Information About Animal Laws

Sources of Animal Law

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In Knox County, there are five relevant sources of animal law:

• Federal statutes
• Regulations from federal agencies
• Tennessee State law
• Knox County law
• Knoxville City law

Each source of law listed above cannot be more liberal than the one above it. That is, federal statutes are binding on regulations of federal agencies, those regulations are binding on state law, and so on. However, city law is not binding on county law, county law is not binding on state law, and so on. Therefore, the city of Knoxville is free to enact and enforce animal laws as long as those laws (usually referred to as "ordinances") do not violate the laws of Knox County, the state of Tennessee, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the United States. Below is information about each of the five sources of animal law relevant to people living in Knox County. Also included are links to download all relevant laws.

Federal Statutes

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The United States Code

All permanent laws passed by congress and enacted by the President eventually find their way into the United States Code, which is a collection of laws arranged by subject matter called "titles." Within each title, a subject is further broken down into "chapters," which are further broken down into "subchapters," and finally into "sections." For example, laws dealing with the promotion of popcorn can be found in:

TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 101--AGRICULTURAL PROMOTION
SUBCHAPTER V--POPCORN
Section 7401 of TITLE 7

Usually, however, subjects are found by title and section (or a range of sections). For example, the promotion of popcorn can be found in Title 7, section 7401, which is abbreviated 7USC7401.

Limits of Federal Law

Laws enacted by the Federal Government are limited in their scope and application to issues listed in Article 1, Section 8 of our Constitution. Among those issues are interstate commerce and foreign commerce, which are the issues most addressed by federal statutes.

The Animal Welfare Act

The Animal Welfare Act, enacted in 1966, specifies the minimum standards of care and treatment that must be provided to certain animals bred for commercial sale (including for use as a pet), used in research, transported commercially, or exhibited to the public. Individuals who operate facilities in those categories must provide their animals with adequate care and treatment in the areas of housing, handling, sanitation, nutrition, water, veterinary care, and protection from extreme weather and temperatures. The act applies to warm-blooded animals only (and even then, there are exceptions).

Download Your Copy of the Animal Welfare Act

The Animal Welfare Act is included in the United States Code, Title 7, Sections 2131 to 2159, Chapter 54: Transportation, Sale, and Handling of Certain Animals. Click on the button below to download this section of the United States Code. The file is in PDF format and is about 109kb.

Regulations from Federal Agencies

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The Power of Federal Regulations

In order to enforce federal laws, the Executive Branch creates independent federal agencies that are empowered to enforce certain areas of the federal law. These agencies have the power to interpret the laws and provide regulations that enable them to enforce the laws. The language of the regulations is much more precise than the language of the laws to which the regulations refer. The interpretations of the federal laws by federal agencies are as binding as the laws themselves. Agency regulations are collected and published in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is organized similarly to the United States Code.

United States Department of Agriculture

In the Animal Welfare Act, congress empowered the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with enforcing the Animal Welfare Act. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) administers the Animal Welfare Act and its regulations. Information about the APHIS and its role in animal welfare can be found at:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/usdaleg1.htm

Download Your Copy of the Animal Welfare Regulations

The USDA regulations for enforcing the Animal Welfare Act are included in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9, Chapter 1, Subchapter A - Animal Welfare. Click on the button below to download this section of the Code of Federal Regulations. The file is in PDF format and is about 4990kb.

Tennessee State Law

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Most of the laws in the Tennessee Code related to animals are included in Title 44: Animals and Animal Husbandry. As part of its Animal Law Project, The University of Tennessee College of Law compiled and edited Tennessee animal laws into a book titled Animal Laws of Tennessee (2004). To download this book, click on the button below. The file is in PDF format and is about 1350kb.

All of the Tennessee Code can be viewed at:

http://www.michie.com/tennessee/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=tncode

Knox County Law

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Chapter 6 of the Knox County Code deals with animals. To download this section of the Knox County Code, click on the button below. The file is in PDF format and is about 50kb.

Knoxville City Ordinances

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Chapter 5 of the Knoxville City Code of Ordinances deals with animals.