitation, the adoption of conflict of interest rules.
Added by 75 Laws 2006, ch. 326, § 1, eff. June 29, 2006. Amended by 76 Laws 2008, ch. 284, §§ 7-9, eff. July 1, 2008. Redesignated from 3 Del.C. § 8225 and amended by by 79 Laws 2014, ch. 377, § 2, eff. July 31, 2014; 81 Laws 2018, ch. 224, § 6, eff. April 17, 2018.

References: § 1
 § 8214
 § 2
 § 1
 § 8215
 § 2
 § 1
 § 8216
 § 2
 § 2
 § 2
 § 1
 § 1
 § 8217
 § 2
 § 2
 § 8226
 § 5806
 § 1
 § 8218
 § 2
 § 3021
 § 501
 § 501
 § 1
 § 1
 § 2
 § 8219
 § 2
 § 1
 § 2
 § 3017
 § 1
 § 8220
 § 2
 § 2
 § 3015
 § 3018
 § 3016
 § 3015
 § 3016
 § 8015
 § 1
 § 8221
 § 2
 § 3
 § 1
 § 5
 § 8222
 § 2
 § 4
 § 2
 § 501
 § 501
 § 1
 § 6
 § 8223
 § 2
 § 5
 § 2
 § 1
 § 8225
 § 2
 § 6