N.Y. Agriculture & Markets Law § 431: Transportation

§ 431. Transportation. 1. Vehicle requirements. (a) Vehicles and

operators employed by or otherwise serving as an agent of any animal

shelter to transport animals shall adhere to all applicable federal,

state, and local laws.

(b) Any animal transported by an animal shelter or its agent shall not

be placed unconfined or tethered in the back of an open pick-up or

flatbed truck.

(c) Any animal shelter or its agent transporting any animal shall

safely and securely confine such animal in an enclosure such as a crate,

carrier, or cage within the vehicle. Foster care providers serving as an

agent of any animal shelter for purposes of this section may be

authorized to provide secure alternatives to enclosures for transport of

large dogs.

(d) Any transport vehicle transporting dogs or cats for any animal

shelter shall have adequate space, comfortable environmental conditions,

and good air quality. The animal compartment of the transport vehicle

shall provide fresh air, free of vehicle exhaust fumes.

(e) Each transport vehicle, including cargo spaces, shall be heated

and cooled as necessary to provide for normal thermoregulation of the

animals being transported.

(f) Each transport vehicle shall have a thermometer placed in the

animal compartment. The ambient temperature in the cargo space shall be

maintained between sixty and eighty-five degrees fahrenheit, unless the

health of the animal necessitates an ambient temperature that exceeds or

is less than such parameters. The operator of such vehicle shall monitor

cargo area temperatures at least every four hours to ensure such

temperatures are maintained.

2. General responsibilities of animal shelters of origin prior to

transport. (a) It is the responsibility of the animal shelter of origin

to reasonably ensure that its destination animal shelters have the

ability to meet the requirements of subdivision four of this section

prior to transporting any animal. A written contract or memorandum of

understanding between the animal shelter of origin, any intermediate

animal shelter, the destination animal shelter and any transporting

agent not directly employed by such shelters, shall be executed for each

animal transfer of one or more animals. Such document shall include the

responsibilities of each party and shall be revised or updated as

necessary to ensure that information is current.

(b) A contact person shall be designated for each animal shelter and

any intermediate transfer points.

(c) Each transporting organization identified in any agreement

established pursuant to subparagraph (i) of paragraph (d) of this

subdivision shall adhere to all public health laws and local laws for

source location, intermediate transfer points, and final destination.

(d) (i) For dogs or cats imported into the state, the animal shelter

of origin shall ensure that each dog or cat to be transported aged three

months of age or older has been vaccinated against rabies not more than

twelve months prior to the date of transport when using a one-year

vaccine, or not more than thirty-six months prior to the date of

transport when using a three-year vaccine, as evidenced by a valid

certificate of immunization signed by a duly licensed veterinarian. Such

vaccine shall be approved by the United States department of

agriculture. The immunization requirement shall not apply if a

veterinarian certifies in writing that because of old age or other

reason, the life of the dog would be endangered by the administration of

the rabies vaccine.

(ii) At a minimum, the animal shelter of origin shall administer the

following core vaccinations to each dog or cat to be transported that is

four weeks of age or older:

(1) For dogs, a modified live product for Distemper virus, Adenovirus,

and Parvovirus as well as an intranasal or oral avirulent culture

Bordetella bronchiseptica vaccination prior to departing from the animal

shelter of origin.

(2) For cats, a modified live product for Feline Viral

Rhinotracheitis, Feline Calici Virus, and Feline Panleukopenia.

(iii) The animal shelter of origin shall treat each animal for

internal and external parasites as appropriate for the age, species, and

medical condition.

(iv) (1) The animal shelter of origin shall examine each dog and cat

for medical or behavioral concerns at most twenty-four hours prior to

initiation of transport. All medical and behavioral observations shall

be recorded and communicated to any intermediate animal shelter, the

destination animal shelter and any transporting agent not directly

employed by such shelters.

(2) A health record shall accompany each animal to be transported.

(3) A health certificate is required for each animal to be transported

into the state in accordance with part sixty-five of the commissioner's

rules and regulations. Such certificate shall accompany each animal

during transport and be completed and signed by a duly licensed

veterinarian.

(v) Each animal shall be individually identified with a collar, tag,

tattoo, microchip or combination of such identifiers. All animals shall

have, at a minimum, one form of visual identification.

3. General responsibilities during transport. (a) Each animal

transported shall be provided with absorbent bedding.

(b) No animal shall be sedated or tranquilized unless recommended by a

duly licensed veterinarian and veterinary guidance is provided for such

animal's care during transport.

(c) The maximum transport time to an intermediate animal shelter or a

destination animal shelter for dogs and cats shall include not more than

fourteen hours confined to the transport vehicle, including load time.

Transports exceeding fourteen hours must include an overnight stop at an

intermediary location, where the dogs and cats being transported shall

be allowed the opportunity to exercise and eliminate outside of the

transport vehicle.

(d) The transporting animal shelter or its agent shall observe each

animal being transported as often as circumstances allow, but not less

than once every four hours. During such observations, animals should be

watered and fed consistent with paragraphs (g) and (h) of this

subdivision, and the transport area cleaned as appropriate.

