Facility Requirements

(1) General Facilities. For buildings and premises that are utilized as a Facility, each Licensee shall: (a) Maintain all buildings and premises in good repair and in a Sanitary Condition; (b) Maintain and use equipment in a manner which ensures the proper and legal storage and disposal of wastes or disease-contaminated material, including, but not limited to, medical supplies, syringes, needles, and sharps containers; (c) Take and maintain effective control measures to prevent the spread of disease, noxious odors, and the infestation of Animals and premises with external parasites, insects, and vermin; and (d) Provide and maintain artificial illumination in all areas and rooms in which Animals are kept. The artificial illumination shall be well-distributed and adequate to provide efficient inspection and cleaning of Facilities, enclosures, cages and Animals. Each cage and enclosure in use shall be situated in a manner that protects the Animals contained from excessive or stressful illumination. (2) Quarantine Room. In addition to complying with 330 CMR 12.03(1), each Licensee shall: (a) Provide a room to be used exclusively for the purposes of Quarantining sick or diseased Animals; and (b) Ensure that the room, in addition to complying with the requirements of 330 CMR 12.03(1) and (5), is: 1. Physically separated from rooms used to maintain other Animals; 2. Completely enclosed by walls that extend from floor to ceiling; 3. Constructed with floors and walls made of Impervious surfaces; 4. Equipped with an exhaust fan that serves to efficiently remove air from the room to an area outside the building and adequately ventilates to allow fresh air to circulate into the room; 5. Equipped with a sink having hot and cold running water used exclusively for the cleaning and maintenance of the Quarantine Room, all equipment and utensils used therein, and Animals housed within the room; 6. Not used to house or maintain other Animals, for storage, as an employee restroom, as a public access area, or any other such purpose; 7. Thoroughly Cleaned and Disinfected immediately after Animals have been removed from the room and prior to the placement of other Animals into the room; and 8. Maintained in such a manner that all equipment and utensils used within the room are thoroughly Cleaned and Disinfected before being taken out of the room. (3) Isolation Room. In addition to providing a Quarantine Room as required by 330 CMR 12.03(2), each Class A Licensee shall: (a) Provide an Isolation Room for the exclusive purpose of Isolating newly-acquired dogs and cats; (b) Ensure that the Isolation Room complies with the requirements of 330 CMR 12.03(1), (2)(b), and (5); (c) Ensure that Quarantined sick or diseased Animals and Isolated newly-acquired dogs and cats are not maintained in the same Quarantine, Isolation Room simultaneously. (4) Protective Clothing for Quarantine and Isolation Rooms. Each Licensee shall ensure that each person who enters a Quarantine or an Isolation Room or otherwise feeds, waters, cleans, treats or handles Quarantined or Isolated Animals showing signs of infectious or contagious disease or disease-contaminated equipment or material shall wear clean protective outerwear, gloves and shoe covers, or take equivalent biosecurity measures while so doing, and shall remove and adequately clean or dispose of the protective outerwear, gloves, and shoe covers, or equivalent, and thoroughly wash their hands with soap and water immediately upon leaving such room. (5) Animal Facilities. Each Animal housing area shall be: (a) Cleaned at least daily and more often as necessary to maintain Sanitary Conditions. Enclosures shall be disinfected periodically and as soon as practicable once emptied. Cages and enclosures shall be unoccupied during disinfecting. The use of chemical agents to disinfect shall be in accordance with the chemical manufacturer's label, with particular attention paid to temperatures and contact time; (b) Of adequate size and space to permit: 1. The Animal(s) therein to stand, sit, lie down, turn around and make other normal postural adjustments without obstruction, interference, or impediment by the presence of food and water bowls, equipment, beds, toys, or other Animals; and 2. The bird(s) within to fly, hop or otherwise move about and individually spread their wings. Enough perch space must be available for all birds within the enclosure to simultaneously perch in a normal position without obstruction; (c) Equipped with heating, cooling, and ventilation to maintain adequate ambient conditions appropriate for the species and necessary to minimize odor, ammonia levels, disease transmission risk, and unnecessary stress on the Animals due to uncomfortable temperatures or environmental conditions. Ambient temperature shall be between 55°F and 85°F, unless other temperatures have been determined to be appropriate based on an information source approved by the Department. To ensure that these conditions are met, the Licensee shall install and maintain a working thermometer in all areas in which Animals are maintained and cared for; (d) Constructed and maintained in accordance with the following provisions: 1. Each wall shall be Impervious to moisture from floor to ceiling; 2. Each floor shall be Impervious to moisture and no carpeted flooring may be permitted in Animal areas; 3. Any material used shall be resistant to rusting, and be maintained free of rust; 4. If the cage or enclosure has a wire floor, then the wire used shall be of adequate gauge to prevent sagging or injury to an Animal's feet, and the mesh shall be small enough to prevent an Animal's feet from falling through the bottom; (e) Designed to permit the unimpeded access of the Animal(s) to clean, fresh food and water; and (f) Maintained at a comfortable noise level. Under normal circumstances, the noise level shall not be at or above 100 dB for a sustained period of 15 minutes or longer.