N.Y. General Business Law § 391-n: Sale of reptiles; notice

§ 391-n. Sale of reptiles; notice. 1. Any person, firm, partnership,

association or corporation who or which sells reptiles at retail shall

give written notice to the purchaser of a reptile that reptiles are a

potential cause of salmonellosis. Such notice shall substantially

contain the following language:

(a) As with many other animals, reptiles carry salmonella bacteria

which can make people sick. To reduce the chance of infection, follow

these safe reptile handling steps.

(b) Always wash your hands thoroughly after you handle your pet

reptile, its food or anything it has touched.

(c) Keep your pet reptile in a habitat designed for it.

(d) Keep your pet reptile and its equipment out of the kitchen or any

area where food is prepared.

(e) Keep reptiles out of homes where there are children under one year

of age or people with weakened immune systems. Children under five

should handle reptiles only with adult/parental guidance.

2. Every proprietor who or which conducts a business of selling

reptiles at retail shall conspicuously post a warning poster on premises

alerting consumers that reptiles are a potential cause of salmonellosis

and should be handled with care. The warning poster shall be available

in two sizes, the smaller of which shall be eight and one-half inches by

eleven inches and the larger of which shall be eleven inches by

twenty-five and one-half inches. The larger poster shall be utilized for

posting unless because of limited wall space or store layout the larger

poster cannot fit in a conspicuous spot near the reptile displays, in

which case the smaller poster may be used. Such poster shall have

conspicuous lettering and type and shall substantially contain the

following language:

(a) As with many other animals, reptiles carry salmonella bacteria

which can make people sick. To reduce the chance of infection, follow

these safe reptile handling steps.

(b) Always wash your hands thoroughly after you handle your pet

reptile, its food or anything it has touched.

(c) Keep your pet reptile in a habitat designed for it.

(d) Keep your pet reptile and its equipment out of the kitchen or any

area where food is prepared.

(e) Keep reptiles out of homes where there are children under one year

of age or people with weakened immune systems. Children under five

should handle reptiles only with adult/parental guidance.

3. Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation or

proprietor who or which violates the provisions of this section shall be

subject to a civil penalty not to exceed fifty dollars for each day of

the violation, but in no event shall the total amount of such penalties

exceed five hundred dollars.