A3306

An Act concerning the sale of cats and dogs, and amending and supplementing P.L.1999, c.336.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 4 of P.L.1999, c.336 (C.56:8-95) is amended to read as follows:

4. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to Title 56 of the Revised Statutes as such provisions are applied to pet shops, and without limiting the prosecution of any other practices which may be unlawful pursuant to Title 56 of the Revised Statutes, it shall be a deceptive practice for any owner or operator of a pet shop, or employee thereof, to sell animals within the State without complying with the provisions and requirements of this section.

b. Within five days prior to the offering for sale of any animal, the owner or operator of a pet shop, or employee thereof, shall have the animal examined by a veterinarian licensed to practice in the State. The name and address of the examining veterinarian, together with the findings made and treatment, if any, ordered as a result of the examination, shall be noted on the animal history and health certificate for each animal as required by regulations adopted pursuant to Title 56 of the Revised Statutes. If fourteen days have passed since the last veterinarian examination of the animal, the owner or operator of the pet shop, or employee thereof, shall have the animal reexamined by a veterinarian licensed to practice in the State as provided for in subsection g. of this section, except as otherwise provided in that subsection.

c. [Each cage in a] Every pet shop [shall have a label identifying the sex and breed of each animal kept in the cage, the date and place of birth of each animal, and the] or pet dealer offering cats or dogs for sale shall post on the cage or enclosure for each cat or dog in the cage or enclosure, in a conspicuous location on the cage or enclosure, a sign declaring:

(1) The date and place of birth of each cat or dog, and the actual age, or approximate age as established by a veterinarian, of the cat or dog;

(2) The sex, color markings, and other identifier information of the cat or dog, including any tag, tattoo, collar number, or microchip information;

(3) The name and address of the veterinarian attending to the animal and the date of the initial examination of the animal [.] ;

(4) The first and last name of the breeder, the full street address of where the breeder is doing business, the telephone number of the breeder, and, if the breeder of the cat or dog is a dealer or breeder licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the breeder’s USDA license number;

(5) The first and last name of the owner or operator of the pet shop or pet dealer business, the full street address of where the pet shop or pet dealer is incorporated, the telephone number of the transporter or carrier of the cat or dog, if any or different from the breeder named in paragraph (4) of this subsection; and

(6) For each cat or dog bred by a USDA licensed dealer or breeder, the statement – “View the USDA inspection reports for the breeder for this cat or dog by logging onto http://acissearch.aphis.usda.gov/LPASearch/faces/LPASearch, entering the last name of the breeder, state in which the breeder is doing business, and USDA license number of the breeder, and press search. You are also entitled to receive information about the breeder’s history through the federal Freedom of Information Act by calling (301) 851-4102. Charges may apply.”

The owner or operator of the pet shop or pet dealer shall keep this information up-to-date, ensure that the website and contact telephone number are functioning, and make changes to the signage as necessary so that the consumer has access to the correct information at all times.

d. The owner or operator of a pet shop, or employee thereof, shall quarantine any animal diagnosed as suffering from a contagious or infectious disease, illness, or condition and may not sell such an animal until such time as a veterinarian licensed to practice in the State treats the animal and determines that such animal is free of clinical signs of infectious disease or that the animal is fit for sale. All animals required to be quarantined pursuant to this subsection shall be placed in a quarantine area, separated from the general animal population of the pet shop.

e. The owner or operator of a pet shop, or designated employee thereof, may inoculate and vaccinate animals prior to purchase only upon the order of a veterinarian. No owner or operator of a pet shop, or employee thereof, may represent, directly or indirectly, that the owner or operator of the pet shop, or any employee thereof, other than a veterinarian, is qualified to, directly or indirectly, diagnose, prognose, treat, or administer for, prescribe any treatment for, operate concerning, manipulate or apply any apparatus or appliance for addressing, any disease, pain, deformity, defect, injury, wound or physical condition of any animal after purchase of the animal, for the prevention of, or to test for, the presence of any disease, pain, deformity, defect, injury, wound or physical condition in an animal after its purchase. These prohibitions include, but are not limited to, the giving of inoculations or vaccinations after purchase, the diagnosing, prescribing and dispensing of medication to animals and the prescribing of any diet or dietary supplement as treatment for any disease, pain, deformity, defect, injury, wound or physical condition.

f. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety shall provide each owner or operator of a pet shop with notification forms, to be signed by the owner or operator of the pet shop, or employee thereof, and the consumer at the time of purchase of an animal. The notification form shall provide the following:

(1) The full text of the rights and responsibilities provided for in subsection h. of this section;

(2) The full text and description of the recourse to which the consumer is entitled pursuant to subsection i. of this section;

(3) The statement that it is the responsibility of the consumer to obtain such certification within the required amount of time provided by subsection h. of this section;

(4) The full text of the rights and responsibilities of the owner or operator of the pet shop, and the employees thereof, and the consumer provided in subsection l. of this section; and

(5) The notification, reporting and enforcement provisions provided in section 5 of P.L.1999, c.336 (C.56:8-96), including the name and address of the local health authority with jurisdiction over the pet shop.

The owner or operator of the pet shop, or an employee thereof, shall obtain the signature of the consumer on the form and shall also sign the form at the time of purchase of an animal, and shall provide the consumer with a signed copy of the form and retain a copy of the form on the pet shop premises. Copies of all such notices shall be readily available for inspection by an authorized representative of the Division of Consumer Affairs, upon request. No pet shop owner or operator, or employee thereof, may construe or use the signed notification form required pursuant to this subsection as an abdication of the right to recourse provided for in subsection i., or as a selection of recourse pursuant to subsection k. of this section.

g. The owner or operator of a pet shop, or an employee thereof, shall have any animal that has been examined more than 14 days prior to the date of purchase, reexamined by a veterinarian for the purpose of disclosing its condition, within 72 hours of the delivery of the animal to the consumer, unless the consumer has waived the right to the reexamination in writing. The owner or operator of a pet shop, or an employee thereof, shall provide a copy of the written waiver to the consumer prior to the signing of any contact or agreement to purchase the animal and the written waiver shall be in the form established by the director by regulation.

h. If at any time within 14 days after the sale and delivery of an animal to a consumer, the animal becomes sick or dies and a veterinarian certifies, within the 14 days after the date of purchase of the animal by the consumer, that the animal is unfit for purchase due to a non-congenital cause or condition, or that the animal died from causes other than an accident, the consumer is entitled to the recourse described in subsection i. of this section.

If the animal becomes sick or dies within 180 days after the date of purchase and a veterinarian certifies, within the 180 days after the date of purchase of the animal by the consumer, that the animal is unfit for sale due to a congenital or hereditary cause or condition, or a sickness brought on by a congenital or hereditary cause or condition, or died from such a cause or condition or sickness, the consumer shall be entitled to the recourse provided in subsection i. of this section.

It shall be the responsibility of the consumer to obtain such certification within the required amount of time provided by this subsection, unless the owner or operator of the pet shop, or the employee thereof selling the animal to the consumer, fails to provide the notice required pursuant to subsection f. of this section. If the owner or operator of the pet shop, or the employee thereof, fails to provide the required notice, the consumer shall be entitled to the recourse provided for in subsection i. of this section.

i. Only the consumer shall have the sole authority to determine the recourse the consumer wishes to select and accept, provided that the recourse selected is one of the following:

(1) The right to return the animal and receive a full refund of the purchase price, including sales tax, plus the reimbursement of the veterinary fees, including the cost of the veterinarian certification, incurred prior to the receipt by the consumer of the veterinarian certification;

(2) The right to retain the animal and to receive reimbursement for veterinary fees incurred prior to the consumer's receipt of the veterinarian certification, plus the future cost of veterinary fees to be incurred in curing or attempting to cure the animal, including the cost of the veterinarian certification;

(3) The right to return the animal and to receive in exchange an animal of the consumer's choice, of equivalent value, plus reimbursement of veterinary fees, including the cost of the veterinarian certification, incurred prior to the consumer's receipt of the veterinarian certification; or

(4) In the event of the death of the animal from causes other than an accident, the right to a full refund of the purchase price of the animal, including sales tax, or another animal of the consumer's choice of equivalent value, plus reimbursement of veterinary fees, including the cost of the veterinarian certification, incurred prior to the death of the animal.

