USDA seeks change to regulate Internet and retail pet sales

[minguss]

I received this last night form The Sportsmen's and Animal Owners voting Alliance.

his afternoon USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) held a stakeholders conference call to announce a forthcoming proposal to revise its definition of “retail pet store”. APHIS states this proposal restores the definition to its original intent so that it limits the retail pet store exemption to only those places where buyers physically enter to observe the animals available for sale prior to purchasing them and where certain animals are sold or offered for sale at retail for use as pets. The definition of pet includes dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rats, mice, gophers, chinchilla, domestic ferrets, domestic farm animals, birds, and coldblooded species.



To meet the exemption requirements for the newly defined retail pet store, buyers must be allowed to physically enter the retail seller’s place of business or residence in order to personally observe the animals available for sale prior to purchase and/or to take custody of the animals after purchase. In addition, breeders must have four or less breeding females and can only sell the offspring of the breeding females that were born and raised on their premises, and sold for pets or exhibition.

USDA/APHIS issued a press release this afternoon: USDA Proposes to Close Loophole on Retail Pet Sales to Ensure Health and Humane Treatment which can be found at this link: http://tinyurl.com/7b9kbpj

The notice is scheduled for publication within a week in the Federal Register. The proposed rule and an FAQ are currently available at www.aphis.usda.gov.

Proposed Rule is Docket No. APHIS-2011-0003, Regulatory Analysis and Development PPD APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale , MD , 20737-1238 .

Once the rule is published there will be a 60 day comment period.

The APHIS Factsheet states: under the proposed rule, no dog or other pet animal will be sold at retail without either public or APHIS oversight. Obviously this rulemaking proposal will have far reaching impacts on sportsmen, dog, cat, and small animal breeders. SAOVA will distribute further analysis and updates as the rule making process continues.

[Don]

This is getting crazy. I read about this before this post and the article I read talked only about dogs.

[spitzu]

I'm not sure I understand what this means. Are we going to have to get licenses and allow the USDA to start inspecting our homes?

[Raptor]

Got any sources that specifically say livestock? The link included only mentions "female dogs, cats, and/or small exotic or wild mammals".

[Don]

From the other article I read, some bozo in the federal government is going to try to restrict internet sales and shipping of pets. I didn't know it applied to reptiles until I saw this thread.

Here's the article I read:

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/articl...es-3549051.php

[spitzu]

The AWA, enforced by APHIS, seeks to ensure the humane care and treatment of dogs and cats bred commercially, warm-blooded animals exhibited to the public, and others. The AWA does not apply to agricultural animals used for food or fiber.

[Raptor]

Means it can affect horses. I know a bunch of horse people that I can pass this on to.

[spitzu]

From the other article I read, some bozo in the federal government is going to try to restrict internet sales and shipping of pets. I didn't know it applied to reptiles until I saw this thread.

Here's the article I read:

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/articl...es-3549051.php

Yeah that article makes it sound like they're only going after puppy mills.

[DakotaB]

They always try to make these things almost impossible to understand. Thats just how they get this idiotic stuff to pass.

A few years ago there was a bill that was thankfully shot down that would of banned the possession of any "wild" animal. Basically the only thing allowed would be dogs, cats, a few small mammals, a handful of species of fish, birds, and reptiles. Its pretty much a more refined version of what California has in place now.

In the end its all about making money. Someone is going to be profiting from this.

[Dragoon]

Seems only to effect mammals at the moment.......oh but usda and the gov is great at making last minute changes. we need to watch this like hawks but not too much like hawks putting us under the jurisdiction of the migratory bird act and subject to usda inspections and caging requirements and not to forget state licensing and apprenticeship requirements......ahhh the government SUCKS. Hippie B.S. regulation telling us how and where and why we live.


ahh needed to rant illogically