bestinterpretation.Insomeinstancesstatementsfromthe
departmentseemtobeambiguous.
1.AlldealersmustbelicensedbyAPHIS.
2.Tobeadealer,abreedermustbuy,sellornegotiatethe
saleofyouranimalsatretailforcompensationorprofitand
sellforoneofsixcategories:1)research,2)teaching,3)test-
ing,4)experimentation,5)exhibition(doesnotincludedog
orcatshows),or6)foruseasapetorselldogsatwholesale
forhunting,securityorbreeding,unlessotherwiseexempt.
a.Salesofanimalsforotherpurposesdonotmeetthe
definitionofdealeranddonotrequirelicensing.Thepur-
poseofthesaleoftheanimalsisthecontrollingfactor.For
example,sellingananimalforbreedingorasaworkingdog
atretaildoesnotrequireyoutobelicensedundertheAWA.
1.Abreedingdonetomaintainbloodlinesortoproduce
herdingdogsmayproduceananimalnotsuitableforthe
purposeforwhichitisbred.Thatanimalmaybesoldasa
petiftheintentioninbreedingwastoproducebreedingor
herdingstockandnotananimalforsaleasapetandyou
continuetoadvertiseyouranimalsforsaleasbreedingor
herdingstockoranotherpurposenotincludedinthesix
dealerpurposes.
2.Theoccasionalsaleofananimalsightunseenwho
lacksthecharacteristicstobesoldforitsintendedpurposeis
permissibleandwillnotautomaticallyrevokeyourretail
pet-storestatusifthesellercontinuestomarkethisorher
animalsforthatotherpurpose.
3.Ifyoumarketyourdogsasbeingforsaleaspets,APHIS
mayinvestigatethepurposeofyoursales.
4.Shippingsemen,shippingabitchorananimalfor
breedingpurposesdoesnotrequirelicensing.
b.Thebuyerofananimalisthepersonwhotakes
possessionatthetimeofsaleordelivery,notnecessarily
theultimateowner.Thebuyermustbepresentwiththe
sellerandtheanimalatthetimeofsaleordelivery,not
necessarilytheultimateowner.
3.Retailpetstoresarenotdealersandareexempt
fromlicensing.
a.Youareexemptfromlicensingasaretailpetstoreno
matterhowmanybreedingfemalesyouownaslongasthe
salestakeplaceface-to-face.Thesaleofananimalwithout
thebuyer,sellerandanimalbeingatthesamelocationat
thetimeofsaleordelivery(face-to-face)removesyoufrom
theexemptcategory.
1.Theface-to-facetransactioncanbelocatedanywhere.
2.Rescueorganizationsthattransportsanimalsviavolun-
teersconductsaface-to-facetransactionwhenthevolunteer,
theanimalandtheadopteraretogetherinonelocation.
b.Anyonemaintainingfourorfewerbreedingfemales
(anycombinationofspecies)andwhosellsonlytheir
offspringbornandraisedontheirpremisesforpetsor
exhibitionisexemptasaretailpetstoreaslongasthey
arenototherwiserequiredtobelicensed.
c.Thesaleofananimaltoaresearchfacility,exhibitor
(doesnotincludedogorcatshows),oradealer(wholesale)
removesyoufromtheexemptcategory.
4.Definitionofa“breedingfemale.”
a.Thefemaleanimalmust:
1.becapableofbeingbredasdeterminedbyanAPHIS
inspectorbased,inpart,onherage,healthandfitnessfor
breeding,and
2.havetheiroffspringsoldaspets.
b.Doesnotincludefemalescapableofbreedingwhoare
bredforpurposesotherthanthesixdealerdefinedpurposes.
Moreclarificationisneededontheissueofpuppies
receivedinlieuofastudserviceorforthereceiptofapuppy
backfromthesaleofafemaleonbreeder'sterms.Although
thesedonotqualifyfortheexemptionbasedonowning
fourorfewerbreedingfemalesandsellingpuppiesbornand
raisedonyourpremises,APHISmightfindtheirsaleexempt
underotherprovisionsoftheAWAregulations.Similarly,
furtherclarificationisneededonthesaleofdogsbornby
c-sectionataveterinarypractice.Ofcourse,noneofthisis
anyconcernaslongasthedogsaresoldinface-to-face
transactions.
Therearedozensofothernuancesthatneedtobe
clarifiedinordertounderstandtheimpactofthenewrule,
butourtakeawayisthis:
ItisnottheregulatoryintentofUSDAtoregulate
residentialbreedersunlesstheyareclearlybreedingforthe
purposeofsellingpets.
Ifyoukeepfivebreedingfemalesandsellevenonedog,
cat,etc.,remotely,foruseasapet,andarenotengagedin
oneoftheactivitiesthatareexemptedfrombeingadealer,
youmustbelicensed.
Ifyousellallofyourpuppiesinperson,youmaykeepas
manybreedingfemalesasyourlocallawsallowandnotbe
regulatedbythefederalgovernment.
NAIAwillbereviewingtheseregulatorychangesinmore
depthinthecomingdaysandwillreportmoreasremaining
questionsareanswered.Inaddition,wearehostingconfer-
encecallswithinterestedpartiestofurtherclarifytheissues.
Toparticipate,contactusatsupport@naiaonline.org.
••••
E
ndoftheWorld—oraMinorInconvenience?A
littleofboth.Thisrulecouldbetheendofsomeone’s
world,butwedon’tknowwhoseyet.Ourenemymight
havealreadychosenavictim,ormore,aspotentialexam-
plesofwhythisruleshouldcoverallbreeding.Something
importanttorememberbeforemakinganymajordecisions
isthattheUSDAhasmadeitveryclearthattheirintention
istomonitortheconditionsunderwhichhigh-volume
breedersareraisingdogsandpuppies.Theydon’treally
wanttoinspectpeople’shomes.Thereisnowrittenstandard
fordoingso.Theywillfollowuponcomplaints,soitis
advisabletomaintainthebestpossiblerelationshipswith
yourpuppybuyers,yourneighborsandcolleagues.
SomeSpecificsforPBGVCAMembers.Forrare
breedslikePBGVs,thisrulecouldputthosewhobreedand
rescueatgreaterlikelihoodformaintainingmorethanfour
intactfemales.Shippingdogssightunseenissometimes
necessaryduetoawidelydistributedmarketforPBGVs.If
youabsolutelymustship,besureyoudon’thavefiveor
moreintactfemalesonyourpremises.Ifyoukeeponlyfour
intactfemales,youcanshipallyouwant,andifyoudo
keepfiveormoreintactfemales,youwillneedtosellall
puppiesface-to-face,withbuyer,sellerandpuppytogether
inthesameplace.AttorneySheilaKessler,AnimalLegal
Resources,recommendsthatwhenyournewownerpicksup
theirpuppythatyoutakeapictureofallofyoutogether
andattachacopytothepuppy’spaperworktoprovethat
thetransactionwasface-to-face.
Thesetransactionsdon’thavetotakeplaceatyourhome.
USDA/APHISrespondedtomanycommentsonthis,and
tookfearsofcrimeintoconsideration.
DONOTlookforloopholes.Tryingto“flyunderthe
radar”orattemptingtosell“hunting
Continuedonpage28
SaberTails
IDecember2013
www.pbgv.org
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