7 U.S.C. § 2140
Section 2140 · Recordkeeping by dealers, exhibitors, research facilities, intermediate handlers, and carriers
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 8 court decisions — leading case Animal Legal Defense Fund, Inc. v. Espy (1994)
Most recently applied in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Inc. v. United States Department of Agriculture (July 2016)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Dealers and exhibitors shall make and retain for such reasonable period of time as the Secretary may prescribe, such records with respect to the purchase, sale, transportation, identification, and previous ownership of animals as the Secretary may prescribe. Research facilities shall make and retain such records only with respect to the purchase, sale, transportation, identification, and previous ownership of live dogs and cats. At the request of the Secretary, any regulatory agency of the Federal Government which requires records to be maintained by intermediate handlers and carriers with respect to the transportation, receiving, handling, and delivery of animals on forms prescribed by the agency, shall require there to be included in such forms, and intermediate handlers and carriers shall include in such forms, such information as the Secretary may require for the effective administration of this chapter. Such information shall be retained for such reasonable period of time as the Secretary may prescribe. If regulatory agencies of the Federal Government do not prescribe requirements for any such forms, intermediate handlers and carriers shall make and retain for such reasonable period as the Secretary may prescribe such records with respect to the transportation, receiving, handling, and delivery of animals as the Secretary may prescribe. Such records shall be made available at all reasonable times for inspection and copying by the Secretary.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1976—Pub. L. 94–279 struck out “, upon forms supplied by the Secretary” after “ownership of animals as the Secretary may prescribe” and inserted provisions dealing with the records required to be maintained by intermediate handlers and carriers relating to the transportation, receiving, handling and delivery of animals.
1970—Pub. L. 91–579 extended recordkeeping requirements to include exhibitors and to include animals, as defined, rather than only dogs and cats, except that research facilities shall continue to keep required records only for live dogs and cats.
Effective Date of 1970 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 91–579 effective one year after Dec. 24, 1970, see section 23 of Pub. L. 91–579, set out as a note under section 2131 of this title.