Animal Care Facilities Definitions

PURPOSE: This rule defines terms used in licensing, operating, and inspecting animal care facilities. (1) The terms defined in sections 273.325 and 273.345, RSMo, in addition to other relative terms pertaining to animal care will be applied for use in 2 CSR 30-9.020 and 2 CSR 30-9.030. (2) Definitions. As used in 2 CSR 30-9.020 and 2 CSR 30-9.030, the following terms shall mean: (A) ACFA means the Animal Care Facilities Act; (B) Adequate food means the provision, at suitable intervals of not more than twelve (12) hours, unless the dietary requirements of the species requires a longer interval, of a quantity of wholesome foodstuff, suitable for the species and age, enough to maintain a reasonable level of nutrition in each animal. All foodstuffs must be served in a safe receptacle, dish, or container; (C) Adequate housing means the continuous provision of a sanitary facility, protection from the extremes of weather conditions, proper ventilation, and appropriate space (depending on the species of animal) as defined by the regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and this rule; (D) Adequate water means the provision of a supply of potable water in a safe receptacle, dish, or container. Water shall be provided continuously or at intervals suitable to the species (intervals shall not exceed eight (8) hours); (E) Adequate rest between breeding cycles means, at minimum, ensuring that female dogs are not bred to produce more litters in any given period than what is recommended by a licensed veterinarian as appropriate for the species, age, and health of the dog; (F) Adopter means a person who is legally competent to enter into a contract and who is adopting or buying a dog or cat from a releasing agency; (G) Adult animal means any dog or cat that has reached the age of one hundred eighty (180) days or six (6) months or more; (H) Animal means any dog or cat used or intended for use for research, teaching, testing, breeding, exhibition purposes, or as a pet; (I) Animal shelter means a facility used to house or contain animals, operated or maintained by an incorporated humane society, animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other not-for-profit organization. An animal shelter is devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals; or a person whose primary purpose is to act as an animal rescue, to collect and care for unwanted animals, or to offer them for adoption is also included in this definition; (J) Animal welfare official means any licensed veterinarian designated by and under the supervision of the state veterinarian, who administers or assists in the administration of the ACFA, or any appointee of the director and shall include all deputy state veterinarians; (K) Attending veterinarian means any Doctor of Veterinary Medicine who has a valid license to practice veterinary medicine in Missouri issued by the Missouri Veterinary Medical Board and who has a written agreement to perform specified services for a licensee; (L) Auction means any person selling any consignment of dog(s) or cat(s) to the highest bidder. This shall include any means, procedure, or practice in which the ownership of a dog or cat is conveyed from one (1) person to another by any type or method of bidding process. Auction sales shall be considered as brokers and must be licensed as dealers under the ACFA; (M) Boarding kennel means a place or establishment, other than a pound or animal shelter, where animals, not owned by the proprietor, are sheltered, fed, and watered in return for a consideration. This term shall include all boarding activities regardless of name used, such as, but not limited to, pet sitters. However, boarding kennel shall not include hobby or show breeders who board intact females for a period of time for the sole purpose of breeding the intact females, and shall not include individuals who temporarily, and not in the normal course of business, board or care for animals owned by other individuals; (N) Business hours means a reasonable number of hours between seven o’clock in the morning and seven o’clock in the evening (7:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except legal state holidays, each week of the year, during which inspections may be made; (O) Carrier means the operator of any airline, aircraft, railroad, motor carrier, shipping line, or other enterprise which is engaged in the business of transporting any animals for hire; (P) Cat means any live or dead Felis catus; (Q) Commercial breeder means a person, other than a hobby or show breeder, engaged in the business of breeding animals for sale or for exchange in return for a consideration, and who harbors more than three (3) intact females for the primary purpose of breeding animals for sale; (R) Commercial kennel means any kennel which performs grooming or training services for animals, and may or may not render boarding services in return for a consideration; (S) Contract kennel means any facility operated by any person or entity other than the state or any political subdivision of the state, for the purpose of impounding or harboring seized, stray, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted animals, on behalf of and pursuant to a contract with the state or any political subdivision; (T) Covered dog means any individual of the species of the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris, or resultant hybrids, that is over the age of six (6) months and has intact sexual organs; (U) Dealer means any person who is engaged in the business of buying for resale, selling, or exchanging animals, as a principal or agent, or who holds him/herself out to be so engaged or is otherwise classified as a dealer by the USDA as defined by the regulations of the USDA; (V) Director means the director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture; (W) Dog means any live or dead Canis lupus familiaris; (X) Euthanasia means the act of putting an animal to death in a humane manner and shall be accomplished by a method specified as acceptable by the American Veterinary Medical Association Panel on Euthanasia; (Y) Examination means a complete physical evaluation from head to tail of a covered dog or cat by a licensed veterinarian to include auscultation, palpation, and a visual inspection in which the heart rate, respiratory rate, breeding soundness, and the results of palpation are assessed and recorded as indicated on the forms provided; (Z) Exhibitor means any person (public or private) exhibiting any dog or cat to the public for compensation or for a consideration of any kind whether directly or indirectly. This term excludes pet shops who are exhibiting only the animals for sale to the general public if exhibited only within the licensed facility; (AA) Exotic animals for the purpose of the ACFA means any member of the families Canidae or Felidae not indigenous to Missouri or any hybrid descendant of any member of the families Canidae or Felidae crossed with any Canis lupus familiaris or Felis catus; (BB) Extreme weather means outdoor temperatures above eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit (85 °F) or below forty-five degrees Fahrenheit (45 °F) or during a severe weather alert; (CC) Hobby or show breeder means a noncommercial breeder who breeds dogs or cats with the primary purpose of exhibiting or showing dogs or cats, improving the breed or selling the dogs or cats, and having no more than ten (10) intact females. These breeders shall be classified as a hobby or show breeder if they sell only to other breeders or to individuals. Hobby or show breeders are exempt from the licensure and inspection requirements, but must register annually with the director for the purpose of establishing that these persons are hobby or show breeders, at no cost to the hobby or show breeders. A breeder who buys or sells any animal for the primary purpose of resale does not qualify as a hobby or show breeder. 1. Registered hobby or show breeders are those meeting the definition in this subsection. 2. Licensed hobby or show breeders are those meeting the definition in this subsection with the exception of having more than ten (10) intact females. Licensed hobby or show breeders shall be required to pay the same license and per capita fees and meet the same rules, standards, and inspection requirements as the commercial breeders; (DD) Housing facility means any land, premises, shed, barn, building, trailer, or other structure or area housing or intended to house animals; (EE) Impervious surface means a surface that does not permit the absorption of fluids; (FF) Indoor housing facility means any structure or building with environmental controls, housing or intended to house animals and meeting the following requirements: 1. It must be capable of controlling the temperature within the building or structure within the limits set forth for that species of animal, of maintaining humidity levels of thirty to seventy percent (30-70%), and of rapidly eliminating odors from within the building; 2. It must be an enclosure created by the continuous connection of a roof, floor, and walls (a shed or barn set on top of the ground does not have a continuous connection between the walls and the ground unless a foundation and floor are provided); and 3. It must have at least one (1) door for entry and exit that can be opened and closed (any windows or openings which provide natural light must be covered with a transparent material such as glass or hard plastic); (GG) Inspector means any person employed by the department who is authorized to perform a function under the ACFA and these rules, or any animal welfare official as defined in this rule; (HH) Intact female means, with respect to the dog, a female between the ages of six (6) months and ten (10) years that can be bred. With respect to the cat, a female between the ages of six (6) months and eight (8) years that can be bred; (II) Intermediate handler means any person engaged in any business in which s/he receives custody of animals through boarding, ownership, or brokering in connection with their transportation in commerce, excluding persons licensed under the ACFA who are transporting animals only in the normal course of conducting their licensed business; (JJ) Licensee means any animal shelter, boarding kennel, commercial breeder, commercial kennel, contract