USDA says individuals and groups may need license if buying dogs for rescue at auction
Source: Washington Post
USDA says individuals and groups may need license if buying dogs for rescue at auction
By Kim Kavin April 18 at 11:40 AM
A Washington Post investigation showing that buyers affiliated with 86 rescue and dog-advocacy groups and shelters nationwide have spent $2.68 million buying dogs at auctions has ignited fierce debate and late Tuesday led the U.S. Department of Agriculture to
issue a bulletin stating that the individuals and nonprofit groups may need licensing under the federal Animal Welfare Act.
Our job is to ensure the humane treatment of the animals we regulate, Deputy Administrator Bernadette Juarez, who leads the departments animal care program, said in the bulletin, which cited dog acquisitions from an auction for resale (including adoption) as pets as a reason that individuals or groups may require federal regulation.
Response to the USDA announcement was swift. The Humane Society of the United States which in March sued the USDA, claiming it has failed to release breeding-kennel inspection reports in violation of open-records law said the agency should instead do a better job of regulating breeders.
BREAKING: the USDA is planning to scrutinize pet rescue groups and require many of them to become licensed even as it fails to crack down on puppy mills and covers up their inspection reports, the
Humane Society posted on the Facebook page of its Puppy Mills Campaign.
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Read more:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/usda-says-individuals-and-groups-may-need-license-if-buying-dogs-for-rescue-at-auction/2018/04/18/1ae671aa-427a-11e8-8569-26fda6b404c7_story.html
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Related:
USDA Provides Guidance to Entities Purveying Dogs in Regulated Activities (USDA)
Earlier article:
Dog rescuers, flush with donations, buy animals from the breeders they scorn (Washington Post)