The bill would change the Animal Welfare Act rules for dealers and exhibitors. It would require annual license applications that list all animals at their facilities, and licenses could last no more than one year. The Secretary of Agriculture could not license people found to have violated animal-related laws, or when a license would help bypass a state or local ban on private ownership of certain animals.
Most existing license holders would need to pass at least one full, unannounced annual inspection before getting a new license. New applicants could receive no more than two inspections within 90 days; a second failed inspection would mean denial and a one-year wait before reapplying. Businesses the Secretary finds de minimis would not need a license.
The bill would set minimum veterinary care requirements, including regular veterinarian visits and animal exams at least once every 12 months, subject to health or safety needs. It also calls for veterinarian-approved schedules for vaccinations, parasite care, and other preventive treatment. For violations that pose an animal-welfare risk, the Secretary would have to temporarily suspend a license for up to 21 days and, after notice and an informal hearing, permanently revoke it if specified conditions are met. The bill would also restrict suspended or revoked license holders and certain related people or entities from licensing and animal-related work. Inspection, enforcement, and animal-inventory information would be posted in full on a searchable public website. Regulations would be due within 90 days of enactment.
Dealers and exhibitors covered by the Act could face annual applications, inspections, veterinary-care requirements, and stricter license penalties. The public could search posted inspection and enforcement records and animal inventories. The bill does not specify how the Secretary would determine that a business is de minimis.
Applicants would pay the license fee established under the Animal Welfare Act. The bill does not state a fee amount or provide information about other costs.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.