BILL NUMBER: AB 490 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 446
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 11, 2009
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 11, 2009
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 27, 2009
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 9, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 23, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Smyth
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
An act to amend Sections 122350 and 122354 of the Health and
Safety Code, relating to pet stores.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 490, Smyth. Pet stores.
Existing law establishes the Pet Store Animal Care Act, which
regulates the care and maintenance of animals in the custody of a pet
store, and provides limits on the sale or transfer of those animals.
A violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor. The act
defines a pet store as any retail establishment open to the public
and selling, or offering for sale, animals.
This bill would revise the definition of a pet store to exclude
the selling, or offering for sale, animals to an agricultural
operation for purposes that are directly related to the raising of
livestock or poultry on a farm or ranch.
Under the act, an employee of a pet store may only destroy an
animal intended as food for another animal in accordance with a
prescribed methodology, provided the employee receives adequate
training, as described. The act requires the completion of the
employee's training to be documented in writing and retained by the
pet store for 2 years.
This bill would, instead, provide that a rodent or rabbit that is
intended as food for another animal may be destroyed by a pet store
operator or employee only in accordance with specified conditions,
and only if the pet store operator or employee is certified, in
writing, by a California-licensed veterinarian, as provided. The
certification would be valid for no longer than 3 years, and could be
renewed for additional 3-year periods. The pet store operator would
be required to retain the certification for 3 years, unless a longer
period is otherwise required by law.
By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would create a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 122350 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
122350. As used in this act, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Adequate space" means sufficient height and sufficient
floorspace for the animals to stand up, sit down, turn about freely
using normal body movements without the head touching the top of the
primary enclosure, lie down with limbs outstretched, exercise normal
postural movement, move about freely as appropriate for the species,
age, size, and condition of the animal, and, when appropriate, to
experience socialization with other animals, if any, in the primary
enclosure. However, when freedom of movement would endanger the
animal, temporarily and appropriately restricting movement of the
animal in a humane manner is permitted.
(b) "Animal" means any nonhuman vertebrate species housed, offered
for sale or adoption, or both, in the pet store, including, but not
limited to, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and also
invertebrates housed, sold, or adopted as pets.
(c) "Disposition" means the transfer of an animal from a pet store
to another location, including the sale or adoption of the animal,
the return of the animal to the person who supplied the animal to the
pet store, or removal from the pet store of an animal that is
deceased for any reason, including euthanasia.
(d) "Enrichment" means providing objects or activities,
appropriate to the needs of the species, as well as the age, size,
and condition of the animal, that stimulate the animal and promote
the animal's well-being.
(e) "Euthanasia" or "euthanize" means the humane destruction of an
animal in compliance with the requirements set forth in paragraph
(5) of subdivision (b) of Section 122354.
(f) "Impervious to moisture" means a surface that prevents the
absorption of fluids and that can be thoroughly and repeatedly
sanitized, will not retain odors, and from which fluids bead up and
run off or can be removed without being absorbed into the surface
material.
(g) "Intact" means an animal that retains its sexual organs or
ability to procreate and has not been sterilized.
(h) "Person" means an individual, partnership, firm, joint-stock
company, corporation, association, trust, estate, or other legal
entity.
(i) "Pet store" means a retail establishment open to the public
and selling or offering for sale animals, including, but not limited
to, animals for use as pets or animals intended as food for other
animals. "Pet store" does not include a retail establishment open to
the public and selling or offering for sale animals to agricultural
operations for purposes that are directly related to the raising of
livestock or poultry on a farm or ranch. A person who sells,
exchanges, or otherwise transfers only animals that were bred or
raised, or both, by the person, or sells or otherwise transfers only
animals kept primarily for reproduction, shall be considered a
breeder and not a pet store.
(j) "Pet store operator" or "operator" means a person who owns or
operates a pet store, or both.
(k) "Primary enclosure" means a structure used to immediately
restrict an animal or animals to a limited amount of space, such as a
room, pen, cage, aquarium, terrarium, habitat compartment, or hutch,
where the animal or animals reside until their sale, transfer, or
other disposition.
(l) "Rodent" means an animal of the order Rodentia, such as a
guinea pig, rat, mouse, chinchilla, or hamster.
(m) "Sanitize" means to make physically clean and to destroy, to
the extent practical, agents injurious to health.
