An Act To Provide for the Adoption of Cats and Dogs Previously Used for Research Purposes
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 0246
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: BAILEY

Legislative Document
No. 246
H.P. 179
House of Representatives, January 31, 2017
An Act To Provide for the Adoption of Cats and Dogs Previously 
Used for Research Purposes
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BAILEY of Saco.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA c. 746 is enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 746 
RESEARCH ANIMAL RETIREMENT ACT 
§4171.  Short title 
This Act may be known and cited as "the Research Animal Retirement Act." 
§4172.  Definitions 
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings. 
1.  Animal rescue organization.  "Animal rescue organization" means a nonprofit 
organization whose purpose is rescuing animals in need of care and finding permanent, 
adoptive homes for the animals. 
2.  Animal shelter.  "Animal shelter" means a nonprofit organization that provides 
housing and care for animals, directly or through 3rd-party agreements, with the purpose 
of finding permanent homes for those animals through adoption. 
3.  Private placement.  "Private placement" means an arrangement between a 
research facility and an individual seeking to adopt a retired animal. 
4.  Research facility.  "Research facility" means a facility that conducts experiments 
on dogs or cats for science, testing, education or research purposes. "Research facility" 
includes a higher education research facility that receives funding from the State, 
including tax-exempt status, or a facility that provides research in collaboration with a 
higher education research facility,  
5.  Retired animal.  "Retired animal" means a cat or dog that has been previously 
used for science, testing, education or research purposes and is no longer required by the 
research facility and has no substantial medical conditions preventing successful 
integration into a permanent, adoptive home. 
§4173.  Adoption of cats and dogs used in science, testing, education or research 
1.  Retired animals.  A research facility or an employee or student of a research 
facility, unless euthanasia of a retired animal is required for health or safety reasons, 
shall: 
A.  Offer the retired animal to an animal rescue organization or animal shelter for 
adoption; or 
B.  Offer the retired animal for adoption through private placement. 
2.  Agreement.  A research facility that offers a retired animal to an animal rescue 
organization or animal shelter under this section shall enter into an agreement with the 
animal rescue organization or animal shelter for the implementation of this section.  A 
research facility that provides a retired animal to an animal rescue organization or animal 
shelter under this section is immune from any civil liability that otherwise might result 
from its actions, as long as the research facility is acting in good faith. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires research facilities that receive public funding to offer for adoption 
cats and dogs used for science, testing, education or research purposes when the cats and 
dogs are no longer needed for those purposes instead of euthanizing them.  Adoption of 
the cats and dogs may be through an animal shelter, animal rescue organization or private 
placement.