Rpld §425 sub 17, amd §§377-a, 420, 422, 427, 429, 431, 433 & 109, Ag & Mkts L; amd §6705, Ed L
Clarifies the standard of care for animals held in or being transported by animal shelters including the length of time and conditions such animal may be exposed to.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8555--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 20, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Agriculture -- recommitted to the Committee on Agriculture in
accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law and the education law,
in relation to standards of care for animals held in, or being trans-
ported by, animal shelters; and to repeal certain provisions of the
agriculture and markets law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 377-a of the
2 agriculture and markets law, as added by chapter 387 of the laws of
3 2001, is amended to read as follows:
4 (b) the person intending to adopt the dog or cat shall have executed a
5 written agreement with the animal shelter, pound, dog control officer,
6 humane society, dog or cat protective association, or duly incorporated
7 society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, to have the dog or cat
8 spayed or neutered within thirty days from the adoption date, or in the
9 case of a dog or cat which has not yet reached sexual maturity, within
10 thirty days of the dog or cat reaching six months of age. The person
11 intending to adopt the dog or cat shall deposit with the animal shelter,
12 pound, dog control officer, humane society, dog or cat protective asso-
13 ciation, or duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to
14 animals, an amount of not less than [thirty-five] one hundred dollars.
15 Not more than every two years, the commissioner, after holding a public
16 hearing, may raise the amount to be deposited to reflect rising costs;
17 or
18 § 2. Subdivision 6 of section 420 of the agriculture and markets law,
19 as added by chapter 683 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as
20 follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13059-02-6
A. 8555--A 2
1 6. "Animal shelter" shall mean a public or not-for-profit entity
2 owning, operating, or otherwise maintaining a building, structure, or
3 facility where temporary or permanent housing and care is provided to
4 stray, abandoned, abused, seized, impounded, owner-surrendered or other-
5 wise unwanted animals regardless of whether or not such facility also
6 serves as a personal residence. This includes but is not limited to:
7 facilities owned, operated, or maintained by a duly incorporated society
8 for the prevention of cruelty to animals, duly incorporated humane soci-
9 ety dog or cat protective association, or pound; any person in the
10 employ of, or organization operated by or under contract to a munici-
11 pality to provide care for seized or impounded animals; or any other
12 not-for-profit organization involved in the protection, care, or rehom-
13 ing of animals. Unless otherwise provided in this article, the term
14 "animal shelter" shall not include the personal residence of any foster
15 care provider as defined in this section; a facility commonly known as a
16 boarding kennel, where the ownership of the animal is not transferred;
17 any entity licensed as a pet dealer pursuant to article twenty-six-A of
18 this chapter; any duly incorporated animal hospital owned, operated or
19 supervised by a duly licensed veterinarian; [or] any facility where the
20 owner or operator is licensed by the New York state department of envi-
21 ronmental conservation as a nuisance wildlife control agent or wildlife
22 rehabilitator; or any municipality as defined in section one hundred
23 eight of this chapter, that establishes and maintains a pound or shelter
24 pursuant to subdivision one of section one hundred fourteen of this
25 chapter that impounds less than five dogs annually and harbors not more
26 than any two dogs at the same time.
27 § 3. Section 422 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by
28 adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
29 5. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to any
30 veterinarian or veterinary technician authorized to practice in this
31 state pursuant to article one hundred thirty-five of the education law.
32 § 4. Subdivision 17 of section 425 of the agriculture and markets law
33 is REPEALED.
34 § 5. Subdivision 3 of section 427 of the agriculture and markets law,
35 as added by chapter 683 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as
36 follows:
37 3. The total number of animals housed in an animal shelter facility
38 [or foster home] shall not exceed the number of housing units available
39 at the facility as required by section four hundred twenty-five of this
40 article; provided, however, that exceptions to the provisions of this
41 subdivision shall be permissible for periods not to exceed forty-five
42 contiguous days in the event of an animal seizure pursuant to article
43 twenty-six of this chapter or a natural disaster where an official
44 declaration of the disaster or emergency has been made.
