§ 4-19-2. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, chapter 13 of this title, and the regulations promulgated
under this chapter:
(1) "Adequate feed� means the provision at suitable intervals, not to exceed twenty-four
(24) hours, of a quantity of wholesome foodstuff suitable for the species and age,
sufficient to maintain a reasonable level of nutrition in each animal. The foodstuff
shall be served in a sanitized receptacle, dish, or container.
(2) "Adequate veterinary care� means care by a licensed veterinarian sufficient to prevent
the animal from experiencing unnecessary or unjustified physical pain or suffering.
(3) "Adequate water� means a constant access to a sufficient supply of clean, fresh, potable
water provided in a sanitary manner and provided at suitable intervals for the species
to maintain the health of the animal(s) and not to exceed twenty-four (24) hours at
any interval.
(4) "Adopt� means when an adopting party voluntarily acquires and assumes responsibility
for an animal from a releasing agency that is properly licensed or registered by the
department.
(5) "Adopting party� means any person who enters into a contract acquiring an animal from
a releasing agency that is properly licensed or registered by the department.
(6) "Ambient temperature� means the temperature surrounding the animal.
(7) "Animal� means any dog or cat, rabbit, rodent, nonhuman primate, bird or other warm-blooded
vertebrate, amphibian, fish, or reptile but shall not include horses, cattle, sheep,
goats, swine, and domestic fowl.
(8) "Animal rescue� or "rescue� means an entity, without a physical brick-and-mortar facility,
that is owned, operated, or maintained by a duly incorporated humane society, animal
welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit
organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals intended
for adoption.
(9) "Animal shelter� means a brick-and-mortar facility that is used to house or contain
animals and that is owned, operated, or maintained by a duly incorporated humane society,
animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other
nonprofit organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of
animals.
(10) "Breeder� means a person engaged in the propagation of purebred or crossbred dogs
and/or cats for the purpose of improving and enhancing a breed recognized and registered
by the American Kennel Club, American Field Stud Book, a registered cat breed association,
or for sale at wholesale or retail, unless otherwise exempted as a hobby breeder as
defined below.
(11) "Broker� means any third party who arranges, delivers, or otherwise facilitates transfer
of ownership of animal(s), through adoption or fostering, from one party to another,
whether or not the party receives a fee for providing that service and whether or
not the party takes physical possession of the animal(s) at any point.
(12) "Dealer� means any person who sells, exchanges, or donates, or offers to sell, exchange,
or donate, animals to another dealer, pet shop, or research facility, or who breeds
animals for the purpose of selling or donating to another dealer or pet shop or research
facility.
(13) "Director� means the director of environmental management of the state of Rhode Island.
(14) "Dog officer� or "animal-control officer� means any person employed, contracted, or
appointed by the state, or any political subdivision of the state, for the purpose
of aiding in the enforcement of this chapter or any other law or ordinance relating
to the licensing of dogs, cats, or other animals; the control of dogs, cats, or other
animals; or the seizure and impoundment of dogs, cats, or other animals and includes
any state or municipal peace officer, animal-control officer, sheriff, constable,
or other employee whose duties, in whole or in part, include assignments that involve
the seizure or taking into custody of any dog, cat, or other animal.
(15) "Euthanasia� means the humane destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that
involves instantaneous unconsciousness and immediate death or by a method that involves
anesthesia, produced by an agent that causes painless loss of consciousness and death
during that loss of consciousness.
(16) "Guardian� shall mean a person(s) having the same rights and responsibilities of an
owner, and both terms shall be used interchangeably. A guardian shall also mean a
person who possesses, has title to or an interest in, harbors, or has control, custody,
or possession of an animal and who is responsible for an animal's safety and well-being.
(17) "Hobby breeder� means those persons whose regular occupation is not the breeding and
raising of dogs and cats and whose method of sale is at retail only. A hobby breeder
shall not exceed the whelping of greater than two (2) litters of dogs or cats, or
combination of dogs and cats, in any one calendar year. Any person who exceeds these
limits will be defined as a breeder.
(18) "Housing facility� means any room, building, or area used to contain a primary enclosure
or enclosures.
(19) "Kennel� means a place or establishment, other than a pound or animal shelter, or
veterinary hospital that is housing animals during their treatment, where animals
not owned by the proprietor are sheltered, fed, and watered in return for a fee. This
definition shall not apply to the following:
(i) Sheltering, feeding, and watering in return for a fee in a residential setting, of
no more than four (4) animals not owned by the proprietor, subject to any applicable
municipal ordinance that may be more restrictive;
(ii) Any entity that sells a dog or cat.
(20) "Licensed releasing agency� means any animal shelter, animal-rescue, pound, animal-control
officer, or broker that is required to be licensed or registered with the director
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and is so licensed or registered.
(21) "Neuter� means to surgically render a male dog or cat unable to reproduce.
(22) "Person� means any individual, partnership, firm, joint stock company, corporation,
association, trust, estate, or other legal entity.
(23) "Pet shop� means an establishment where animals are bought, sold, exchanged, or offered
for sale or exchange to the general public at retail. This shall not include an establishment
or person whose total sales are the offspring of canine or feline females maintained
on their premises and sold from those premises and does not exceed the limits set
forth in § 4-25-1(4).
(24) "Pound� or "dog pound� means a facility operated by a state, or any political subdivision
of a state, for the purpose of impounding or harboring seized, stray, homeless, abandoned,
or unwanted dogs, cats, and other animals or a facility operated for that purpose
under a contract with any municipal corporation or incorporated society for the prevention
of cruelty to animals.
(25) "Primary enclosure� or "enclosure� means the most proximal barrier to an animal that
will have the intended purpose or effect of containment of that animal or that will
effectively restrict the liberty of the animal.
(26) "Public auction� means any place or location where dogs or cats are sold at auction
to the highest bidder regardless of whether those dogs or cats are offered as individuals,
as a group, or by weight.
(27) "Research facility� means any place, laboratory, or institution at which scientific
tests, investigations, or experiments involving the use of living animals are carried
out, conducted, or attempted.
(28) "Sanitize� means to make physically clean and to remove and destroy, to a practical
minimum, agents injurious to health.
(29) "Sexual maturity� means when a dog or cat reaches six (6) months. In all instances,
the licensed releasing agency or a licensed veterinarian will determine the age of
the dog or cat.
(30) "Spay� means to surgically render a female dog or cat unable to reproduce.
(31) "State veterinarian� means a licensed veterinarian from the department of environmental
management.
(32) "Trainer� means those persons who actively engage in the application of behavior analysis
using the environmental events of antecedents and consequences to modify the behavior
of an animal, either for the animal to assist in specific activities or undertake
particular tasks, or for the animal to participate effectively in contemporary domestic
life, and who keep, board, or retain possession of the animal for at least one overnight
period, with the exception of those persons engaged in these activities for dog training
programs operated by government agencies and for dog training programs operated by
a not-for-profit or exempt nonprofit organization pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.