1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to commerce; regulating sales of certain
1.3 	birds; imposing a civil penalty; proposing coding for
1.4 	new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 346.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [346.401] DEFINITIONS.
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Scope. The definitions in this section
1.8 	apply to sections 346.401 to 346.405.
1.9 		Subd. 2.Bird. "Bird" means any order of Psittaciformes
1.10 	bird.
1.11 		Subd. 3.Bird mart. "Bird mart" means an event at which
1.12 	two or more persons offer birds for sale or exchange or where a
1.13 	fee is charged for the privilege of offering or displaying birds.
1.14 		Subd. 4.Hand feeding. "Hand feeding" means the process
1.15 	by which a bird is manually fed by a human through the use of
1.16 	hand, spoon, or oral gavage.
1.17 		Subd. 5.Pet shop. "Pet shop" means a retail pet shop
1.18 	location primarily engaged in selling pets, pet foods, or pet
1.19 	supplies.
1.20 		Subd. 6.Time of sale. "Time of sale" means the calendar
1.21 	date a retail purchaser removed a bird from the premises of a
1.22 	pet shop following the retail sale of that bird.
1.23 		Subd. 7.Unweaned. "Unweaned" means a bird requires hand
1.24 	feeding or animal assistance to sustain at least 90 percent of
1.25 	its own weight for at least two weeks.
2.1 		Subd. 8.Vendor. "Vendor" means a person or entity
2.2 	including, but not limited to, a broker, agent, aviary, or
2.3 	breeder, who sells birds directly to the retail purchaser at a
2.4 	bird mart or at a swap meet.
2.5 		Subd. 9.Weaned. "Weaned" means a bird does not require
2.6 	hand feeding or animal assistance to sustain at least 90 percent
2.7 	of its own weight following the time of sale, notwithstanding
2.8 	any illness or injury.

2.9 	Sec. 2. [346.402] SALE OF UNWEANED BIRDS.
2.10 	(a) A pet shop must not be in possession of a bird or sell
2.11 	a bird unless the bird is weaned.
2.12 	(b) A vendor may not sell a bird at a swap meet or bird
2.13 	mart unless the bird is weaned.
2.14 	(c) At the time of sale, a pet shop location or vendor must
2.15 	document the weight of any hand fed bird under one year of age
2.16 	and note the weight on the sales receipt.

2.17 	Sec. 3. [346.403] RECORDS.
2.18 	A pet shop or vendor must maintain a written record on the
2.19 	health, disposition, and age at time of acquisition and at sale
2.20 	of each bird for at least one year after disposition of the
2.21 	bird.  These records must be available to humane officers,
2.22 	animal control officers, and law enforcement officers for
2.23 	inspection during normal business hours.

2.24 	Sec. 4. [346.404] EXEMPTIONS.
2.25 	Sections 346.401 to 346.405 do not apply to animal shelters
2.26 	or to publicly operated animal regulation departments.

2.27 	Sec. 5. [346.405] PENALTIES; EFFECT.
2.28 	(a) A person violating sections 346.401 to 346.405 is
2.29 	subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation.  The
2.30 	action may be prosecuted in the name of the people of the state
2.31 	by the district attorney for the county where the violation
2.32 	occurred in the appropriate court or by the city attorney in the
2.33 	city where the violation occurred.
2.34 	(b) Nothing in sections 346.401 to 346.405 limits or
2.35 	authorizes any act or omission that violates the state's
2.36 	anticruelty laws.
3.1 	(c) Nothing in sections 346.401 to 346.405 authorizes the
3.2 	seizure of an unweaned bird by a peace officer, officer of a
3.3 	humane society or animal shelter, or officer of an animal
3.4 	regulation department of a public agency.