[ SHOWGSD-L ] MA H.344 MA Debarking Ban, Passed Senate with ONE nay. Long
- From: Stormy Hope <Stormy435@xxxxxxx>
- To: Show GSD List <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2010 12:42:20 -0700
Passed Senate. MA? It goes back to House for reconsideration of the
amendments.
Stormy
MA Debarking Ban, Amended Text
H.344
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE DEVOCALIZATION OF DOGS AND CATS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Court
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
"SECTION 1. Section 137D of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as
appearing in
the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word
"seventy-nine", in line 6, the following figure:- , 80 ½ .
SECTION 2. Section 138A of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby
amended by inserting after the sixth paragraph the following
paragraph:--
No commercial establishment, pet shop, firm, corporation or person shall
sell a dog or cat that has been surgically devocalized, as defined in
section 80½ of chapter 172, unless written notice that such a
procedure has
been conducted on that animal is provided to any prospective purchaser
thereof before any agreement to purchase such animal is entered into. In
addition to the penalties provided for violation of this section,
failure to
provide such notice shall render any purchase agreement void and a
violation
of this paragraph shall constitute an unfair or deceptive act in the
conduct
of a trade or commerce for purposes of chapter 93A.
SECTION 3. Chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
inserting
after section 80A the following section:-
Section 80½. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words
shall
have the following meanings:--
"Board", the board of registration in veterinary medicine.
"Devocalization", a procedure on the larynx or vocal cords of an animal
which causes the reduction or elimination of vocal sounds produced by
that
animal.
(b) Whoever performs, or causes to be performed, the surgical
devocalization of a dog or cat shall be punished by imprisonment in the
state prison for not more than 5 years or imprisonment in a house of
correction for not more than 2½ years, or by a fine not to exceed
$2,500 or
by both such fine and imprisonment. In addition to this penalty, the
court
may order that whoever violates this section shall successfully
complete a
course of instruction relative to the humane treatment of animals or
that
such person be barred from owning or keeping a dog or cat or sharing a
residence with another who owns or keeps a dog or cat for a period of
time
as determined by the court.
(c) Subsection (b) shall not apply if:
(1) the person performing such devocalization is licensed under
section 55
of chapter 112; and
(2) surgical devocalization of a dog or cat is medically necessary to
treat
or relieve an illness, disease or injury of such animal or to correct a
congenital abnormality of such animal that is causing, or may cause,
that
animal physical pain or harm; or
(3) the person who causes a devocalization procedure to be performed is
relying upon the opinion of a person licensed under section 55 of
chapter
112 that surgical devocalization of the dog or cat is medically
necessary to
treat or relieve an illness, disease or injury of such animal or to
correct
a congenital abnormality of such animal that is causing, or may cause,
that
animal physical pain or harm.
(d) A veterinarian who performs a surgical devocalization procedure on a
dog or cat shall for a period of 4 years after the last contact with the
animal keep a record of such procedure. This record shall include the
name
and address of the animal's owner, the name and address of the person
from
whom payment is received for the procedure, a description of the animal,
including its name, species, breed, date of birth, sex, color,
markings and
current weight; the license number and municipality that issued such
license
for the animal, the date and time the procedure was performed, the
reason
that the devocalization procedure was performed and any diagnostic
opinion,
analysis or test results to support such diagnosis. These records
shall be
subject to audit by the board.
Any person who performs a devocalization procedure on a dog or cat shall
report the number of all such procedures to the board, annually, not
later
than March 30. The board shall maintain all notices received pursuant to
this subsection for 4 years from the date of receipt.
Records maintained pursuant to this subsection shall not be considered a
public record, as defined in clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of
chapter 4
or section 66 of chapter 10, and such records shall not be publically
disseminated.
(e) The board shall, annually, report to the joint committee on the
environment, natural resources and agriculture the number of animals
that
were the subject of devocalization notices received pursuant to
subsection
(d) not later than March 1.
(f) Whoever, being licensed under section 55 of chapter 112, violates
any
provision of this section shall be subject to the suspension or
revocation
of such license pursuant to section 59 of said chapter 112 and 256 CMR
7.00."
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