What This Bill Does
This bill creates new rules for bringing dogs into the United States from other countries. It requires dogs being imported for sale or adoption to meet health and vaccination standards and be at least 6 months old. The bill also changes how people who transport animals are defined and regulated.
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Who It Affects
- People who bring dogs into the U.S. from foreign countries
- Dog dealers and breeders who import dogs
- Animal transporters who move dogs across state lines for payment
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture
- State veterinarians
- Veterinarians certifying imported dogs
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Key Provisions
- Dogs imported for sale or adoption must be in good health, have required vaccinations and parasite treatment with negative test results proven by a veterinarian's certificate, and be officially identified with a permanent method approved by the Secretary (Sec. 2)
- Dogs imported for transfer must be at least 6 months old and accompanied by an import permit from the Secretary (Sec. 2)
- The Secretary can make exceptions for dogs imported for research, veterinary treatment, or import into Hawaii if they stay in Hawaii (Sec. 2)
- Multiple federal agencies must create an online system for submitting required paperwork before dogs arrive in the U.S. (Sec. 2)
- Dealers who break these rules must pay for the care, quarantine, and removal of illegal dogs at their own expense (Sec. 2)
- People who transport animals for payment are now legally defined and must follow humane standards (Sec. 3)
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What Changes
If this becomes law, importing dogs for sale or adoption becomes much stricter. Currently, the rules come from one section of the Animal Welfare Act. This bill replaces those rules with new requirements in the Animal Health Protection Act. All imported dogs for transfer will need health certificates, vaccinations, parasite treatment and negative test results before entering the U.S. Dogs imported for transfer must also be at least 6 months old and have import permits.
The bill also adds "transporter" as a legal category for people who move animals for money, which was not clearly defined before. Transporters must now follow humane handling standards and submit copies of veterinary inspection certificates to a national database.
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Important Definitions
- **Importer** means any person who moves or causes a dog to be moved into the United States from another country (Sec. 2)
- **Transfer** means a change of ownership or control of an imported dog through sale, adoption, exchange, or donation (Sec. 2)
- **Transporter** means any person or government agency, other than a regular shipping company, who receives an animal and is paid to move it across state lines (Sec. 3)
- **Compensation** means money or anything of value a person receives, including cost savings or publicity benefits (Sec. 3)
- **Sell or resell** means to transfer ownership or control of an animal through sale, adoption, exchange, or donation (Sec. 3)
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 502
To amend the Animal Health Protection Act with respect to the importation
of live dogs, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Ms. SMITH, Mr. RISCH, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. MAR-
SHALL, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry
A BILL
To amend the Animal Health Protection Act with respect
to the importation of live dogs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Dog Importa-
4
tion Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. IMPORTATION OF LIVE DOGS.
6
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Animal Health Protection
7
Act is amended by inserting after section 10404 (7 U.S.C.
8
8303) the following:
9
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‘‘SEC. 10404A. IMPORTATION OF LIVE DOGS.
1
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
2
‘‘(1) IMPORTER.—The term ‘importer’ means
3
any person who transports or causes the transpor-
4
tation of a dog into the United States from a foreign
5
country.
6
‘‘(2) TRANSFER.—The term ‘transfer’ means a
7
change of ownership or control of an imported dog
8
to another person, including by sale, adoption, ex-
9
change, or donation.
10
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—
11
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
12
graph (3), no person shall import a dog into the
13
United States unless, as determined by the Sec-
14
retary, the dog—
15
‘‘(A) is in good health;
16
‘‘(B) has received all necessary vaccina-
17
tions and internal and external parasite treat-
18
ment and demonstrated negative test results, as
19
required by the Secretary and evidenced by a
20
certificate that—
21
‘‘(i) is issued by a licensed veteri-
22
narian accredited by a competent veteri-
23
nary authority recognized by the Secretary;
24
and
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•S 502 IS
‘‘(ii) is endorsed by that authority in
1
a manner representing that the veteri-
2
narian issuing the certificate was author-
3
ized to do so; and
4
‘‘(C) is officially identified by a permanent
5
method approved by the Secretary.
6
‘‘(2) TRANSFER.—Except as provided in para-
7
graph (3), no person shall import or cause the trans-
8
portation of a dog into the United States from a for-
9
eign country for the purpose of transfer unless, as
10
determined by the Secretary, the dog—
11
‘‘(A) meets the criteria described in para-
12
graph (1);
13
‘‘(B) is at least 6 months old; and
14
‘‘(C) is accompanied by an import permit
15
issued by the Secretary under this Act.
16
‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary, by regula-
17
tion, shall provide an exception to any requirement
18
under this Act in any case in which a dog is im-
19
ported for purposes of transfer for—
20
‘‘(A) research purposes;
21
‘‘(B) veterinary treatment, paid for by the
22
importer, subject to the condition that the
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dog—
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‘‘(i) is taken directly to a veterinary
1
facility for treatment with appropriate
2
quarantine until the dog meets the criteria
3
described in paragraph (1); and
4
‘‘(ii) is then exported to its country of
5
origin; or
6
‘‘(C) in the case of a dog that is less than
7
6 months old, lawful importation into the State
8
of Hawaii in compliance with the regulations of
9
the State of Hawaii and the other requirements
10
of this section, if the dog is not transported out
11
of the State of Hawaii for transfer at less than
12
6 months of age.
