An Act To Improve the Animal Welfare Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0103
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: PLUECKER
Amends: 7 MRSA §3906-B, 7 MRSA §3906-C, 7 MRSA §3907, 7 MRSA §3916, 7 MRSA §3923-G, 7 MRSA §3950-A, 17 MRSA §1011, 17 MRSA §1038

Legislative Document
No. 103
H.P. 69
House of Representatives, January 13, 2021
An Act To Improve the Animal Welfare Laws
Submitted by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint 
Rule 204.
Received by the Clerk of the House on January 11, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative PLUECKER of Warren.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §3906-B, sub-§12, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 502, Pt. C, §12, is 
repealed.
Sec. 2.  7 MRSA §3906-B, sub-§12-A is enacted to read:
12-A.  Right to call and designate assistance.  The commissioner may employ a 
person considered necessary to assist in a response to a natural or man-made disaster 
affecting animals.  A person called and employed for assistance shall proceed to help 
resolve the natural or man-made disaster as directed by the commissioner or the 
commissioner's designee.
A.  A person considered necessary to assist in a response must receive compensation 
for services at the prevailing rate in the State, except that animal control officers, 
veterinarians, animal shelter staff or other groups used outside the State may receive 
pay at their usual rates.  Equipment may be provided by individuals or groups during a 
response.  Equipment used in a response must, upon application, be compensated for 
at an amount fixed by the state in which the response occurred.  A person responding 
under this subsection may be provided with subsistence pay during the response.
B.  The commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall promptly prepare a report 
of the commissioner's or the designee's investigation of the response detailing the cause 
of the natural or man-made disaster and recommendations for future prevention and 
response.  The commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall prepare and include 
in the report a detailed statement of expenses incurred immediately after the natural or 
man-made disaster on forms provided by the department. 
All requests for reimbursement must be presented to the commissioner or the 
commissioner's designee within 60 days after demobilization or become void.  The 
commissioner or the commissioner's designee may extend the time as long as a 
preliminary report has been made. 
The commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall examine all invoices presented 
to the State for reimbursement or direct payment.  After items not qualifying for 
reimbursement have been deducted, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee 
shall approve the remaining items for payment.
Sec. 3.  7 MRSA §3906-C, sub-§1, ¶E, as amended by PL 1995, c. 502, Pt. C, §13, 
is further amended to read:
E.  One member representing licensed pet shops or pet food suppliers;
Sec. 4.  7 MRSA §3906-C, sub-§1, ¶I, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 399, §3, is 
amended to read:
I.  One attorney with experience in animal welfare law or the state court system;
Sec. 5.  7 MRSA §3907, sub-§22-C is enacted to read:
22-C.  Pet food supplier.  "Pet food supplier" means any retail location located in the 
State that sells feeding supplies for pets or livestock.
Sec. 6.  7 MRSA §3916, sub-§1-A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 439, §8, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place:
1-A.  Required for dogs.  Except as provided in subsection 4, an owner or keeper of a 
dog over 3 months of age shall have that dog vaccinated against rabies.  The rabies vaccine 
must be administered by a licensed veterinarian or under the supervision of a licensed 
veterinarian.  Upon receiving an initial vaccination, a dog is considered protected for one 
year and an owner or keeper of that dog shall get a booster vaccination for that dog one 
year after the initial vaccination and subsequent booster vaccinations at intervals that do 
not exceed the intervals recommended by a national association of state public health 
veterinarians for the type of vaccine administered.  A wolf hybrid is required to be 
vaccinated in accordance with this subsection.  The procedure prescribed under Title 22, 
chapter 251, subchapter 5 for a wolf hybrid suspected of having rabies does not change 
based on proof that the wolf hybrid has received a rabies vaccination.
Sec. 7.  7 MRSA §3923-G, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 100, §12, is amended 
to read:
6.  Exclusion of wolf hybrids, dangerous dogs and nuisance dogs.  This section does 
not apply to the licensing of a wolf hybrid, a dangerous dog or a nuisance dog.  A person 
owning a wolf hybrid, a dangerous dog or a nuisance dog shall obtain a license from the 
municipal clerk or the dog recorder for the municipality, plantation or unorganized territory 
in which the person owning the wolf hybrid, the dangerous dog or the nuisance dog resides.
Sec. 8.  7 MRSA §3950-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 343, §22, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Penalty.  A person who violates subsection 1 commits a civil violation for which a 
fine of not less than $50 and not more than $500 and costs may be adjudged and, for an 
animal control officer, revocation of that person's certification as an animal control officer 
may be imposed.
Sec. 9.  17 MRSA §1011, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A.  Animal care facility.  "Animal care facility" includes but it not limited to 
veterinarians' offices, boarding kennels, equine facilities, animal grooming facilities, 
animal shelters and animal day care facilities.
Sec. 10.  17 MRSA §1011, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 383, §4, is amended 
to read:
8.  Boarding kennel.  "Boarding kennel" means any place, building, tract of land, 
abode or vehicle in or on which privately owned dogs or other pets, or both, animals are 
kept for their owners in return for a fee.
Sec. 11.  17 MRSA §1038, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 422, §11, is amended 
to read:
Abandoning an animal at a veterinarian's office, boarding kennel, animal grooming 
facility or animal day-care facility an animal care facility is a Class D crime.
Sec. 12.  17 MRSA §1038, sub-§1, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 422, §11, is 
amended to read:
A.  Places an animal in the custody of a licensed veterinarian for treatment, boarding 
or other care, or in a boarding kennel, animal grooming facility or animal day-care 
facility an animal care facility for services offered by that facility; and
Sec. 13.  17 MRSA §1038, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 422, §11, is amended 
to read:
2.  Notice requirement.  Before any animal may be considered abandoned under this 
section, a veterinarian's office, boarding kennel, animal grooming facility or animal day-
care facility an animal care facility shall send written notice, by registered or certified mail, 
return receipt requested, to the owner or keeper at the owner's or keeper's last known 
address.  Proof of attempted delivery constitutes sufficient notice.
Sec. 14.  17 MRSA §1038, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 422, §11, is amended 
to read:
3.  Ownership of abandoned animal.  When an owner or keeper fails to claim an 
animal within 10 days of a notice being sent under subsection 2, the veterinarian, kennel, 
animal care facility or individual who has custody and control of the animal is considered 
the owner of the animal and shall arrange for its care, including, but not limited to, its 
adoption, sale or placement with a licensed animal shelter.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws pertaining to agriculture and animals to allow the 
Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to employ any person considered 
necessary to assist in any response to a natural or man-made disaster affecting animals both 
in the State and outside the State and provides for such a person's compensation.  It also 
establishes reporting requirements regarding such a disaster response.  It allows the Animal 
Welfare Advisory Council to have as a member a person who is a pet food supplier and an 
attorney with experience in the state court system.  It changes the rabies vaccination 
requirement to provide that an owner or keeper of a dog over 3 months of age must have 
the dog vaccinated.  It adds dangerous dogs and nuisance dogs to those animals that are 
excluded from obtaining dog licenses through the Internet licensing project.  It provides for 
the revocation of animal control officer certification if the officer refuses or intentionally 
fails to perform the officer's statutory duties.  It amends animal welfare laws to define 
"animal care facility" and to provide that the definition of "boarding kennel" applies to all 
privately owned animals that are kept for a fee.