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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.

••••

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

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SaberTails

IDecember2013