45 § 6. Subdivision 8 of section 429 of the agriculture and markets law,
46 as added by chapter 683 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as
47 follows:
48 8. Each animal shelter shall vaccinate each animal in its custody or
49 possession with core vaccines as recommended by national standards and
50 guidelines specific to animal shelters as established, endorsed or
51 approved by the [American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP),]
52 American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)[,] or the Association of
53 Shelter Veterinarians (ASV). Such vaccinations shall be administered in
54 accordance with subdivision sixteen of section sixty-seven hundred five
55 of the education law.
A. 8555--A 3
1 § 7. Paragraphs (e) and (f) of subdivision 3 of section 431 of the
2 agriculture and markets law, as added by chapter 683 of the laws of
3 2022, are amended to read as follows:
4 (e) Each dog shall be provided with the opportunity to exercise and
5 eliminate at least once every twelve hours while confined to the trans-
6 port vehicle, including load time. [Each dog being transported that is
7 less than twelve weeks of age shall be removed from their enclosure and
8 allowed to exercise and eliminate at least every two hours.]
9 (f) No dog or cat shall be left unattended in any transport vehicle
10 for more than one hour, [regardless of whether heating, ventilation] and
11 [air conditioning (HVAC)] only if remote temperature monitoring is
12 provided in [such vehicle] the animal compartment.
13 § 8. Subdivision 3 of section 433 of the agriculture and markets law,
14 as added by chapter 683 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as
15 follows:
16 3. Any animal shelter that violates any provisions of this article
17 shall correct such violations to the satisfaction of the commissioner
18 within a period not to exceed [ten] thirty days; provided, however, that
19 where such violation poses a severe or immediate threat to public health
20 or animal safety or well-being, such violation shall be corrected to the
21 satisfaction of the commissioner within a period not to exceed [seven-
22 ty-two hours] seven days.
23 § 9. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 109 of the agriculture
24 and markets law, as amended by chapter 420 of the laws of 2025, is
25 amended to read as follows:
26 (a) The owner of any dog reaching the age of four months shall imme-
27 diately make application for a dog license. No license shall be required
28 for any dog which is under the age of four months and which is not at
29 large, or that is residing in [a pound or shelter maintained by or under
30 contract or agreement with the state or any county, city, town or
31 village, duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to
32 animals, duly incorporated humane society or duly incorporated dog
33 protective association] any animal shelter, as defined by subdivision
34 six of section four hundred twenty of this chapter, or any municipality
35 that establishes and maintains a pound or shelter pursuant to subdivi-
36 sion one of section one hundred fourteen of this article that impounds
37 less than five dogs annually and harbors not more than any two dogs at
38 the same time. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, a
39 license shall be issued or renewed for a period of at least one year,
40 provided, that no license shall be issued for a period expiring after
41 the last day of the eleventh month following the expiration date of the
42 current rabies certificate for the dog being licensed. All licenses
43 shall expire on the last day of the last month of the period for which
44 they are issued. In the event an applicant for a license presents, in
45 lieu of a rabies certificate, a statement certified by a licensed veter-
46 inarian, as provided in subdivision two of this section, a license shall
47 be issued or renewed for a period of one year from the date of said
48 statement. Any municipality may establish a common renewal date for all
49 such licenses. A license issued by a municipality that has established
50 a common renewal date shall expire no later than the common renewal date
51 prior to the expiration date of the rabies certificate for the dog being
52 licensed.
53 § 10. Section 6705 of the education law is amended by adding a new
54 subdivision 16 to read as follows:
55 16. Any person acting under the general supervision of a veterinarian
56 duly licensed to practice in this state who is providing care to animals
A. 8555--A 4
1 in the custody or possession of an animal shelter, as defined by subdi-
2 vision six of section four hundred twenty of the agriculture and markets
3 law, including animals subject to the redemption periods of section one
4 hundred seventeen of the agriculture and markets law, provided that: (a)
5 such individual has been trained in the shelter's protocols in accord-
6 ance with article twenty-six-C of the agriculture and markets law; and
7 (b) such supervising veterinarian has determined that the individual has
8 received sufficient and proper training to provide such care.
9 § 11. This act shall take effect immediately.
