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NOT ONE MORE, INC. |
| YOUR STORIES - NEW! |
STATE & FEDERAL LAWS |
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| WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE’RE DOING | ||
| STATE & FEDERAL LAWS | ||
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| LINKS TO OTHER SITES | ||
| NOM CHECKLIST | ||
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NOT ONE MORE, INC. |
| YOUR STORIES - NEW! |
STATE & FEDERAL LAWS |
|
| NEWS | ||
| WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE’RE DOING | ||
| STATE & FEDERAL LAWS | ||
| START A CHAPTER |
|
|
| LINKS TO OTHER SITES | ||
| NOM CHECKLIST | ||
| HOME | ||
|
E-mail us |
||
| Laws and regulations regarding the sale and purchase of household pets vary from state to state, but they all have a common thread: household pets of all type are commodities, such as appliances or automobiles, and while animal welfare is generally addressed, and rarely ignored, both the verbiage and intent of state laws and regulations are to refer to pets as goods. | State laws and regulations can be found at governmental web sites. Click here for Colorado’s State Department of Agriculture web site. |
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states have passed “Pet Lemon Laws” to help consumers who have
purchased a pet that is not what was represented or is ill or has a
congenital disease. Colorado has no such Lemon Law and NOM’s official
position is that these laws, while well-intended, are not sufficient to
combat the problem. Once a pet is purchased, the owner and the animal
begin to bond and Lemon Laws do not address the heart break and
difficult decisions that need to be faced when a pet is found to be
defective.
COLORADO LAWS & REGULATIONS Colorado laws and regulations basically require two types of licensing for dog breeders:
Licensing for cat breeders is required for facilities producing or transfers more than 24 cats per year. Common Bird Breeders require licensing for selling or transferring more than 30 birds a year, with 10 or fewer of these being from the uncommon category (psittacine birds except budgerigars, cockatiels and lovebirds). Uncommon Bird Breeders require licensing when selling or transferring more than 30 birds a year, with 10 or more of these being from the uncommon category (psittacine birds except budgerigars, cockatiels and lovebirds). Small Animal Breeders require licensing when selling or transferring more than 200 rodents or lagormorphs per year. Additionally, regulations are structured for general animal welfare regarding feeding, transport, carriers and sanitary conditions. In Colorado, the sale and purchase of household pets is regulated by the state Department of Agriculture, which is made up of a board of mostly cattle ranchers and business people. While existing laws and regulations are adequate, the focus – and budget – for inspections of wholesale breeders is meager at best. One of the major goals of NOM is to effectively lobby our state elected and appointed officials to increase the awareness of the problem of inadequate enforcement and to shepherd positive steps through existing channels to affect change. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS REGARDING ANIMAL WELFARE The U.S.D.A. is charged with ensuring enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131). The Act deals with breeders, exhibitors (zoos and carnivals, for example), sellers and carriers (airlines, shipping lines, etc.) and the conditions, from a humane view, that animals are subject to. The salient points for NOM are the U.S.D.A.’s involvement in breeding operations that result in pets being “wholesaled” or sold to pet stores for re-sale to consumers. As in the States’ enforcement of these rules, NOM believes that U.S.D.A. enforcement of policies, approval of budgets and general attitudes are insufficient. NOM’s goals are to serve as a focus for communication between consumers and the U.S.D.A. and to better these communications and improve enforcement. |
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