How old do you think must a puppy be before they can be sold? It is a question a lot of people ask when they are planning to buy or sell a puppy. To answer this question: like any question in regards to the law, it always depends on the place where you live in.
On average, at least eighteen states in the country have administrative regulations or laws the dictate the age of a puppy before they are eligible to be sold on the market or allowed to be adopted to a new owner. Of the eighteen states with regulations and laws, only one state requires that the puppy needs to be at least seven to eight weeks or two months old before they can be offered as puppies for sale.
That is why it is very important that before you search the internet for “puppies for sale near me,” you need to make sure you know all the laws in the place that you are living in. For example, the state of Virginia mandates that the dog needs to be at least seven weeks old before you can adopt or buy the puppy.
Other states are focused on the separation of the kittens or puppies from their mother in addition to knowing the required minimum age. In Nevada, they recently amended their law stating that a retailer, an operator or the dealer should not separate a puppy or a kitten from their mother until they reach the age of eight weeks, or they are adjusted to taking nourishment or food other than by nursing.
Illinois also phrases their law with the idea that a kitten or puppy should not be separated from their mother until they reached eight weeks. One thing that you need to knowabout these puppies-for-sale laws is that some of these laws may not concern everyone.
In short, the rules are limited to a certain class or group of people like kennel operators, dog breeders or other forms of animal facilities. Twelve of the eighteen states make it illegal for people selling puppies that are not at the right age.
To know about laws regarding pet sale in different states, check out https://www.animallaw.info/topic/table-state-laws-concerning-minimum-age-sale-puppies for more information.
Other states limit their rules and regulations to animal dealers, breeders and pet shops. Like a lot of pet sale regulations and laws (also known as the puppy lemon laws), the priorityof the code is suppressing the dissemination of puppies from sources that are not regulated by the government like puppy mills, instead of preventing the sale of these pets for people that are not in the breeding industry-like individuals who are just giving unwanted pets away.
While the laws’ focus might be curbing the situation with dealing with puppies, specific parties or individuals are usually excluded from these statutes and regulations. As expected, a lot of states prohibited non-profit humane societies and animal shelters from these laws.
This kind of exclusion becomes very important when considering unwanted puppies that are usually left on the road or the doorstep of these non-profit organizations. Not only that, there are states that have provisions that exclude dealers regulated by USDA or the United States Department of Agriculture under the AWA or the Animal Welfare Act who supplies animals for research purposes.
The Federal Animal Welfare Act regulates only some groups of people that are involved in dog commerce, especially exhibitors or dog dealers. Dog dealers are individuals who purchase dogs to sell for pets or research, but the term doesn’t include retail stores that sell different kinds of pets.
Want to know more aba AWA? Click here to find out more.
Exhibitors are individuals who buy animal exhibit to be used in zoos, circuses or carnivals. Usually, in regards to puppies and dogs, the Animal Welfare Act would apply to people who collect or raise dogs to sell to universities, colleges and other research facilities to earn money or to people who raise puppies to sell to breeders or pet stores.
With all these limitations, the Animal Welfare Act regulations (the regulations and rules by which research institutions and dealers need to abide to maintain their license and avoid hefty fines) state that no puppies or dogs should be delivered to transportation carriers unless they are weaned and eight weeks old. The Sec. 2.130 provisions exclude all registered research facilities.