
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC2132]

 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
    CHAPTER 54--TRANSPORTATION, SALE, AND HANDLING OF CERTAIN ANIMALS
 
Sec. 2132. Definitions

    When used in this chapter--
    (a) The term ``person'' includes any individual, partnership, firm, 
joint stock company, corporation, association, trust, estate, or other 
legal entity;
    (b) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Agriculture of the 
United States or his representative who shall be an employee of the 
United States Department of Agriculture;
    (c) The term ``commerce'' means trade, traffic, transportation, or 
other commerce--
        (1) between a place in a State and any place outside of such 
    State, or between points within the same State but through any place 
    outside thereof, or within any territory, possession, or the 
    District of Columbia;
        (2) which affects trade, traffic, transportation, or other 
    commerce described in paragraph (1).

    (d) The term ``State'' means a State of the United States, the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or any other territory or possession of 
the United States;
    (e) The term ``research facility'' means any school (except an 
elementary or secondary school), institution, or organization, or person 
that uses or intends to use live animals in research, tests, or 
experiments, and that (1) purchases or transports live animals in 
commerce, or (2) receives funds under a grant, award, loan, or contract 
from a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States for 
the purpose of carrying out research, tests, or experiments: Provided, 
That the Secretary may exempt, by regulation, any such school, 
institution, organization, or person that does not use or intend to use 
live dogs or cats, except those schools, institutions, organizations, or 
persons, which use substantial numbers (as determined by the Secretary) 
of live animals the principal function of which schools, institutions, 
organizations, or persons, is biomedical research or testing, when in 
the judgment of the Secretary, any such exemption does not vitiate the 
purpose of this chapter;
    (f) The term ``dealer'' means any person who, in commerce, for 
compensation or profit, delivers for transportation, or transports, 
except as a carrier, buys, or sells, or negotiates the purchase or sale 
of, (1) any dog or other animal whether alive or dead for research, 
teaching, exhibition, or use as a pet, or (2) any dog for hunting, 
security, or breeding purposes, except that this term does not include--
        (i) a retail pet store except such store which sells any animals 
    to a research facility, an exhibitor, or a dealer; or
        (ii) any person who does not sell, or negotiate the purchase or 
    sale of any wild animal, dog, or cat, and who derives no more than 
    $500 gross income from the sale of other animals during any calendar 
    year;

    (g) The term ``animal'' means any live or dead dog, cat, monkey 
(nonhuman primate mammal), guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or such other 
warmblooded animal, as the Secretary may determine is being used, or is 
intended for use, for research, testing, experimentation, or exhibition 
purposes, or as a pet; but such term excludes horses not used for 
research purposes and other farm animals, such as, but not limited to 
livestock or poultry, used or intended for use as food or fiber, or 
livestock or poultry used or intended for use for improving animal 
nutrition, breeding, management, or production efficiency, or for 
improving the quality of food or fiber. With respect to a dog, the term 
means all dogs including those used for hunting, security, or breeding 
purposes;
    (h) The term ``exhibitor'' means any person (public or private) 
exhibiting any animals, which were purchased in commerce or the intended 
distribution of which affects commerce, or will affect commerce, to the 
public for compensation, as determined by the Secretary, and such term 
includes carnivals, circuses, and zoos exhibiting such animals whether 
operated for profit or not; but such term excludes retail pet stores, 
organizations sponsoring and all persons participating in State and 
country fairs, livestock shows, rodeos, purebred dog and cat shows, and 
any other fairs or exhibitions intended to advance agricultural arts and 
sciences, as may be determined by the Secretary;
    (i) The term ``intermediate handler'' means any person including a 
department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States or of any 
State or local government (other than a dealer, research facility, 
exhibitor, any person excluded from the definition of a dealer, research 
facility, or exhibitor, an operator of an auction sale, or a carrier) 
who is engaged in any business in which he receives custody of animals 
in connection with their transportation in commerce;
    (j) The term ``carrier'' means the operator of any airline, 
railroad, motor carrier, shipping line, or other enterprise, which is 
engaged in the business of transporting any animals for hire;
    (k) The term ``Federal agency'' means an Executive agency as such 
term is defined in section 105 of title 5, and with respect to any 
research facility means the agency from which the research facility 
receives a Federal award for the conduct of research, experimentation, 
or testing, involving the use of animals;
    (l) The term ``Federal award for the conduct of research, 
experimentation, or testing, involving the use of animals'' means any 
mechanism (including a grant, award, loan, contract, or cooperative 
agreement) under which Federal funds are provided to support the conduct 
of such research.\1\
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    \1\ So in original. The period probably should be a semicolon.
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    (m) The term ``quorum'' means a majority of the Committee members;
    (n) The term ``Committee'' means the Institutional Animal Committee 
established under section 2143(b) of this title; and
    (o) The term ``Federal research facility'' means each department, 
agency, or instrumentality of the United States which uses live animals 
for research or experimentation.