13
‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION
AND REGULATIONS.—The
14
Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
15
the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Home-
16
land Security shall—
17
‘‘(1) promulgate such regulations as the Secre-
18
taries determine to be necessary to implement and
19
enforce this section;
20
‘‘(2)(A) facilitate electronic submission of all re-
21
quired documentation prior to the arrival of a dog
22
into the United States; and
23
‘‘(B) make the information in the documenta-
24
tion submitted under subparagraph (A) available to
25
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the Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human
1
Services, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Sec-
2
retary of Homeland Security, as applicable, for
3
verification that all applicable importation require-
4
ments are met; and
5
‘‘(3) determine and establish such fees for the
6
issuance of permits with respect to dog importation
7
as are necessary to fund the implementation and en-
8
forcement of this section.
9
‘‘(d) RULE
OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub-
10
section (c)(3) limits the availability of funding made avail-
11
able under section 10417 to carry out this section.
12
‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.—
13
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall have
14
the authority granted under section 10414 to en-
15
force this section.
16
‘‘(2) PENALTIES.—An importer that fails to
17
comply with this section shall—
18
‘‘(A) be subject to penalties under section
19
10414; and
20
‘‘(B) if the importer is a dealer, provide, as
21
the Secretary may determine, at the expense of
22
the importer, for—
23
‘‘(i) the care (including appropriate
24
veterinary care), forfeiture, quarantine,
25
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and removal from the United States of
1
each applicable dog; and
2
‘‘(ii) the return of each applicable dog
3
to its place of export, with due care for the
4
welfare of each applicable dog.’’.
5
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 18 of the
6
Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2148) is repealed.
7
SEC. 3. TRANSPORTATION.
8
(a) DEFINITION OF TRANSPORTER.—Section 2 of the
9
Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2132) is amended—
10
(1) in subsection (c)—
11
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘para-
12
graph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’;
13
and
14
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and
15
(2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively,
16
and indenting appropriately;
17
(2) in each of subsections (a) through (o), by
18
inserting a subsection heading, the text of which is
19
comprised of the term defined in the subsection;
20
(3) by redesignating subsections (a) through (o)
21
as paragraphs (12), (15), (3), (17), (14), (6), (1),
22
(7), (11), (2), (8), (9), (13), (4), (10), respectively,
23
and indenting appropriately;
24
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•S 502 IS
(4) by inserting after paragraph (4) (as so des-
1
ignated) the following:
2
‘‘(5) COMPENSATION.—The term ‘compensa-
3
tion’ means any act, consideration, or thing of value
4
received by a person directly, including cash or
5
noncash benefits, cost-avoidance, obtaining positive
6
or avoiding negative publicity, an exchange of serv-
7
ices, or maintaining a license issued under any local,
8
State, or Federal government authority.’’;
9
(5) by inserting after paragraph (15) (as so
10
designated) the following:
11
‘‘(16) SELL; RESELL.—The term ‘sell’ or ‘re-
12
sell’ means to transfer ownership or control of an
13
animal, including by sale, adoption, exchange, or do-
14
nation.’’; and
15
(6) by adding at the end the following:
16
‘‘(18) TRANSPORTER.—The term ‘transporter’
17
means any person, department, agency, or instru-
18
mentality of the United States or of any State or
19
local government, other than a carrier or inter-
20
mediate handler, who—
21
‘‘(A) receives an animal from any im-
22
porter, dealer, research facility, exhibitor, oper-
23
ator of an auction sale, or department, agency,
24
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•S 502 IS
or instrumentality of the United States or of
1
any State or local government; and
2
‘‘(B) receives compensation for moving
3
that animal in commerce.’’.
4
(b) HUMANE STANDARDS.—Section 13 of the Animal
5
Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2143) is amended—
6
(1) in subsection (a)(4)—
7
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘air
8
carriers,’’ and inserting ‘‘transporters, air car-
9
riers,’’; and
10
(B) by adding at the end the following:
11
‘‘The Secretary shall provide, by regulation,
12
that each transporter, intermediate handler, or
13
carrier receiving a certificate of veterinary in-
14
spection required under this section shall sub-
15
mit a copy of the certificate to the Secretary,
16
who shall record the information in a central-
17
ized, publicly available database and share the
18
information with the appropriate State veteri-
19
narians.’’;
20
(2) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as
21
subsections (h) and (i), respectively;
22
(3) in the second subsection (f) (relating to cer-
23
tificates of inspection required for delivery of an ani-
24
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mal), by striking ‘‘(f) No dogs or cats’’ and inserting
1
the following:
2
‘‘(g) No dogs or cats’’; and
3
(4) in subsection (g) (as so redesignated)—
4
(A) in the first sentence—
5
(i) by inserting ‘‘importer,’’ before
6
‘‘dealer,’’; and
7
(ii) by inserting ‘‘, transporter,’’ after
8
‘‘intermediate handler’’; and
9
(B) in the second sentence—
10
(i) by inserting ‘‘, the transporters,’’
11
after ‘‘the intermediate handlers’’; and
12
(ii) by striking ‘‘section 10 of this
13
Act’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(4)’’.
14
SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.
15
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after
16
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri-
17
culture shall promulgate final regulations to implement
18
the amendments made by this Act, including with respect
19
to—
20
(1) the verification on arrival in the United
21
States of each dog being imported for transfer into
22
the United States from a foreign country that the
23
dog meets all applicable importation requirements;
24
and
25
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(2) the denial of entry into the United States
1
of any dog that fails to meet those requirements.
2
(b) TRANSITION PERIOD.—Until the date on which
3
final regulations are issued under subsection (a), the im-
4
portation of live dogs shall be regulated in accordance with
5
the regulations promulgated under section 18 of the Ani-
6
mal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2148) (as in effect on the day
7
before the date of enactment of this Act), but only to the
8
extent that those regulations are not in conflict with sec-
9
tion 10404A of the Animal Health Protection Act.
10
Æ
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