Code of Massachusetts Regulations
330 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES
Title 330 CMR 12.00 - Licensing and Operation of Pet Shops
Section 12.01 - Definitions
As used in 330 CMR 12.00:
Animal. Any bird, mammal or reptile that may be kept without a permit from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, as provided in 321 CMR 9.01: Exemption List and 321 CMR 9.02: List of Domestic Animals.
Applicant. A Person who has applied for a License or renewal of License from the Department.
Clean(ed) and Disinfect(ed). The process by which bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens are eliminated from an environment through the physical removal of organic material or debris from personnel, Facilities, vehicles, and other equipment, followed by the appropriate application of chemical agents specifically designed to destroy potentially hazardous microorganisms in accordance with applicable directions.
Department. The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
Disclosure Statement. A written statement pertaining to an individual Animal describing all of its known medical issues.
Facility or Facilities. A location or locations owned, operated, or otherwise used by a Licensee for receiving, maintaining, caring for, and transporting Animals for the purpose of Selling or Offering for Sale such Animals.
Health Certificate. A document dated and signed by a Veterinarian certifying that an Animal is free of any symptoms of infectious or contagious disease.
Impervious. A non-porous, impermeable surface through which a liquid will not be allowed to pass but upon which water will bead.
Individual Animal Record. A comprehensive record relating to an individual Animal that includes, where applicable, a history of vaccinations, history of all medical treatment including administered medications, source of animal, name and address of purchaser, Official Identification, date of sale, mortality record, and such other records as may be appropriate.
Isolation Room. A location approved by the Department designed to serve as a receiving and holding station for Animals prior to Sale or Offer for Sale. An Isolation Room may be used as a Quarantine Room for Animals that are potentially affected with or exposed to contagious or infectious illnesses.
License. Revocable permission to operate a Pet Shop in the Commonwealth and to Sell or Offer for Sale Animals from such Pet Shop. Licenses shall be issued as Class A, B, or C. Any use of the term License shall apply to all classes of Licenses issued under 330 CMR 12.00, unless otherwise indicated.
Licensee. A Person who has received a Class A, B, or C License from the Department.
OCVI An Official Certificate of Veterinary Inspection form issued by a USDA Accredited Veterinarian in the state of origin and approved by an animal health official of the state of origin listing all Animals (with an accurate description or Official Identification) covered by the certificate that have been examined by the person issuing the form, stating the nature of the examination and the findings of the health of the Animals covered by the certificate, and containing the names and addresses of the consignor and the consignee of the Animals, the vaccinations that the Animals may have received, and the dates that the vaccinations occurred. An OCVI shall include an Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection.
Official Identification. A device or method used as a means of identifying an individual Animal appropriate for that species, including, but not limited to, microchip, labeled collar, or other means of distinction affixed to the Animal. For rabbits, reptiles, rodents and small birds, if no identification is affixed, a detailed description of the animal and the group with which it arrived attached to the enclosure will suffice.
Person. An individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, or other business organization and any officer, employee, representative, or agent thereof.
Pet Shop. A place or premises where Animals are kept for the purpose of either wholesale or retail sale, import, export, barter, exchange, or gift. For the purposes of 330 CMR 12.00, entities licensed by the Department as a Rescue Organization under 330 CMR 30.00: Animal Rescue and Shelter Organization Regulations shall not be deemed a Pet Shop. To the extent a Pet Shop engages in import or export activities other than obtaining Animals from a breeder or broker for payment or compensation, or otherwise acts as a Rescue Organization as defined in 330 CMR 30.02: Definitions, it shall comply with all applicable provisions of 330 CMR 30.00.
Primary Housing Enclosure. The cage, crate, or any area within a Facility in which a confined Animal is kept.
Quarantine. The confinement of an Animal, whether or not by order of the Department pursuant to M.G.L. c. 129, § 21, to prohibit other animal contact by restricting the Animal to an Isolation or Quarantine Room for the purposes of:
(a) observing if the Animal displays signs of contagious or infectious illness; and
(b) minimizing the risk of the Animal spreading such contagious or infectious illness to humans and other animals.
Quarantine Room. A location designed to serve as a receiving and holding station for Animals that are subject to Quarantine.
Sanitary Conditions). The state of Facilities, Primary Housing Enclosures, and associated equipment having been Cleaned and Disinfected as often as necessary to be free of, at a minimum, urine, feces, and noxious odors.
Sale, Sell, Sold or Offer for Sale. To sell, barter, exchange, give away, or otherwise confer ownership of an Animal to a Person other than the Licensee, or to display or have within view of the public an Animal in a Pet Shop or otherwise make known that an Animal is available for such transactions.
Taxonomic Derivation. The Latin nomenclature for the genus and species.
Veterinarian. A veterinarian licensed and in good standing in the state where the Veterinarian is doing business.
Zoonotic Disease. An infectious disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans or from humans to animals.
