Massachusetts May Make Pet Shops Provide Animal Care Sheets
Legislation introduced last year in Massachusetts to mandate that pet shops provide free basic care information on all animals they sell was approved in June by the Joint Community Development & Small Business Committee and was poised to pass the House at press time.
Committee members voted to move House Bill 147 as written, despite testimony from the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (Washington) that the bill was poorly written and could subject pet stores to liability for providing care information they may not even believe is accurate.
“Because the content of the care sheet materials would have to be developed with and approved by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine, recommended care information may not be consistent with what the pet shop owner believes, and yet the pet store may be liable for harm that results from a customer relying on that information,” PIJAC wrote in a recent PetAlert.
PIJAC also expressed concern that the board may not have sufficient expertise about all species sold by pet stores or sufficient staff to work with pet stores in developing the materials.
California, the only state that already mandates pet shop care sheets, uses a more reasonable standard for developing content that includes specific criteria and could be used as a model in Massachusetts, PIJAC said.
The bill resided in the House Ways and Means Committee at press time but could quickly be sent to the House floor for a final vote, the trade organization said. [September 2008 PET AGE]
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