Title 44, Animals and Animal Husbandry

(a) The commissioner shall issue a license to an applicant after determining:(1) The applicant or the responsible officers of the applicant are of good moral character;(2) The applicant or any responsible officer of the applicant has never been convicted of cruelty to animals or …

(1) A license, unless sooner suspended or revoked, shall be renewable annually upon filing by the licensee and approval by the commissioner, of an annual report upon such forms and containing such information as the commissioner may prescribe by regulation. The fee for renewal of…

(a) The license of any dealer may be suspended or revoked by the commissioner for any of the following reasons:(1) The incompetence or untrustworthiness of the licensee;(2) Willful falsification of any information contained in the application;(3) The conviction of the licensee or…

(1) Each dealer shall file, on forms and at such times as prescribed by the commissioner, semi-annual reports containing the following information:(1) The number of dogs or cats in the possession of the dealer on the date the report is filed;(2) The number of dogs and cats purcha…

Every research facility shall register with the commissioner in accordance with such rules and regulations as the commissioner may prescribe.

All dogs and cats delivered for transportation, transported, purchased, or sold to research facilities shall be marked or identified in such manner as the commissioner may prescribe.

Research facilities and dealers shall make and keep such records with respect to their purchase, sale, transportation, and handling of dogs and cats as the commissioner may prescribe.

Dogs and cats shall not be offered for sale or sold to a research facility at public auction or by weight. No research facility shall purchase dogs or cats at public auction or by weight, nor shall any research facility purchase dogs or cats except from a licensed dealer, public …

(a) The purchase of any dog or cat by a dealer or by a research facility shall be evidenced by a bill of sale signed by the seller. The bill of sale shall be in form approved by the commissioner and shall certify that the seller is the lawful owner of the dog or cat and that owne…

No dealer shall sell or otherwise dispose of any dog or cat within a period of five (5) business days after the acquisition of the animal or within such other period as may be specified by the commissioner.

(a) The premises of any dealer or research facility shall be made available to the commissioner or the commissioner's representative for inspection at all reasonable times. The commissioner or the commissioner's representative shall make or cause to be made such inspections or in…

(a) A person who violates any of the provisions of this part commits a Class C misdemeanor. (b) After notice of any violation received from the commissioner, each day of a continuing violation constitutes a separate offense.

When construing or enforcing §§ 44-17-101 — 44-17-107, the act, omission, or failure of any individual acting for or employed by a dealer or research facility, within the scope of the individual's employment or office, shall be considered to be the act, omission, or failure of th…

The commissioner may promulgate such rules and regulations as are reasonably necessary to implement this part.

This part is in addition to and supplementary of title 39, chapter 14, part 2.

(a) Any dog that attacks a human and causes death or serious bodily injury may be destroyed upon the order of the judge of the general sessions court of the county wherein the attack occurred. Such orders shall be granted on the petition of the district attorney general for the c…

Subject to this part, the commissioner has the authority to confiscate animals as may be necessary to provide for the humane treatment of such animals.

The commissioner may enter into cooperative agreements with local and/or federal agencies for purposes of implementing this part. When implementing the provisions for issuance of dealer licenses, the commissioner shall take into consideration other federal and/or local licensing …

Where any dog shall kill, or in any manner damage, any livestock in this state, the owner or harborer of such dog shall be liable, in an action for damage, to the owner of such livestock.

Ignorance of the vicious habits or character of the dog on the part of its owner shall be no defense in actions arising under § 44-17-201.

In an action for damages against a person for killing or injuring a dog, satisfactory proof that the dog had been or was killing or worrying livestock constitutes a good defense to such action.

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Non-livestock Animal Humane Death Act.”

(a) This part shall be applicable only to public and private agencies, animal shelters and other facilities operated for the collection, care or euthanasia of stray, neglected, abandoned or unwanted non-livestock animals. (b) This part shall apply to any licensed veterinarian, Te…

(a) Sodium pentobarbital and such other agents as may be specifically approved by the rules of the board of veterinary medicine shall be the only methods used for euthanasia of non-livestock animals by public and private agencies, animal shelters and other facilities operated for…

(a) Before any public or private agency, animal shelter or other facility operated for the collection, care or euthanasia of stray, neglected, abandoned or unwanted non-livestock animals euthanizes a non-livestock animal that the facility knows or should know, by identification o…

No agency or entity of state or local government shall enact, adopt, promulgate, or enforce any law, ordinance, rule, regulation, or other policy that restricts or prevents the owner of any dog from using an electronic locating collar to protect the dog from loss; except that the…

If the owner or a person in control of a dog is hunting with either a firearm or a bow and arrow, and that person's dog strays onto property owned by the federal government and operated by the Tennessee wildlife resources agency, the owner or person may proceed onto the property …

(a) (1) If a person's pet is killed or sustains injuries that result in death caused by the unlawful and intentional, or negligent, act of another or the animal of another, the trier of fact may find the individual causing the death or the owner of the animal causing the death li…

If a person's guide dog is killed or sustains injuries that result in death or permanent disability caused by the unlawful and intentional, or negligent, act of another or the animal of another, then the trier of fact may find the individual causing the death or the owner of the …

This part shall be known and may be cited as “The Tennessee Spay/Neuter Law.”

(a) No person shall adopt a dog or cat from an agency, including, but not limited to, an animal shelter, dog pound, animal control agency or humane shelter operated by a municipality, county, or other governmental agency within the state, or a private organization operating a she…

(a) If the dog or cat being adopted has not been spayed or neutered, the agency shall require a deposit of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) from the new owner prior to the adoption in order to ensure that the dog or cat is spayed or neutered. The new owner may request a…

If a person fails to comply with this part, the agency may file a petition with a court of competent jurisdiction seeking compliance and/or requesting return of the dog or cat to the agency from which it was adopted.

Nothing in this part shall be construed to authorize an agency to spay or neuter a dog or cat, if the dog or cat is being claimed by and returned to its lawful owner within seven (7) days of the dog or cat being taken into custody by the agency.

(a) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires, “chemical capture” means the capture of a dog or cat by means of sedation using approved drugs as provided in this part and appropriate drug administering equipment. (b) Chemical capture by certified animal chemical…