Title 44, Animals and Animal Husbandry

(a) Any person who has registered an apiary pursuant to § 44-15-105, is otherwise in compliance with this part and operates such apiary in a reasonable manner shall not be liable for any personal injury or property damage that is caused by the keeping and maintaining of:(1) Bee e…

The department of agriculture shall organize, under the division of animal disease control, a poultry hatchery and baby chick inspection service, and the commissioner of agriculture shall prescribe such rules and regulations in conformity with recognized standards and establish s…

Each poultry flock inspected and meeting the standard requirements thus fixed shall be certified by the department as an accredited flock, and each hatchery using eggs from accredited flocks only, and otherwise meeting the standard requirements, shall be certified by the departme…

The commissioner of agriculture is authorized, for the carrying out of this part, to appoint a state poultry flock, hatchery, and baby chick inspector and necessary assistants, and to fix their compensation; provided, that no expense shall be incurred or paid on account of this s…

The revenue derived from the inspection fees authorized in § 44-16-101 shall be paid into the state treasury by the commissioner and placed to the credit of a special poultry inspection account, which may be drawn on by the department of agriculture to meet the expenses of the se…

(a) Every person engaging in the business of custom hatching, producing baby chicks for sale or selling or offering baby chicks for sale either individually or by or through community sale, public pavilions or public auction shall obtain a license from the department for each est…

(1) Any person coming under this part shall:(1) Maintain sanitary measures such as will properly suppress and prevent the spread of contagious and infectious diseases of baby chicks;(2) Provide ample facilities for the proper care and handling of baby chicks on the premises;(3) D…

(a) The commissioner of agriculture or the commissioner's duly authorized agent has free access at all reasonable hours to any place of business coming under this part. (b) The commissioner shall enforce this part and has the authority to promulgate regulations for the efficient …

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Baby chicks” means all domestic fowl six (6) weeks of age or under;(2) “Department” means department of agriculture; and(3) “Person” includes every person, partnership, firm, company, association, society, publi…

This part shall not be construed to include any person who hatches for sale one thousand (1,000) or fewer baby chicks per year.

Any person who violates any of the provisions of this part commits a Class C misdemeanor, but if the violation occurs after a conviction has become final, the person's license shall be revoked.

The purpose of this part is to protect the owners of dogs and cats from the theft of their pets, to prevent the sale or use of dogs and cats that have been stolen, and to ensure the humane treatment of dogs and cats in commerce and those used in research facilities.

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Cat” means any live cat of the species Felis catus;(2) “Commerce” means buying or selling or transporting from one (1) place to another in this state;(3) “Commissioner” means the commissioner of agriculture;(4) …

(a) It is unlawful for any dealer to sell or offer to sell or transport or offer for transportation to any research facility any dog or cat, or to buy, sell, offer to buy or sell, transport or offer for transportation in commerce any dog or cat, unless the dealer has a currently …

(a) An application for a license as a dealer shall be made to the commissioner on a form provided by the commissioner, which shall contain space for such information as the commissioner may reasonably require, including evidence of ability to comply with such standards, rules and…

(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…