NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7195
SPONSOR: Zebrowski TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the agriculture and markets law and
the general business law, in relation to exempting certain entities from
the definition of pet dealer
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would require incorporated animal shelters, rescue organiza-
tions or other non-profit entities that transport or offer animals up
for adoption in New York State to register with the Department of Agri-
culture and Markets.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends section 400 of the agriculture and
markets law as it relates to stating that certain organizations are
exempt from the pet dealer license including animal shelters, rescue
organizations or other non-profit entities that transport or Offer
animals up for adoption.
Section two of the bill amends the agriculture and markets law by adding
a new section 408 as it relates to requiring the organizations exempted
from the pet dealer license to annually register with the department.
The registration would include important disclosures, including contact
information and address, description of premise, number of animals
transported annually, not-for-profit and federal 501(c)(3) status, and
other information on their operations.
Section three of the bill amends section. 752 of the general business
law as it relates to clarifying the definition of pet dealers to include
the entities which are exempt from licensing.
Section four of the bill relates to the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The number of animals euthanized in U.S. shelters has seen a precipitous
decline in the past four decades, from around 15 million annually in the
1970's to around 3 million currently. While there is still much work to
be done, this positive trend is the result of several important factors,
including broader access to spay/neuter services, progressive shelter
policies, and active adoption efforts. Many animal shelters promote
active, effective working relationships with partner shelters and rescue
organizations as a part of their work to reduce euthanasia and increase
live release rates.
This can be seen in high-population settings like New York City, where
in 2016 the Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) - the only open-admission
animal shelter serving all five boroughs - reached an all-time high
year-end placement rate for cats and dogs of just under 90%. A powerful
contributing factor was the regular transfer of animals to the shelter's
New Hope Partners, a large network of shelter and rescue groups that
help find loving, adoptive homes for ACC animals.
Likewise in other regions of the state, well-established shelter groups
have enjoyed great success in reducing animal homelessness and saving
lives; robust partnerships with rescues and otter shelters play a role
in these achievements. Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in the Capital
Region, for example, enjoys about a 90% live release rate on average
annually. North Fork Animal Welfare League in Suffolk County consistent-
ly finds homes for almost 95% of all needy animals coming through their
doors. Erie County SPCA, Lollypop Farm in Rochester and numerous others
continue to achieve high adoption rates as well, each recognizing the
importance of strong rescue program partnerships.
Despite this incredible progress, there.are unfortunately scores of
not-for-profit sheltering and rescue organizations whose policies and
practices fail to.protect the animals and people they serve. While the
New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) is respon-
sible for the general oversight of municipal animal shelters and any
entity serving in that capacity under contract, the agency has very
little authority over an increasingly large number of animal organiza-
tions importing, transporting and harboring animals under the auspices
of rehoming them, leaving the vast majority virtually unregulated.
While many of these groups are well-intentioned, this environment has
created a host of animal health, public safety,and consumer protection
challenges, attracting the attention of NYSDAM, the Office of the Attor-
ney General and other state agencies. Here are a few:
*Failure to comply with state importation regulations. These regulations
require. animal importers to obtain a veterinary health certificate
(commonly called certificate of veterinary inspection or CVI) from the
state from which they are transferring its animals. When a rescue
wrongly decides to import animals without CVIs, NYSDAM has very little
means at their disposal to detect anyone intentionally flouting,the law
in this regard until tragedy strikes. Sadly, this has resulted in the
documented spread of the life-threatening Rabies virus, highly conta-
gious Canine Parvovirus, as well as other diseases.
*Failure to comply with the public health law. Section 2141 of the
public health law requires every dog and cat to be actively immunized
against rabies prior to four months of age and that a rabies certificate
be issued. Rabies is a dangerous viral disease which can be transmitted
to humans via animal bite, and almost always leads to death unless
treatment is provided soon after exposure, which sadly has occurred in
New York as the result of a noncompliant rescue. This certificate must
be made available to NYSDAM's state veterinarian upon importation, but
any unregulated entity neglecting to do this (whether intentionally or
by mistake) causes great risk to animals and humans alike.
*"Safe Haven" for pet dealers/breeders seeking to avoid regulation.
Another Serious and disturbing trend is that entities previously
licensed and inspected by NYSDAM as pet dealers are simply incorporating
as not-for-profit "rescue" organizations to avoid licensure and
inspection. This is an extremely popular trend because incorporated
entities dedicated to the care of unwanted animals are expressly exempt
from regulation under the NYS Pet Dealer Licensing and Inspection
Program,. In fact, this tactic has become so popular that some puppy
resellers that otherwise meet the standards and thresholds for pet deal-
er regulation never apply for a license in the first place, and instead
receive an immediate exemption through not-for-profit incorporation.
Some of these operations do not even pretend to be rescuing animals and
brazenly continue to source puppies from the same high-volume breeding
operations as pet stores.
The above issues are deeply troubling, especially given that there are
literally hundreds of unregulated entities importing dogs into New York
each year, with absolutely no public knowledge of what ultimately
happens to these animals. To provide a sense of the depth of this unreg-
ulated field, one need ony,look to the almost 500 hundred incorporated
animal groups currently registered with the Office of the Attorney
General's (0AG) Charities Bureau and recognize that less than 50 of
these organizations provide municipal sheltering for local governments
in New York and New York City (and are thereby regulated to a degree).
While these numbers are subject to some fluctuation year to year, it is
safe to estimate that approximately 90'i of not-for-profit animal groups
are currently unregulated in our state.
Considering the potentially serious implications of allowing this unreg-
ulated universe to proliferate unchecked, many have called for the
establishment of animal care and facilities standards in law to improve
minimum requirements for those currently regulated and cover a much
larger percentage of animal shelters and rescues (if not the full spec-
trum). Indeed, over 35 states have some manner of shelter and rescue
standards in law, whereas New York State remains literally decades
behind with a few pages of outdated, "bare bones" food and water stand-
ards (1 NYCRR Part 77.2) that apply to an alarmingly small number of
animal organizations.
However, New York is so far behind on this issue that to enact statewide
standards sight-unseen would be premature and perhaps even ill-advised,
since so little is understood currently as to who is actually transport-
ing and rescuing animals both in-state an across our borders, how they
operate, where they are located, and how they interact with their rescue
partners. Therefore measures are necessary to assist state regulators,
local government, the sheltering community and the general public in
generating a more comprehensive picture of what has come to be a very
widespread phenomenon.
Given these concerns, this legislation seeks to allow NYSDAM, for the
first time, to monitor a much higher level of animal transport activity,
while better fulfilling its responsibilities for animal disease control,
public safety and the regulation of pet dealers by requiring not-for-
profit animal organizations - including those already overseen as munic-
ipal contractors to register with the agency prior to receiving an
exemption from the pet dealer law. In doing so, organizations would
disclose key elements of their operations (detailed in the summary
section of this memorandum) to ensure compliance with existing laws and
regulations, while also providing a measure of transparency to foster
public trust. A clear dissemination of information regarding shelter and
rescue practices allows these entities to provide information that the
public wants while at the same time offering them the opportunity to
place such information in good context and tell their own stories.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Minimal cost to the State to implement the registration program.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall nave
become law.
