Animal Care Guidelines for the Retail Pet Industry Contents Overview of Animal Care Guidelines for the Retail Pet Industry 3 Selling Animals in a Responsible Manner 4 Caring for Animals in Your Store 4 Housing Animals 4 Feeding Animals 4 Watering Animals 5 Conducting Health Checks 5 Handling Sick or Injured Animals 5 Euthanizing Animals 6 Maintaining Animal Care Records 6 Keeping Your Store Clean 7 Sanitizing Your Facility 7 Removing Waste 7 Controlling Pests 7 Safeguarding Public Health 8 Maintaining Facilities 8 Water and Power 8 Heating and Cooling 8 Ventilating Systems 8 Lighting 9 Walls and Floors 9 Washrooms and Sinks 9 Animal Enclosures 9 General Construction 9 Cage Floors and Walls 10 Security and Fire Alarm Systems 10 Developing Procedures 10 Training and Scheduling Employees 11 Animal Care Guidelines for the Retail Pet Industry By the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council Pet stores that house companion animals are held to high standards—by government regulators, the animal welfare community, the media, and consumers. Furthermore, pet owners look to these stores as models of animal care and turn to store staff for advice on a wide variety of animal welfare issues. Therefore, it behooves all pet retailers to not only prac- tice state-of-the-art animal husbandry techniques, but also to ensure the humane care of the animals they sell or adopt out of their stores. The best way for pet retailers to ensure that all animals on their premises are maintained and cared for humanely is to implement written operating procedures based on professionally accepted practices, and to train and require all employees to follow these procedures. The “Animal Care Guidelines for the Retail Pet Industry” have been designed to help pet retailers implement operating procedures governing animal care. Retailers can easily incorporate some or all of the guidelines into their own operating manuals or educational materials. Furthermore, they can use these guidelines to supplement relevant Federal, state or local laws and/or regulations that already apply to their stores. Retailers who adopt the procedures outlined in “Animal Care Guidelines for the Retail Pet Industry” will help ensure that their animals receive appropriate care and handling, demonstrate to the public and to regula- tory officials that their facilities are professionally managed, and serve as exemplars for the pet-loving public. Due to the wide variety of animals maintained in retail pet stores, it is impossible to describe specific care and handling recommendations for every species in a single document. We therefore encourage retailers to employ common sense and utilize the most appropriate husbandry practices when implementing the concepts conveyed in these guidelines for animals with highly specific or unique husbandry needs. Selling Animals n Protect animals from distress or injury in a Responsible Manner that can be caused by other animals or from excessive handling. n Take reasonable care to acquire, sell, n Provide animals, relevant to their trade or release for adoption only ani- type and age, with toys and other items mals that are apparently free of disease, (e.g., wheels, ladders, balls, hammocks, parasites, injuries or abnormalities. plastic plants) that will provide for move- n Refrain from selling, donating or ment, enrichment, and shelter. releasing for adoption any animal show- n Make plans and provisions to provide ing signs of, or suspected of having, adequate housing for all animals in infections, diseases, illnesses, para- the case of natural disasters or other sites, injuries or abnormalities—unless emergencies. you provide the purchaser/transferee with written information describing the Feeding Animals animal’s condition at the time of the sale n Provide food that is wholesome, nutri- and the new owner agrees to provide im- tious, palatable and uncontaminated mediate and necessary veterinary care, in sufficient quantities to maintain the if required. animal in good health. n Be informed about any permits or n Feed animals with consideration for licenses required, as well as any Federal, the species, age, condition, size, and state, or local county or city standards gender of the individual animal. Feeding applicable to the pet retailers. frequencies and amounts vary according to the species. n Feed all animals—other than certain Caring for Animals in Your Store amphibians and reptiles—at least once a day, including Sundays and holidays, Housing Animals except as necessitated by dormancy n House animals in a manner that (e.g., hibernation) requirements, veteri- minimizes stress. Avoid placing nary treatment, normal fasts or other animals in areas where they will be professionally accepted practices. exposed to temperature fluctuations or n Store food in a manner that protects drafts, loud or shrill noises, or noxious it from deterioration, mold or or harmful odors. contamination by rodents, insects, or n House animals in a manner that is disease-causing