(n) "Temporary enclosure" means a confined space used by the pet
store to house an animal when the animal is not in its primary
enclosure for a period not to exceed four consecutive hours. The
temporary enclosure shall allow the animals to stand up, lie down,
and turn around. An enclosure used by the pet store to house an
animal for longer than four consecutive hours shall meet the
requirements of a primary enclosure.
(o) "Time of sale" means the calendar date the retail purchaser
removes the animal from the premises of the pet store following the
retail sale of that animal.
(p) "Transfer" means the release of an animal by its owner to
another person by sale, gift, adoption, or other disposition,
including the exchange of animals between pet stores.
(q) "Veterinary treatment" means treatment by or at the direction
of a California-licensed veterinarian.
SEC. 2. Section 122354 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
122354. (a) The pet store operator or at least one of his or her
employees shall be present in the store at least once daily,
regardless of whether the store is open, for care and maintenance of
the animals in the pet store.
(b) A pet store operator shall comply with the following animal
care requirements:
(1) House only compatible animals in the same enclosure.
(2) Observe each animal at regular intervals, at least once a day,
in order to recognize and evaluate general symptoms of sickness,
injury, or abnormal behavior.
(3) Take reasonable measures to house intact mammals that have
reached sexual maturity in a manner to prevent unplanned
reproduction.
(4) (A) Maintain and abide by written animal husbandry procedures
that address animal care, management and safe handling, disease
prevention and control, routine care, preventative care, emergency
care, veterinary treatment, euthanasia, and disaster planning,
evacuation, and recovery that is applicable to the location of the
pet store. These procedures shall be reviewed with employees who
provide animal care and shall be present, in writing, either
electronically or physically, in the store and made available to all
store employees.
(B) Sections 122356 and 122358 do not apply to subparagraph (A)
where there are other local, state, or federal laws that apply to
those procedures.
(5) (A) If there is a determination that an animal may need to be
euthanized, ensure that veterinary treatment is provided without
delay.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a rodent or rabbit intended
as food for another animal may be destroyed by a pet store operator
or an employee of a pet store only if the animal is euthanized by a
method that is performed in a humane manner, appropriate for the
species, authorized by state law, and in compliance with the American
Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines on Euthanasia,
dated June 2007, published by the AVMA.
(C) The euthanasia performed pursuant to subparagraph (B) may be
performed by a pet store operator or an employee of a pet store only
if a California-licensed veterinarian has certified, in writing, that
the pet store operator or employee is properly trained and
proficient in performing the method of euthanasia on that particular
species. The certification shall be valid for a period of not more
than three years, and may be recertified for additional periods of
three years. Each certification of a pet store operator or employee
shall be retained by the pet store for three years, unless a longer
period is otherwise required under state law. The certification shall
be made available, upon request, to appropriate law enforcement
officers exercising authority pursuant to Section 122356.
(D) It is the responsibility of the pet store operator to ensure
that euthanasia is performed in compliance with this section.
(E) Subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, shall be implemented in a
manner consistent with California law and in accordance with Chapter
11 (commencing with Section 4800) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code.
(6) Isolate and not offer for sale those animals that have or are
suspected of having a contagious condition. This paragraph shall not
apply to those animals that are effectively isolated by their primary
enclosure, including, but not limited to, fish, provided that a sign
is posted on the enclosure that indicates that these animals are not
for sale, or otherwise marked in a manner to prevent their sale to
customers during their treatment for the contagious condition.
(7) Have a documented program of routine care, preventative care,
emergency care, disease control and prevention, and veterinary
treatment and euthanasia, as outlined in paragraph (5), that is
established and maintained by the pet store in consultation with a
licensed veterinarian employed by the pet store or a
California-licensed veterinarian, to ensure adherence to the program
with respect to each animal. The program shall also include a
documented onsite visit to the pet store premises by a
California-licensed veterinarian at least once a year.
(8) Ensure that each diseased, ill, or injured animal is evaluated
and treated without delay. If necessary for the humane care and
treatment of the animal, the animal shall be provided with veterinary
treatment without delay.
(9) In the event of a natural disaster, an emergency evacuation,
or other similar occurrence, the humane care and treatment of each
animal is provided for, as required by this chapter, to the extent
access to the animal is reasonably available.
(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be implemented to the extent
consistent with California law.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.