Did Connecticut animal sellers need a pet shop license for a one-day exposition in 2009?

Plain-English summary

In 2009, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal concluded that selling animals to the public at a temporary event required a pet shop license, even when the sale lasted only a day. The question came from the Department of Agriculture and concerned expos and other temporary locations.

The statute defined a pet shop as "any place at which animals not born or raised on the premises are kept for the purpose of sale to the public." The AG read "any place" to include an event booth and found no duration limit in the word "kept." The opinion thus treated the temporary seller as a pet shop subject to the licensing and animal protection rules it described.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2009. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Animal sellers and event organizers at the time

For a business or person selling animals to the public at an exposition or similar location, the opinion said the temporary location counted as a pet shop. Its conclusion stated that such sellers "must obtain a pet shop license." The AG did not condition that answer on an event lasting more than one day.

Agriculture officials and buyers at the time

The opinion linked licensing to inspections and rules concerning sanitation, disease, humane treatment, and public safety. It also described then-existing protections for buyers of cats and dogs, including veterinary examinations and certain refunds for sick animals. The AG said those protections could be lost if temporary sale locations were excluded from the pet shop definition.

Common questions

Q: Was a one-day animal sale at an expo a pet shop in Connecticut under the 2009 opinion?
A: Yes. The AG concluded that an event booth could be "any place" under the statute and that "kept" did not impose a minimum duration.

Q: Did a seller need a permanent storefront to count as a pet shop?
A: No. The opinion said the statutory definition did not require "a store or other permanent location."

Q: Why did the pet shop classification matter for event sellers?
A: Under the statutes discussed in the opinion, a pet shop needed a license from the Commissioner of Agriculture and was subject to animal care, inspection, and buyer protection requirements.

Background and statutory framework

The Department of Agriculture asked whether a seller at an exposition or other temporary site met Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-327(9)'s definition of a pet shop. The AG answered yes by reading the statute's broad place-based language. He also cited a legislative comment describing the law's reach as "any place where various named animals are held for sale."

The opinion then described Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-344(b)'s licensing requirement and the related rules for inspections, sanitation, disease control, humane treatment, and certain cat and dog sales. Its conclusion applied those requirements to temporary public animal sales.

Citations and references

Statutes cited in the opinion: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-327(9); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-344(b); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-344(e); Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 22-344b and 22-344d.

Source

• Landing page: https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Opinions
• Opinion page: https://portal.ct.gov/ag/opinions/2009-formal-opinions/honorable-f-philip-prelli-commissioner-department-of-agriculture-formal-opinion-2009001-attorney-gen

Original opinion text

Honorable F. Philip Prelli, Commissioner, Department of Agriculture, Formal Opinion 2009-001, Attorney General State of Connecticut

Attorney General's Opinion

Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal

May 13, 2009

F. Philip Prelli, Commissioner

Department of Agriculture

165 Capital Avenue

Hartford, CT 06106

Dear Commissioner Prelli:

Your department requested my opinion on whether an individual or business that sells animals at an exposition event or other temporary location, for a period of one or more days, is a “pet shop” as defined in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-327(9). I conclude that businesses or individuals selling animals to the public at an event for even a short duration are pet shops within the meaning of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-327(9) and are subject to compliance with pet shop laws found at Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 22-344(b), 22-244a, 22-344b and 22-344d.

A pet shop is defined as “any place at which animals not born or raised on the premises are kept for the purpose of sale to the public.” Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-327(9). By statute a pet shop can be “any place” and there is no requirement that a pet shop be located at a store or other permanent location. Additionally, the term “kept” is not dependent on duration of time. Animals being sold to the public at a booth at an event are being “kept” at that location for the purpose of sale to the public. Thus, the sale of animals at short duration events meets the statutory definition of a pet shop.

Only one comment in the law’s legislative history sheds further light on this question. In discussing an amendment in 1972 to expand the pet shop statute from covering only dogs to include other animals, one senator stated that the legislation extended the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources “to supervise and inspect pet shops which by definition includes any place where various named animals are held for sale.” 15 S. Proc. Pt. 3, 1972 Sess., p. 970 (remarks of Sen. Strada) (emphasis added). This comment further supports application of the term “pet shops” to temporary locations where animals are sold.

Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-344(b), no person may maintain a pet shop until he has obtained a license from the Commissioner of Agriculture. The Commissioner is to approve an application for a pet shop if he finds that the pet shop has complied with applicable state regulations (related to sanitation, disease, humane treatment of animals and public safety), and in the case of an initial application, that the business complies with local zoning regulations as determined by a municipal zoning enforcement official. A pet shop license may only be transferred to another premise upon the approval of the Commissioner, who must determine the appropriateness of all pet shop locations. Id.

Connecticut’s pet shop laws protect the public and animals by permitting inspection of the premises where animals are sold, requiring compliance with regulations related to sanitation, disease, humane treatment of animals, and public safety. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-344(e) and R.C.S.A. §§ 22-344-16a-20a and 22-344-25c. Our laws also require veterinary examinations prior to sale of a cat or dog, a refund of the purchase price of a sick cat or dog under certain circumstances, and the posting of certain information about a dog for sale on the cage of such dog. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 22-344b and 22-344d. We agree with your department’s concern that if temporary locations for selling animals are not deemed to be pet shops, consumers will not be afforded these rights and protections.

The definition of the term pet shop is not limited by how long or where an animal is kept for sale to the public. Individuals or businesses selling animals at any temporary location must obtain a pet shop license.

Please let me know whether you have any further questions on this issue.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL

ATTORNEY GENERAL