Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 391

FORMERLY

SENATE BILL NO. 374

AS AMENDED BY SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE UNLAWFUL TRADE OF DOG OR CAT BYPRODUCTS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE :

Section 1. Amend Chapter 5, Title 11 of the Delaware Code, by adding thereto, between existing § 1325 and § 1326 thereof, a new section as follows:

Ҥ 1325A. The unlawful trade in dog or cat byproducts; class B misdemeanor; class A misdemeanor, penalties.

(a)(1) A person is guilty of the unlawful trade in dog or cat byproducts in the second degree if the person knowingly or recklessly sells, barters, or offers for sale or barter, the fur or hair of a domestic dog or cat or any product made in whole or in part from the fur or hair of a domestic dog or cat.

(2) This subsection shall not apply to the sale or barter, or offering for sale or barter, of the fur or hair of a domestic dog or cat which has been cut at a commercial grooming establishment, or at a veterinary office or clinic, or for scientific research purposes.

(3) The unlawful trade in dog or cat byproducts in the second degree is a Class B Misdemeanor.

(b)(1) A person is guilty of the unlawful trade in dog or cat byproducts in the first degree if the person knowingly or recklessly sells, barters, or offers for sale or barter, the flesh of a domestic dog or cat or any product made in whole or in part from the flesh of a domestic dog or cat.

(2) The unlawful trade in dog or cat byproducts in the first degree is a Class A Misdemeanor.

(c) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any person convicted of a violation of this section shall be:

(1) prohibited from owning or possessing any domestic dog or cat for 15 years after said conviction, except for those grown, raised or produced within the State for resale, where the person has all necessary licenses for such sale or resale, and receives at least 25 percent of the person's annual gross income from such sale or resale;

(2) subject to a fine in the amount of $2,500 in any court of competent jurisdiction; and

(3) required to forfeit any domestic dog or cat illegally owned in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 79 of Title 3.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘domestic dog or cat’ means a dog (Canis familiaris) or cat (Felis catus or Felis domesticus) that is generally recognized in the United States as being a household pet and shall not include coyote, fox, lynx, bobcat, or any other wild or commercially raised canine or feline species the fur or hair of which is recognized for use in warm clothing and outer wear by the United States Department of Agriculture and which species is not recognized as an endangered or threatened species by the United States Fish and Wild Life Service or the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.”

Section 2. Amend § 2702, Title 11 of the Delaware Code, by redesignating subsections (43) through (53) thereof as subsections (44) through (54) respectively and by inserting therein a new subsection (43) as follows:

“(43) Section 1325A of this title (the unlawful trade in dog or cat byproducts; class B misdemeanor; class A misdemeanor);”

Approved June 30, 2000