§2146 Administration and Enforcement by Secretary

Summary

The Secretary must inspect businesses, animals, facilities, and required records when needed to see if dealers, exhibitors, intermediate handlers, carriers, research facilities, or auction operators are breaking the rules. The Secretary must inspect every research facility at least once a year and do follow-up checks until problems are fixed. The Secretary must make rules that allow inspectors to humanely seize or destroy animals that are suffering because someone failed to follow the law. Those rules cover animals held by dealers, exhibitors, research facilities no longer needing the animal, auction operators, intermediate handlers, or carriers. Anyone who assaults, resists, or interferes with an official doing their job can be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to three years, or both; using a deadly weapon raises the penalty to up to $10,000 or ten years, or both; killing such an official is punished under sections 1111 and 1114 of title 18. Certain enforcement powers and penalties from sections 46, 48, 49, and 50 of title 15 (except paragraphs (c)–(h) of section 46 and the last paragraph of section 49) and Title II of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 apply to the Secretary’s work. The Secretary can investigate anywhere in the United States, its territories, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico. U.S. district courts and territorial courts have authority to enforce and prevent violations and hear other cases under this chapter, except as provided in section 2149(c).