kennel, dealer, intermediate handler, pet shop, and pound or dog pound licensed according to the provisions of the ACFA; (KK) Necessary veterinary care means, at minimum, examination at least once yearly by a licensed veterinarian, prompt treatment of any serious illness or injury by a licensed veterinarian, and where needed, humane euthanasia by a licensed veterinarian using lawful techniques deemed acceptable by the American Veterinary Medical Association; (LL) Outdoor housing facility means any structure, building, land, or premises, housing or intended to house animals, which does not meet the definition of any other type of housing facility provided in the rules, and in which temperatures cannot be controlled within set limits; (MM) Person means any individual, partnership, firm, joint venture, corporation, association, limited liability company, trust, estate, receiver, syndicate, or other legal entity; (NN) Pet means any species of the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris, or resultant hybrids, normally maintained in or near the household of the owner thereof; (OO) Pet shop means any facility where animals are bought, sold, exchanged, or offered for retail sale to the general public; (PP) Pound or dog pound means a facility operated by the state or any political subdivision of the state for the purpose of impounding or harboring seized, stray, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted animals; (QQ) Primary enclosure means any structure or device used to restrict an animal(s) to a limited amount of space, such as a room, pen, run, cage, compartment, pool, hutch, or tether; (RR) Registrant means any hobby or show breeder who has properly registered with the director according to the provisions of the ACFA; (SS) Regular exercise means the type and amount of exercise sufficient to comply with an exercise plan that has been approved by a licensed veterinarian, developed in accordance with regulations regarding exercise promulgated by the Missouri Department of Agriculture, and where such plan affords the dog maximum opportunity for outdoor exercise as weather permits; (TT) Retail pet store means a person or retail establishment open to the public where dogs are bought, sold, exchanged, or offered for retail sale directly to the public to be kept as pets, but that does not engage in any breeding of dogs for the purpose of selling any offspring for use as a pet; (UU) Sanitize means to make physically clean and to remove and destroy, to the maximum degree that is practical, agents injurious to health; (VV) Serious illness or injury means a condition or injury that would likely result in significant pain or progression of disease if not addressed within twenty-four (24) hours and would require daily or continuing treatment as determined by a veterinarian; (WW) Sheltered housing facility means a housing facility which provides the animal with shelter, protection from the elements, and protection from temperature extremes at all times. A sheltered housing facility may consist of runs or pens totally enclosed in a barn or building, or of connecting inside/ outside runs or pens with the inside pens in a totally enclosed building; (XX) Standards means the requirements set forth in 2 CSR 309.020 through 2 CSR 30-9.030; (YY) State means Missouri; (ZZ) State veterinarian means the state veterinarian of Missouri; (AAA) Sufficient food and clean water means access to appropriate nutritious food at least twice a day sufficient to maintain good health, and continuous access to potable water that is not frozen and is generally free of debris, feces, algae, and other contaminants; (BBB) Sufficient housing, including protection from the elements, means the continuous provision of a sanitary facility, the provision of a solid surface on which to lie in a recumbent position, protection from the extremes of weather conditions, proper ventilation, and appropriate space in accordance with regulations of the Missouri Department of Agriculture; (CCC) Sufficient space to turn and stretch freely, lie down, and fully extend his or her limbs means having appropriate space in accordance with regulations of the Missouri Department of Agriculture; (DDD) Transporting vehicle means any truck, car, trailer, airplane, ship, or railroad car used for transporting animals; (EEE) USDA means the United States Department of Agriculture; (FFF) Weaned means that an animal has become accustomed to taking solid food and has done so, without nursing, for a period of at least five (5) days; and (GGG) Wire strand flooring means pliable metallic strands in any length or diameter, mesh or grill-type, with or without a coating, and used for a surface on which an animal stands. AUTHORITY: sections 273.344 and 273.346, RSMo 2016.* Original rule filed Jan. 13, 1994, effective Aug. 28, 1994. Amended: Filed Oct. 24, 1994, effective May 28, 1995. Emergency amendment filed July 11, 2011, effective July 21, 2011, expired Feb. 23, 2012. Amended: Filed July 22, 2011, effective Jan. 30, 2012. Amended: Filed Jan. 21, 2016, effective Aug. 30, 2016. Amended: Filed Nov. 25, 2019, effective July 30, 2020. *Original authority: 273.344, RSMo 1992 and 273.346, RSMo 1992.