2023 Delaware Code › Title 16 - Health and Safety › Chapter 30F. ANIMAL WELFARE › Subchapter II. Animal Population Control Program and Spay/Neuter Fund › § 3017F. Enforcement, violations and penalties.

§ 3017F. Enforcement, violations and penalties.
(a) The administrator shall adopt regulations pursuant to this subchapter relative to:
(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.
(c) Failure to spay/neuter a dog or cat once within the parameters established in § 3016F of this title:
(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.
(d) Agency failure to spay/neuter an animal of reproductive age:
(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 § 3014F of this title.
75 Del. Laws, c. 326, §  1;  76 Del. Laws, c. 284, §§  3, 4;  79 Del. Laws, c. 377, §  2;  81 Del. Laws, c. 224, § 3;