(iii) If a possible owner is identified, the animal shelter shall make every reasonable attempt to reunite the animal with its owner. Upon the owner’s or caretaker’s initiative of recovery procedures, the animal shelter shall retain custody of the animal for a five day period to allow for completion of the recovery process. The owner or custodian of the animal may be held responsible for reasonable housing and boarding costs once the owner or custodian has been notified of the animal’s location, provided that the owner or custodian has been advised of such costs prior to the costs being incurred.

(d)Animal shelters shall establish and maintain a registry of organizations willing to accept animals for the purpose of adoption, including breed specific rescues, or to provide the animals with long-term placements. The registry shall include the types and breeds of animals about which the organization wishes to be contacted. Animal shelters shall have the right to inspect the facilities of any adoption organization taking animals from the shelter.

(e)Animal shelters shall make best efforts to prioritize acceptance of animals from within the State of Delaware before accepting dog or cat intakes from outside of Delaware. Animals accepted from shelters outside the State of Delaware must have a current health certification.”

Section 3. Amend Chapter 80, Title 3 of the Delaware Code by deleting §8006, renumbering §8004 and §8005 as §8005 and §8006 respectively, and by inserting a new §8004 to read as follows:

Ҥ8004. Euthanasia in Animal Shelters.

(a) Any dog, cat or other animal held by or in the custody of an animal shelter and not adopted, transferred to another shelter or animal rescue group, or reclaimed by the owner within 5 days may be euthanized, provided that no reasonable alternatives are available and the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) are met.

(b) Animal shelters shall ensure that the following conditions are met before an animal is euthanized:

(i) The holding period for the animal required by this chapter is expired;

(ii) There are no empty cages, kennels, or other living environments in the shelter that are suitable for the animal;

(iii) The animal cannot share a cage or kennel with appropriately sized primary living space with another animal;

(iv)A foster home is not available;

(v) Organizations on the registry developed pursuant to §8003(d) are not willing to accept the animal; and

(vi) The animal care/control manager certifies that the above conditions are met and that he/she has no other reasonable alternative.

(c)Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, an animal may be euthanized immediately if necessary to alleviate undue suffering or to protect shelter staff and/or other sheltered animals from an animal’s severe aggression or contagious deadly health condition. The determination of whether euthanasia is necessary pursuant to this subsection shall be made by a licensed veterinarian or, in cases of extreme emergency occurring after regular business hours in circumstances under which a licensed veterinarian is not available, by other appropriately trained staff.

(d) Euthanasia Method and Procedure.

(i)The Department shall promulgate regulations regarding acceptable methods of euthanasia and regarding sanitation and ventilation of euthanasia areas. The methods included shall be approved or conditionally approved by the most recent AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia.

(ii) Any animal shelter performing euthanasia shall have a current policy and procedure manual regarding euthanasia. The policy and procedure manual shall set forth the shelter’s equipment, process, and the procedures for individual separation of animals.

(iii) Euthanasia must be performed by:

(a)A licensed veterinarian;

(b) A nationally certified euthanasia technician; or

(c)A person certified by a licensed veterinarian, after passing both a written and practical examination, as proficient to perform euthanasia. Training and certification requirements may be established by regulation.

(iv)Following their injection, animals shall be lowered to the surface on which they are being held and shall not be permitted to drop or otherwise collapse without support.

(v)The trained staff member performing the euthanasia shall remain in attendance between the time procedures to euthanize the animal are commenced and the time death occurs, and shall verify death has occurred using methods to be determined by regulation.”

Section 4. Amend the newly designated §8006, Chapter 80, Title 3 of the Delaware Code by deleting the phrase, “Use of decompression chamber to be prohibited;” in the title thereof, and by deleting subsection (a) and redesignating the remaining subsections accordingly.

Section 5. Amend the newly designated §8006(a), Chapter 80, Title 3 of the Delaware Code by deleting the phrase “with this chapter for” and inserting in its place the phrase “with §8004(d) regarding”.

Section 6. Amend the newly designated §8006(b), Chapter 80 of Title 3 of the Delaware Code by inserting the phrase “of §8004(d)” at the end of the first sentence and by deleting the phrase “this chapter” in the second sentence and replacing it with the phrase “§8004(d)”.

Section 7. Amend Chapter 80, Title 3 of the Delaware Code by adding a new §8007 to read as follows:

Ҥ8007. Record Keeping and Reporting.

Animal shelters shall maintain records regarding the following information:

(a) Intake rate;

(b) Euthanasia rate including age (infant, juvenile, and adult), by animal;

(c) Number of adoptions;

(d) Number reclaimed by owner;

(e) Number transferred to other agencies for adoption;

(f) Number of spay/neuters;

(g) Number of animals in the shelter;

(h) Records showing the number of animals that died or were lost/stolen;

(i) Records showing compliance with vaccination requirements; and

(j) Records regarding medical treatment provided.

The information in subsections (a) through (g) shall be posted to the shelter’s website on a quarterly basis. The information in subsections (h), (i) and (j) shall be made available upon request by appropriate authorities.”

Section 8. The provisions of Chapter 80, Title 3, §8002(a) and §8004(d)(ii) shall take effect on January 1, 2011.

SYNOPSIS

This bill establishes health, adoption, and record keeping requirements for animal shelters operating in Delaware and updates the euthanasia provisions applying to shelters.