I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 2253
To amend the Animal Welfare Act to provide for the humane treatment
of dogs, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH21, 2025
Mr. F
ITZPATRICK(for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, and
Mr. P
ANETTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Animal Welfare Act to provide for the humane
treatment of 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 ‘‘Puppy Protection Act 4
of 2025’’. 5
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DEALERS. 6
(a) H
UMANETREATMENT OFDOGS BYDEALERS.— 7
Section 13(a) of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 8
2143(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 9
new paragraph: 10
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‘‘(9) In addition to the requirements under paragraph 1
(2), the standards described in paragraph (1) shall, with 2
respect to dealers, include requirements— 3
‘‘(A) that such dealer provide adequate housing 4
for dogs that includes— 5
‘‘(i) completely solid flooring; 6
‘‘(ii) indoor space sufficient to allow the 7
tallest dog in an enclosure to stand on its hind 8
legs without touching the roof of the enclosure; 9
‘‘(iii) with respect to dogs over 8 weeks in 10
age, primary enclosures that, with the length of 11
the dog measured from the tip of the nose to 12
the base of the tail, provide at least— 13
‘‘(I) 12 square feet of indoor floor 14
space per each dog not more than 25 15
inches long; 16
‘‘(II) 20 square feet of indoor floor 17
space per each dog more than 25 but not 18
more than 35 inches long; and 19
‘‘(III) 30 square feet of indoor floor 20
space per each dog more than 35 inches 21
long; 22
‘‘(iv) enclosures that are not stacked or 23
otherwise placed on top of or below another en-24
closure; and 25
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‘‘(v) temperature control that— 1
‘‘(I) is appropriate for the age, breed, 2
and condition of the dogs in the enclosure; 3
and 4
‘‘(II) is between 45 and 85 degrees 5
Fahrenheit, when dogs are present in the 6
enclosure; 7
‘‘(B) that appropriate and nutritious food be 8
provided to each dog at least twice per day, in an 9
amount sufficient to maintain the good health and 10
physical condition of each such dog, except when 11
fasting is directed by a licensed veterinarian in the 12
provision of appropriate veterinary care; 13
‘‘(C) that each dog has continuous access to po-14
table water that is not frozen and is free of feces, 15
algae, and other contaminants; 16
‘‘(D) that each dog has adequate exercise, in-17
cluding— 18
‘‘(i) for dogs over the age of 12 weeks, an 19
outdoor exercise area that— 20
‘‘(I) is freely accessible from the pri-21
mary enclosures of such dogs; 22
‘‘(II) is at ground-level; 23
‘‘(III) is a solid surface; 24
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‘‘(IV) is enclosed (by a fence or other 1
structure); 2
‘‘(V) is properly controlled for the 3
safety of the dogs; 4
‘‘(VI) allows the dog to extend to full 5
stride, play, and engage in other types of 6
mentally stimulating and social behaviors; 7
and 8
‘‘(VII) is restricted only during night-9
time hours (between sunset and sunrise) or 10
during severe inclement weather; or 11
‘‘(ii) if the dealer obtains a certification 12
from the attending veterinarian stating that the 13
dog should not have unrestricted access to an 14
outdoor exercise area for a specific medical rea-15
son, an alternative exercise plan prescribed by 16
the veterinarian for the dog that meets the re-17
quirements under section 3.8(a) of title 9, Code 18
of Federal Regulations as in effect on the date 19
of enactment of this paragraph; 20
‘‘(E) that each dog has meaningful socialization 21
with humans and compatible dogs for at least 30 22
minutes each day that— 23
‘‘(i) includes positive interaction with a 24
human such as petting, stroking, grooming, 25
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feeding, playing with, exercising, or other 1
touching of the dog that is beneficial to the 2
well-being of the dog; and 3
‘‘(ii) does not include time spent in veteri-4
nary care; 5
‘‘(F) that each dog receives adequate veterinary 6
care and that each dealer maintain updated records 7
of all instances of such care, including— 8
‘‘(i) prompt treatment by the dealer of any 9
minor or shallow cuts, scrapes, and abrasions; 10
‘‘(ii) prompt diagnosis and treatment by a 11
licensed veterinarian in any case where symp-12
toms of any transmissible disease or infection 13
or any illness or injury are significant, visible, 14
or evident in the behavior, affect, appetite, or 15
activity level of the dog; 16
‘‘(iii) a thorough hands-on examination by 17
a licensed veterinarian at least once each year, 18
which shall include a basic dental exam; 19
‘‘(iv) core vaccinations recommended by 20
the most recent version of the American Animal 21
Hospital Association Canine Vaccination Guide-22
lines as in effect on the date of enactment of 23
this paragraph; and 24
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‘‘(v) medications to prevent intestinal 1
parasites, heartworm disease, fleas, and ticks 2
that are approved by a licensed veterinarian for 3
canine use; 4
‘‘(G) with respect to safe breeding practices for 5
dogs, including— 6
‘‘(i) a screening program for known preva-7
lent inheritable diseases that may be disabling 8
or likely to significantly affect the lifespan or 9
quality of life of the mother or her offspring; 10
‘‘(ii) prohibiting breeding, unless each dog 11
bred has been screened by a veterinarian prior 12
to each attempt to breed and is found to be free 13
from health conditions that may be disabling to, 14
or likely to significantly affect the lifespan or 15
quality of life of, the mother or her offspring 16
(as documented by a licensed veterinarian upon 17
examination); 18
‘‘(iii) prohibiting the breeding of a female 19
dog to produce— 20
‘‘(I) more than 2 litters in any 25- 21
month period; or 22
‘‘(II) more than 6 litters in the life-23
time of such dog; 24
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‘‘(iv) that female dogs of small breeds, hav-1
ing a maximum weight range at maturity that 2
is below 40 pounds, not be bred— 3
‘‘(I) before reaching the age of 18 4
months; or 5
‘‘(II) after reaching the age of 9 6
years; 7
‘‘(v) that female dogs of large breeds, hav-8
ing expected weight ranges at maturity that in-9
clude 40 or more pounds, not be bred— 10
‘‘(I) before reaching the age of 2 11
years; or 12
‘‘(II) after reaching the age of 7 13
years; and 14
‘‘(vi) that any canine caesarian section be 15
performed by a licensed veterinarian; 16
‘‘(H) that dogs be housed with other dogs, un-17
less health conditions identified by a licensed veteri-18
narian or behavioral issues make group housing un-19
safe; and 20
‘‘(I) to make all reasonable efforts to find hu-21
mane placement for retired breeding dogs (such as 22
with an adoptive family, rescue organization, or 23
other appropriate owner for that dog, and not in-24
cluding selling at auction or otherwise placing a re-25
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tired breeding dog with another breeder for breeding 1
purposes).’’. 2
(b) C
ONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3
13(a)(2)(B) of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 4
2143(a)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘subject to para-5
graph (9),’’ before ‘‘for exercise of dogs’’. 6
SEC. 3. REGULATIONS. 7
Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 8
of this Act, the Secretary shall issue final regulations es-9
tablishing the standards for the care of dogs by dealers, 10
as required by this Act and the amendments made by this 11
Act. 12
Æ
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