STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4533--B
Cal. No. 1034
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 26, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- reported favorably from said commit-
tee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading,
amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of
third reading
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring pet
dealers to provide instructions on the care of small animals
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 391-t to read as follows:
3 § 391-t. Sale of small animals; instructions on care. 1. As used in
4 this section, a "small animal" shall mean any small mammal, excluding
5 dogs or cats, including but not limited to, hamsters, chinchillas,
6 guinea pigs, gerbils, rabbits, mice, rats, ferrets and any small amphi-
7 bians or reptiles, including but not limited to frogs, snakes and
8 lizards.
9 2. Every pet dealer, as defined in section four hundred of the agri-
10 culture and markets law, as well as any retailer that sells small
11 animals to the public, shall deliver or provide digital access to the
12 purchaser of a small animal, at the time of sale, general written recom-
13 mendations for the generally accepted care of the class of such small
14 animal, obtained from sources including but not limited to a state or
15 national veterinarian medical society, the American veterinary medical
16 association, the United States Association of Reptile Keepers, or the
17 pet industry joint advisory council, including information on housing,
18 equipment, sanitation, environment, feeding and watering, handling, and
19 veterinary care. This written information shall be in a form determined
20 by the commissioner of the department of agriculture and markets.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08958-05-5
S. 4533--B 2
1 3. If a pet dealer or retailer that sells small animals distributes
2 material prepared by a third party, the pet dealer or retailer of small
3 animals shall not be liable for damages caused by any erroneous informa-
4 tion in that material unless a reasonable person exercising ordinary
5 care should have known of the error causing the damage.
6 4. This section shall not apply to the sale of small animals that are
7 expressly sold as feeder animals.
8 5. The pet dealer or retailer that sells small animals to the public
9 shall file a copy of the written instructions on care annually with the
10 department of agriculture and markets.
11 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
12 have become a law.