The consumer shall be entitled to be reimbursed an amount for veterinary fees up to and including two times the purchase price, including sales tax, of the sick or dead animal. No reimbursement of veterinary fees shall exceed two times the purchase price, including sales tax, of the sick or dead animal.

j. The veterinarian shall provide to the consumer in writing and within the seven days after the consumer consults with the veterinarian any certification that is appropriate pursuant to this section upon the determination that such certification is appropriate. The certification shall include:

(1) The name of the owner;

(2) The date or dates of examination;

(3) The breed, color, sex and age of the animal;

(4) A statement of the findings of the veterinarian;

(5) A statement that the veterinarian certifies the animal to be "unfit for purchase";

(6) An itemized statement of veterinary fees incurred as of the date of certification;

(7) If the animal may be curable, an estimate of the possible cost to cure, or attempt to cure, the animal;

(8) If the animal has died, a statement establishing the probable cause of death; and

(9) The name and address of the certifying veterinarian and the date of the certification.

k. Upon the presentation of the veterinarian certification required in subsection j. of this section to the pet shop, the consumer shall select the recourse to be provided and the owner or operator of the pet shop, or the employee thereof, shall confirm the selection of recourse in writing. The confirmation of the selection shall be signed by the owner or operator of the pet shop, or an employee thereof, and the consumer and a copy of the signed confirmation shall be given to the consumer and retained by the owner or operator of the pet shop, or employee thereof, on the pet shop premises. The confirmation of the selection shall be in the form established by the director by regulation.

l. The owner or operator of the pet shop, or an employee thereof, shall comply with the selection of recourse by the consumer no later than 10 days after the receipt of the veterinarian certification and the signed confirmation of selection of recourse form. In the event the owner or operator of the pet shop, or an employee thereof, wishes to contest the selection of recourse of the consumer, the owner or operator of the pet shop, or an employee thereof, shall notify the consumer and the director in writing within the five days after the receipt of the veterinarian certification and the signed confirmation of selection of recourse form. After notification to the consumer and the director of the division, the owner or operator of the pet shop, or an employee thereof, may require the consumer to produce the animal for examination by a veterinarian chosen by the owner or operator of the pet shop, or employee thereof, at a mutually convenient time and place, except if the animal has died and was required to be cremated for public health reasons. The director shall set, upon receipt of such notice of contest on the part of the owner or operator of the pet shop, or an employee thereof, a hearing date and hold a hearing, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) and the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules adopted pursuant thereto, to determine whether the recourse selected by the consumer should be allowed. The consumer and the owner or operator of the pet shop, or employee thereof, shall be entitled to any appeal of the decision resulting from the hearing as may be provided for under the law, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, but upon the exhaustion of such remedies and recourse, the consumer and the owner or operator of the pet shop shall comply with the final decision rendered.

m. Any owner or operator of a pet shop, or employee thereof, shall be guilty of a deceptive practice if the owner or operator, or employee thereof, secures or attempts to secure a waiver of any of the provisions of this section except as specifically authorized under subsection g. of this section.

n. The owner of a pet shop shall be responsible and liable for any recourse or reimbursement due to a consumer because of violations of any provisions of this section by the owner or operator of the pet shop, or any employee thereof, or because of any document signed pursuant to this section by the owner or operator of the pet shop, or any employee thereof.

o. Any pet dealer in the State advertising for sale a cat or dog bred by a USDA licensed breeder through print or electronic means, including those posted on the Internet or a website, shall continuously display the name, state or residence, and USDA license number of the breeder of the cat or dog in the advertisement so that this information is easily legible to the consumer.

(cf: P.L.1999, c.336, s.4)

2. (New section) Any person violating subsection c. of section 4 of P.L.1999, c.336 (C.56:8-95) shall be subject to a fine of $500 for each violation, to be collected by the division in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq).

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

The bill establishes additional requirements under the “Pet Purchase Protection Act” to provide breeder information to the consumer about each cat or dog being offered for sale. The bill requires this information to be posted on each cage or enclosure in a pet shop or pet dealer premises and in Internet and print advertisements. The bill also requires the posting of directions for accessing electronically the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection reports for breeders licensed by the USDA. The bill establishes a $500 penalty for failure to comply with these requirements.