The Hunte Corp. Asks USDA to Redefine “Animal Dealers”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is soliciting public comment on a petition to replace the definition of Class “B” licensee in the Animal Welfare Act regulations with four new licensee categories.
The petition, sponsored by The Hunte Corp. (Goodman, Mo.), asks the USDA to replace the term “Class ‘B’ dealer” with “pet distributor,”
exhibitor animal distributor,” “laboratory animal distributor” and “other distributor.”
The “pet distributor” category would include distributors who purchase animals only from licensed breeders and those not legally required to be licensed, and who sell those animals exclusively to the retail pet industry.
According to Andrew Hunte, chief executive officer of The Hunte Corp., the new classification would benefit the pet industry’s image. “People who are not very familiar with the pet industry often assume that the current term ‘B’ dealer means we are second-class citizens in the eyes of the government, even though this was never the intent of USDA or Congress when it enacted the federal Animal Welfare Act,” Hunte said. “This misperception is harmful to our industry’s public image because it causes potential pet owners who hear the term to question whether they should purchase their pet from a pet store that obtains puppies from distributors.”
The petition also argues that the current classification system is too broad and fails to distinguish the wide variety of dealers encompassed by the Class “B” designation, which includes dealers who purchase and sell random-source animals to laboratories.
The breadth of Class “B” limits the ability of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to regulate dissimilar licensees within the class, according to the petition, submitted by counsel for The Hunte Corp.
The petition requests that USDA begin using the terms “laboratory animal distributor” when referring to businesses that sell animals to research laboratories, “exhibitor animal distributor” when referring to businesses that provide animals to zoos, circuses and other exhibitions, and “other distributor” when referring to food animal suppliers and other licensees.
The petition seeks only to change the definition of Class “B” dealers. Breeders would continue to be classified as Class “A” dealers.
The USDA will consider all comments received on or before June 11, 2007. [June 2007 PET AGE]
CURRENT DEALER DEFINITIONS
The Animal Welfare Act authorizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture to promulgate standards and other requirements governing the humane handling, care, treatment and transportation of certain animals by dealers, research facilities, exhibitors, carriers and intermediate handlers. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is responsible for administering the Act.
Current regulations set forth definitions for three classes of licensees:
• Class “A.” Dealers whose business consists only of animals that are bred and raised on the premises and acquired for the sole purpose of maintaining or enhancing the breeding colony.
• Class “B.” Dealers whose business includes the purchase or resale of any animal. Class “B” licensees do not usually take actual physical possession or control of the animals or hold them in any facilities.
• Class “C.” Licensees are exhibitors whose business involves the showing or displaying of animals to the public. Class “C” licensees may buy and sell animals as a minor part of their business to maintain or add to their animal collection.
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