(e) Each dog shall be provided with the opportunity to exercise and

eliminate at least once every twelve hours while confined to the

transport vehicle, including load time. Each dog being transported that

is less than twelve weeks of age shall be removed from their enclosure

and allowed to exercise and eliminate at least every two hours.

(f) No dog or cat shall be left unattended in any transport vehicle

for more than one hour, regardless of whether heating, ventilation and

air conditioning (HVAC) is provided in such vehicle.

(g) The transporting animal shelter or its agent shall provide each

animal being transported with wholesome and palatable food except when

there are instructions from a duly licensed veterinarian to withhold

food for medical reasons. Such food shall be free from contamination, of

nutritional value sufficient to maintain each animal in good health and

be provided at least every twelve hours for adult animals; at least

every eight hours for animals less than six months of age; and at least

every six hours for animals less than four months of age.

(h) If water cannot be provided at all times, the transporting animal

shelter or its agent shall provide clean, fresh water to each animal

being transported at least every four hours during observation stops

required pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this section.

Such water shall be supplied in a sanitary manner sufficient for its

needs, except where there are instructions from a duly licensed

veterinarian to withhold water for medical reasons.

(i) Animal enclosure requirements. (i) Animal enclosures in transport

vehicles shall be suitable to allow the animal to stand, sit erect, turn

around while standing, and to lie in a natural position. If more than

one animal occupies any enclosure during transport, such enclosure shall

provide adequate space for each to lie down comfortably at the same time

without lying on top of each other.

(ii) Unfamiliar animals shall not be contained together in the same

enclosure.

(iii) Crates, carriers or cages shall not be stacked in the transport

vehicle in a manner that increases animal stress or discomfort,

compromises ventilation, allows waste material to pass between cages,

interferes with care and observation, or hinders emergency removal.

(iv) All animal enclosures and compartments shall be free of sharp

edges or other hazardous materials.

(v) The floor of any enclosure shall prevent injury, discomfort, and

leakage of fluids into other enclosures.

(vi) The animal shelter or its agent shall ensure that each animal

transported is safely and securely confined within each enclosure as

prescribed by this section and that enclosure doors are secured to

prevent accidental opening.

(vii) The animal shelter or its agent shall secure each primary

enclosure to prevent movement within the transport vehicle.

(viii) Each dog or cat less than eight weeks of age shall be

transported in an enclosure with their mother, with adequate space to

allow the mother to lie down on her side with legs extended to

facilitate nursing unless such dog or cat is orphaned, a duly licensed

veterinarian directs otherwise, the transport period does not exceed one

hour, or transport with the mother is deemed to pose a significant

safety risk. In the event such dog or cat is not transported with its

mother, the animal shelter or its agent shall ensure an adequate

environment and temperature for the offspring. The transporting animal

shelter or its agent shall transport animals with known or suspected

infectious diseases that could be spread during transport in separate

compartments from healthy animals.

(ix) The transporting animal shelter or its agent shall clean animal

enclosures and replace litter as often as necessary to prevent soiling

any animal being transported. If any animal must be removed from an

enclosure to facilitate cleaning, the transporting animal shelter or its

agent shall employ safeguards to ensure animal safety and prevent

escape.

(j) Transport vehicle operators. (i) Transport vehicle operators and

individuals who assist in the transport of animals shall have training

in animal health, animal care, and safety issues to recognize and

respond to animal needs during transport.

(ii) Transport vehicle operators shall avoid unnecessary sudden

acceleration, deceleration, excessive lateral movement, noise and

vibration.

(iii) Transport vehicle operators and individuals who assist in the

transport of animals shall observe dogs and cats for any medical or

behavioral concerns during each stop and shall respond appropriately to

any concerns identified.

(iv) Transport vehicle operators and individuals who assist in the

transport of animals shall clean and disinfect each enclosure after use

in transporting an animal and before transporting different animals in

the same enclosure.

4. General requirements of destination animal shelters. Each

destination animal shelter shall provide the following:

(a) Adequately trained personnel ready to receive and medically

evaluate each animal received from any transporting animal shelter or

its agent upon arrival;

(b) A physical examination of each animal received from any

transporting animal shelter with corresponding documentation performed

by trained personnel pursuant to section four hundred twenty-three of

this article within four hours of arrival;

(c) Veterinary care in accordance with section four hundred

twenty-nine of this article for each animal received from any

transporting animal shelter requiring such care and additional

reasonable care.

(d) Adequate housing for arriving animals prepared in advance of

arrival, including:

(i) Housing in a quarantine area if needed, based on assessment of

health status, animal source, and risk of infectious, contagious,

parasitic or communicable disease; and

(ii) Isolation areas for animals with known or suspected contagious

diseases, as required under sections four hundred twenty-four and four

hundred twenty-five of this article.

5. No animal shelter or its agents shall transport any dog or cat less

than one year of age whose point of origin is any breeder licensed by

the United States department of agriculture pursuant to the provisions

of U.S.P.L. 89-544 as of August twenty-fourth, nineteen sixty-six, or

any subsequent corresponding sections of the federal Animal Welfare Act,

as from time to time amended.