organisms. appropriate to their size and type. n Refrigerate perishable foods at appro- n Place only compatible animals to- priate temperatures. gether in the same primary enclosure. n Where appropriate, serve food in Consider species, age, condition, size, sanitized feeding pans, dishes or self- gender, and behavioral tendencies when feeders, or in disposable food dishes. evaluating compatibility. n Sanitize feeding pans and dishes n Use enclosures and equipment de- once a day or as appropriate for the signed and maintained to minimize the species. Clean self-feeders regularly risk of illness or injury to both animals to prevent molding, caking, or contami- and employees. nation of food. n Discard disposable food dishes w Behaving normally (evaluate by immediately after use. species, age, and gender). n Remove spoiled food from animal w Able to move normally and assume enclosures and adjust feeding practices normal postural positions. so as to prevent future food spoilage. w Showing any obvious signs of distress or illness. Watering Animals w Eating. n Provide all animals, other than w Drinking. aquatic organisms, with potable drink- w Defecating and urinating. ing water at least once during each 2-hour period, except as dictated by n Evaluate for general signs of dormancy (e.g., hibernation) require- illness, disease or injury, including ments, veterinary treatment, or other but not limited to: professionally accepted practices. w Abnormal condition or behavior n Use sanitized water vessels that (by species, age, and gender). are designed to provide and dispense w Listlessness. appropriate quantities of water for the w Failure to eat or decreased appetite. particular species. w Weight loss. n Position water vessels so that they w Diarrhea. are readily accessible to the animals w Eye or nasal discharge. and so as to prevent spillage, overheat- w Conjunctivitis. ing, contamination, and use by animals w Labored breathing. visiting the store. w Elevated respiration rate. n When cleaning water vessels, use ef- w Cough. fective cleaners and disinfectants that w Prostration. comply with Federal, state and local w Skin lesions. laws and regulations. w Abnormal hair or feather loss. n Clean and sanitize water vessels w Evidence of fleas, ticks at least once daily. Clean sipper-tube or other parasites. water bottles regularly to prevent the accumulation of dirt, debris and algae. Handling Sick or Injured Animals n Sanitize sipper-tube water bottles n Seek advice and care from veteri- before placing new animals in a nary experts as appropriate to care primary enclosure. for the animal(s). n Provide immediate medical care Conducting Health Checks for any sick or injured animal to ensure n Train employees to conduct visual its well-being and to prevent the spread health checks of animals (see below), of disease. and monitor employee competency. n Take appropriate measures to safe- n Require trained employees to con- guard staff and customers when an duct visual health checks of animals at animal in the store is suspected to be least twice a day. sick due to illness, injury, or stress. n Observe animals to determine n Report any animal showing a whether they are: health-related change or injury to the staff person responsible for taking n A description of the animal, including appropriate action. breed. If mixed-breed, so indicate. n If the animal is deemed to be sick or n The animal’s date of birth, if known. injured, remove it from the sales floor n The name and address of the and maintain it in as stress-free a loca- person/dealer from whom the animal tion as possible until it is fully recovered. was obtained, and the dealer’s Federal n Record your observations in appropri- identification number, if available. ate animal health records, such as for n Information from any identification dogs and cats. system, such as microchips, bands, n Isolate any animal suspected of tags or retinal scans, used to distinguish having a contagious disease and provide the animal. it with appropriate treatment. Keep the n The date of acquisition. animal isolated until it is completely n Notes about all vaccines administered recovered or transferred to a veterinarian to the animal, including the date of for treatment. administration, the manufacturer and n Monitor the condition of the animal the lot number. or group of animals until fully recovered n Notes about any health problems the and document the observations as animal experienced prior to arriving in noted elsewhere in these Guidelines. your pet store, if known. Notes about n Be informed about Federal, state and any health problems observed while the local laws and/or regulations concerning animal is in your pet store, including but reportable diseases. not limited to: w Signs of illness. Euthanizing Animals w Diagnosis of illness. n If an animal seems to be suffering w Treatment and/or medications from a crippling disability or an incurable administered. condition have it examined immediately w Prognosis, if known.