9 C.F.R. § 2.40

Attending veterinarian and adequate veterinary care (dealers and exhibitors)

Read at: eCFRecfr.gov CornellLII GovInfogovinfo.gov CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) Each dealer or exhibitor shall have an attending veterinarian who shall provide adequate veterinary care to its animals in compliance with this section.

(1) Each dealer and exhibitor shall employ an attending veterinarian under formal arrangements. In the case of a part-time attending veterinarian or consultant arrangements, the formal arrangements shall include a written program of veterinary care and regularly scheduled visits to the premises of the dealer or exhibitor; and

(2) Each dealer and exhibitor shall assure that the attending veterinarian has appropriate authority to ensure the provision of adequate veterinary care and to oversee the adequacy of other aspects of animal care and use.

(b) Each dealer or exhibitor shall establish and maintain programs of adequate veterinary care that include:

(1) The availability of appropriate facilities, personnel, equipment, and services to comply with the provisions of this subchapter;

(2) The use of appropriate methods to prevent, control, diagnose, and treat diseases and injuries, and the availability of emergency, weekend, and holiday care;

(3) Daily observation of all animals to assess their health and well-being; Provided, however, That daily observation of animals may be accomplished by someone other than the attending veterinarian; and Provided, further, That a mechanism of direct and frequent communication is required so that timely and accurate information on problems of animal health, behavior, and well-being is conveyed to the attending veterinarian;

(4) Adequate guidance to personnel involved in the care and use of animals regarding handling, immobilization, anesthesia, analgesia, tranquilization, and euthanasia; and

(5) Adequate pre-procedural and post-procedural care in accordance with established veterinary medical and nursing procedures.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0579-0036 and 0579-0486) [54 FR 36147, Aug. 31, 1989, as amended at 88 FR 10714, Feb. 21, 2023]

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 14 cases (8 in the last 5 years), 2015–2025 · leading case: Kuehl v. Sellner, 161 F. Supp. 3d 678 (N.D. Iowa 2016).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Kuehl v. Sellner, 161 F. Supp. 3d 678 (N.D. Iowa 2016). · cites it 7× “” 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 (a). The attending veterinarian must be employed “under formal arrangements.”

Big Cats of Serenity Springs, Inc. v. Rhodes, 843 F.3d 853 (10th Cir. 2016). “” 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 (b)(2). The inspectors required the cubs to be evaluated as soon as possible, but “not later than 8:00 AM on 5/7/2013.”

Big Cats of Serenity Springs, Inc. v. Vilsack, 84 F. Supp. 3d 1179 (D. Colo. 2015). “Plaintiffs base this claim on 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 (b)(2), which states: “Each dealer or exhibitor shall establish and maintain programs of adequate veterinary care that include [][t]he use of appropriate methods to prevent, control, diagnose, and treat diseases and injuries, and the…”

United States v. Envigo RMS, LLC (W.D. Va. 2022). · cites it 4× “13 (“Veterinary care for dogs”); 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 (“Attending veterinarian and adequate veterinary care”).”

United States v. Lowe (E.D. Okla. 2021). · cites it 3× “9 C.F.R. § 2.40 (a)(1). Relevant here, the program of veterinary care must include: (1) “the availability of appropriate facilities, personnel, equipment, and services”; and (2) the “use of appropriate methods to prevent, control, diagnose, and treat diseases and injuries, and…”

Animal Legal Def. Fund v. Olympic Game Farm Inc (W.D. Wash. 2022). · cites it 3× “Tigers 10 Plaintiff asserts that defendants have harassed their tigers by failing to provide adequate 11 veterinary care as required by 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 , foregoing annual and semi-annual examinations, 12 delaying or failing to report symptoms, relying on veterinarians with…”

Douglas Terranova v. AGRI (5th Cir. 2020). · cites it 2× “5 The Complaints also alleged, and the Judicial Officer agreed, that Petitioners violated 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 (a)(1) on May 13, 2015 by failing to have a complete written program of veterinary care.”

Rowley v. City of New Bedford (D. Mass. 2024). · cites it 2× “, 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 (setting standards for veterinary care for animals owned by exhibitors or dealers); 9 C.”

Animal Legal Def. Fund v. Olympic Game Farm Inc (W.D. Wash. 2022). · cites it 2× “Tigers 10 Plaintiff asserts that defendants failed to provide adequate veterinary care to their tigers as 11 required by 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 , foregoing annual and semi-annual examinations, delaying or failing 12 to report symptoms, relying on veterinarians with limited experience…”

Am. Soc'y for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v. Animal & Plant Health Inspection Serv. (D.D.C. 2025). · cites it 2× “Specifically, dealers must demonstrate that they are using “appropriate methods to prevent, control, diagnose, and treat diseases and injuries,” 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 (b)(2), including the provision of “emergency, weekend, and holiday care”; the “[d]aily observation of all animals”;…”

Rowley v. City of New Bedford (D. Mass. 2019). “As the findings above exemplify, Ruth (and Emily) have received and are receiving adequate veterinary care in all the respects required by 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 . The City’s veterinary care practices were “generally accepted,” 50 C.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Inc. v. Tri-State Zoological Park of W. Maryland, Inc. (D. Maryland 2019). “See 9 C.F.R. § 2.40 (a) (“Each dealer or exhibitor shall have an attending veterinarian who shall provide adequate veterinary care to its animals in compliance with this section.”

Show all 14 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.