Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 40 - Agriculture and Resource Marketing › Subchapter 05 - Animal Health › Part 4 - Rules and Regulations Governing Animal Care Facilities › Section 250-RICR-40-05-4.5 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. The following words when used in the rules
				  shall have the following meaning:
1. "Animal"
				  or "Animals" means any dog or cat, rabbit, rodent, nonhuman primate, bird or
				  other warm-blooded vertebrate, amphibian, fish or reptile but shall not include
				  horses, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, and domestic fowl.
2. "Animal care facility" means any facility
				  that is required to be licensed or registered pursuant to the provisions of
				  R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 4-19.
3.
				  "Animal control officer" means any person employed by a city or town as a
				  canine control officer, dog warden, or police officer responsible for animal
				  control delegated authority by the Rhode Island Rabies Control Board.
4. "Animal shelter" means a
				  facility which is used to house or contain animals and which is owned,
				  operated, or maintained by a duly incorporated humane society, animal welfare
				  society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit
				  organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of
				  animals.
5. "Authorized agent"
				  means an employee of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
				  who is engaged in the execution of their official duties.
6. "Breeder" means a person engaged in the
				  propagation of purebred or crossbred dogs and/or cats for the purpose of
				  improving and enhancing a breed recognized and registered by the American
				  Kennel Club, American Field Stud Book, a registered cat breed association, or
				  for sale at wholesale or retail, unless otherwise exempted by breeding fewer
				  than three (3) litters per year or produces fewer than twenty (20) individual
				  puppies or kittens for the purpose of sale.
7. "Broker" means any third party who
				  arranges, delivers, or otherwise facilitates transfer of ownership of
				  animal(s), through adoption or fostering, from one party to another, whether or
				  not the party receives a fee for providing that service and whether or not the
				  party takes physical possession of the animal(s) at any point.
8. "Dealer" means any person who sells,
				  exchanges, or donates, or offers to sell, exchange, or donate, animals to
				  another dealer, pet shop, or research facility, or who breeds animals for the
				  purpose of selling or donating to another dealer or pet shop or research
				  facility.
9. "Department" means the
				  Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
10. "Enclosure" means the most proximal
				  barrier to an animal that will have the intended purpose or effect of
				  containment of that animal or that will effectively restrict the liberty of the
				  animal.
11. "Environmental police
				  officer" means a sworn officer of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental
				  Management, Division of Law Enforcement.
12. "Guardian" means a person(s) having the
				  same rights and responsibilities as an owner or keeper, and the terms may be
				  used interchangeably. A guardian shall also mean a person who possesses, has
				  title to or an interest in, harbors or has control, custody or possession of an
				  animal and who is responsible for an animal's safety and well-being.
13. "Kennel" means a place or establishment
				  other than a pound, animal shelter, or veterinary hospital that is housing
				  animals during their treatment, where animals not owned by the proprietor are
				  sheltered, fed, and watered in return for a fee.
14. "Owner" or "Keeper" means any person or
				  agency keeping, harboring or having charge or control of or responsibility for
				  control of an animal or any person or agency which permits any dog, cat,
				  ferret, or domestic animal to habitually be fed within that person's yard or
				  premises. This term shall not apply to veterinary facilities, any licensed
				  boarding kennel, municipal pound, pet shop, or animal shelter.
15. "Pet shop" means a temporary or permanent
				  establishment where animals are bought, sold, exchanged, or offered for sale or
				  exchange to the general public at retail. This shall not include an
				  establishment or person whose total sales are the offspring of canine or feline
				  females maintained on their premises and sold from those premises.
16. "Pound" means a facility operated by a
				  state, or any political subdivision of a state, for the purpose of impounding
				  or harboring seized, stray, homeless, abandoned or unwanted dogs, cats, and
				  other animals or a facility operated for that purpose under a contract with any
				  municipal corporation or incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to
				  animals.
17. "Records" means
				  information that is kept in a paper or electronic format that is consistent
				  with the information that is required to be kept for animals. The information
				  must be kept in a format and that is readily able to be inspected by anyone
				  authorized to conduct an inspection. All information must be kept in or
				  translated to English prior to being presented to inspectors.
18. "Rescue" means an entity, with or without
				  a physical brick and mortar facility which is owned, operated, or maintained by
				  a duly incorporated humane society, animal welfare society, society for the
				  prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit organization devoted to
				  the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals intended for
				  adoption.
19. "RISPCA" means the
				  Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
20. "Seized" means the lawful removal of an
				  owned animal from the premises where the animal resided or from the care of an
				  owner or guardian.
21. "Seller"
				  means the owner of a pet shop and the owner's agents, employees, subordinates,
				  volunteers, and workers.
22.
				  "Stray" means an animal that is:
a. On the
				  premises of a person other than an owner of the animal, without the consent of
				  an occupant or owner of such premises, or
b. On a public street or highway, on public
				  or private school grounds, or in any other public place, except when under the
				  physical control of an owner.
23. "Surrendered" means an animal that has
				  had ownership transferred to a pound, shelter, or rescue by the animal's owner
				  or guardian, and the owner or guardian has relinquished all ownership rights to
				  the entity that received the animal.
24. "USDA" means the United States Department
				  of Agriculture.