(Pub. L. 89-544, Sec. 2, Aug. 24, 1966, 80 Stat. 350; Pub. L. 91-579, 
Sec. 3, Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1560; Pub. L. 94-279, Secs. 3, 4, Apr. 
22, 1976, 90 Stat. 417, 418; Pub. L. 99-198, title XVII, Sec. 1756(a), 
Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1650.)


                               Amendments

    1985--Subsecs. (k) to (o). Pub. L. 99-198 added subsecs. (k) to (o).
    1976--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 94-279, Sec. 3(1), made changes in 
phraseology, restructured subsection and expanded definition of 
``commerce'' by making it applicable to any activity affecting 
interstate commerce.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 94-279, Sec. 3(1), substituted definition of 
``State'' for definition of ``affecting commerce''.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 94-279, Sec. 3(2), substituted ``in commerce'' 
for ``affecting commerce''.
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 94-279, Sec. 3(2), (3), made changes in 
phraseology, restructured subsection and expanded definition of 
``dealer'' to include persons who negotiate the purchase or sale of 
protected animals.
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 94-279, Sec. 3(4), expanded definition of 
``animal'' to include dogs used for hunting, security, or breeding 
purposes.
    Subsecs. (i), (j). Pub. L. 94-279, Sec. 4, added subsecs. (i) and 
(j).
    1970--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 91-579, Sec. 3(1), inserted ``of the 
United States or his representative who shall be an employee of the 
United States Department of Agriculture'' after ``Secretary of 
Agriculture''.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 91-579, Sec. 3(2), substituted ``trade, 
traffic, commerce, transportation among the several States, or between 
any State'' for ``commerce between any State''.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 91-579, Sec. 3(3), substituted definition of 
``affecting commerce'' for definition of ``dog''.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 91-579, Sec. 3(3), struck out definition of 
``cat'' and substituted for it a definition of ``research facility'' 
formerly set out in subsec. (f), and, in such definition as transferred 
from former subsec. (f), extended the term's meaning to include those 
using ``animals'' rather than only dogs and cats and allowed exemptions 
of schools, organizations, institutions, or persons which do not use 
live dogs or cats, with such exemption to be inapplicable in the case of 
schools, organizations, institutions, and persons in biomedical research 
using a substantial number of live animals.
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 91-579, Sec. 3(3), substituted definition of 
``dealer'' formerly contained in subsec. (g) for definition of 
``research facility'' and in such definition of ``dealer'' as thus 
transferred inserted provisions extending meaning to include live or 
dead animals rather than only dogs and cats, adding teaching and 
exhibition purposes or uses as pets, and exempting retail pet stores 
unless such stores sell animals to a research facility, an exhibitor, or 
a dealer. Definition of ``research facility'' transferred to subsec. (e) 
and amended.
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 91-579, Sec. 3(3), substituted definition of 
``animal'' formerly contained in subsec. (h) for definition of 
``dealer'' and in such definition of ``animal'' as thus transferred 
inserted stipulation ``live or dead'' to the species already covered, 
and inserted provisions to include such warm-blooded animals as may be 
determined by the Secretary but to exclude specific animals used for 
research, food and fiber, and the improvement of animal breeding, 
nutrition, management, or production efficiency. Definition of 
``dealer'' transferred to subsec. (f) and amended.
    Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 91-579, Sec. 3(3), substituted definition of 
``exhibitor'' for definition of ``animal''. Definition of ``animal'' 
transferred to subsec. (g) and amended.


                    Effective Date of 1985 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 99-198 effective one year after Dec. 23, 1985, 
see section 1759 of Pub. L. 99-198, set out as a note under section 2131 
of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1970 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 91-579 effective one year after Dec. 24, 1970, 
see section 23 of Pub. L. 91-579, set out as a note under section 2131 
of this title.
