Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2001

Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act regarding permissible sources of research facility dogs and cats, which include licensed dealers, registered public pounds or shelters meeting specified requirements, and research facilities licensed by the Department of Agriculture. Establishes monetary penalties for related violations.

[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 668 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 668

 To amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that all dogs and cats used 
              by research facilities are obtained legally.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 30, 2001

 Mr. Akaka (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Hampshire) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that all dogs and cats used 
              by research facilities are obtained legally.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pet Safety and Protection Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF PETS.

    (a) Research Facilities.--Section 7 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 
U.S.C. 2137) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 7. SOURCES OF DOGS AND CATS FOR RESEARCH FACILITIES.

    ``(a) Definition of Person.--In this section, the term `person' 
means any individual, partnership, firm, joint stock company, 
corporation, association, trust, estate, pound, shelter, or other legal 
entity.
    ``(b) Use of Dogs and Cats.--No research facility or Federal 
research facility may use a dog or cat for research or educational 
purposes if the dog or cat was obtained from a person other than a 
person described in subsection (d).
    ``(c) Selling, Donating, or Offering Dogs and Cats.--No person, 
other than a person described in subsection (d), may sell, donate, or 
offer a dog or cat to any research facility or Federal research 
facility.
    ``(d) Permissible Sources.--A person from whom a research facility 
or a Federal research facility may obtain a dog or cat for research or 
educational purposes under subsection (b), and a person who may sell, 
donate, or offer a dog or cat to a research facility or a Federal 
research facility under subsection (c), shall be--
            ``(1) a dealer licensed under section 3 that has bred and 
        raised the dog or cat;
            ``(2) a publicly owned and operated pound or shelter that--
                    ``(A) is registered with the Department of 
                Agriculture;
                    ``(B) is in compliance with section 28(a)(1) and 
                with the requirements for dealers in subsections (b) 
                and (c) of section 28; and
                    ``(C) obtained the dog or cat from its legal owner, 
                other than a pound or shelter;
            ``(3) a person that is donating the dog or cat and that--
                    ``(A) bred and raised the dog or cat; or
                    ``(B) owned the dog or cat for not less than 1 year 
                immediately preceding the donation;
            ``(4) a research facility licensed by the Department of 
        Agriculture; and
            ``(5) a Federal research facility licensed by the 
        Department of Agriculture.
    ``(e) Penalties.--
            ``(1) In general.--A person that violates this section 
        shall pay $1000 for each violation.
            ``(2) Additional penalty.--A penalty under this subsection 
        shall be in addition to any other applicable penalty and shall 
        be imposed whether or not the Secretary imposes any other 
        penalty.
    ``(f) No Required Sale or Donation.--Nothing in this section 
requires a pound or shelter to sell, donate, or offer a dog or cat to a 
research facility or Federal research facility.''.
    (b) Federal Research Facilities.--Section 8 of the Animal Welfare 
Act (7 U.S.C. 2138) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``No department'' and inserting ``Except as 
        provided in section 7, no department'';
            (2) by striking ``research or experimentation or''; and
            (3) by striking ``such purposes'' and inserting ``that 
        purpose''.
    (c) Certification.--Section 28(b)(1) of the Animal Welfare Act (7 
U.S.C. 2158(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``individual or entity'' and 
inserting ``research facility or Federal research facility''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by section 2 take effect 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>