Care for Animals Amendment Act of 2025

October 20, 2025
N
yasha Smith, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004
D
ear Secretary Smith,
I
am introducing the “Care for Animals Amendment Act of 2025”. Please see enclosed signed
copy of the legislation.
Th
is legislation, which is being aptly introduced during National Pet Wellness Month, will
support the health and wellbeing of pets in the District. This legislation is the result of
meaningful collaboration with the District’s partner in animal care and control services - the
Brandywine V alley SPCA, and the District Department of Health. I am proud to introduce this
legislation with my colleagues Councilmember Charles Allen, Councilmember Janeese Lewis
George, Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr., and Councilmember Brooke Pinto.
Th
e District is full of pet owners, including myself, and on any given day, you are likely to see
residents out walking their dogs or utilizing a dog park, and free-roaming cats exploring their
neighborhood. While there is limited data on the number of dogs in the District, a 2021
preliminary estimate placed the number of cats at approximately 200,000, with about 3,000 of
these designated as feral cats.1 Between January and May 2025, the Committee on Health
reported that the number of animals housed at a District shelter exceeded 2,000.2
Th
is legislation expands the newly-renamed Animal Population Health and Education Program
to include preventive and emergency veterinary services for pet owners in addition to existing
low-cost spay and neuter clinic services, and an educational program for pet owners regarding
1 Fenston, Jacob. There are roughly 200,000 cats in D.C. Yes, Someone Counted. DCist (September 24, 2021).
Accessed October 19, 2025 at https://dcist.com/story/21/09/24/so-many-cats-dc-cat-count/.
2 Committee on Health, Report and Recommendations of the Committee on Health on the Fiscal Year 2026
Budget for Agencies Under Its Purview (June 23, 2025: p. 24). Accessed October 19, 2025 at
https://lims.dccouncil.gov/Hearings/hearings/917.
pet care and safety, and the laws related to pet ownership. These services will be funded through
the dog licensing fee that is currently law in the District, pet food registration fees, and any
additional funds received from public or private sources. Finally, this legislation creates a
mechanism for the enforcement of standards for pet care facilities by the District Department of
Health.

Please feel free to reach out to me or my Legislative Director, Neferteria Brown, with any
questions or for additional information. She can be reached at nbrown@dccouncil.gov or by
phone at (771) 333-9734.

Sincerely,

Zachary Parker
Ward 5 Councilmember
Chair, Committee on Youth Affairs

1

1
_____________________________ _____________________________ 2
Councilmember Charles Allen Councilmember Zachary Parker 3
4
5
6
________________________________ ______________________________ 7
Councilmember Janeese Lewis George Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 8
9
10
11
________________________________ 12
Councilmember Brooke Pinto 13
14
15
A BILL 16
17
_________________________ 18
19
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 20
21
_________________________ 22
23
24
To amend the Animal Control Act of 1979 to create an Animal Population Health and Education 25
Program to support veterinary services, sterilization, and pet ownership education, to 26
clarify funding sources and uses for the Animal Education and Outreach Fund, and to 27
establish pet food registration fees; and to amend the Animal Protection Amendment Act 28
of 2008 and the Department of Health Functions Clarification Act of 2001 to create a 29
mechanism for the enforcement of standards for pet care facilities. 30
31
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may 32
be cited as the “Care for Animals Amendment Act of 2025”. 33
Sec. 2. The Animal Control Act of 1979, effective October 18, 1979 (D.C. Law 3-30; 34
D.C. Official Code § 8-1801 et seq.) is amended as follows: 35
(a) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 8-1801) is amended as follows: 36
(1) New paragraphs 16A, 16B, and 16C are inserted to read as follows: 37
“(16A) “Pet food” means any commercial feed prepared and distributed for 38

2

consumption by dogs and cats. 39
“(16B) “Program” means the Animal Population Health and Education Program 40
established in § 8-1810. 41
“(16C) “Spay or Neuter” means sterilization of a dog or cat by surgical means or 42
FDA approved pharmaceutical methods that remove or alter reproductive function.”. 43
(2) New paragraph 19 is inserted to read as follows: 44
“(19) “Veterinarian” shall have the same meaning as provided in § 3-45
1201.01(16).”. 46
(b) Section 11 (D.C. Official Code § 8-1810) is amended to read as follows: 47
“Sec. 11. Animal Population Health and Education Program. 48
“(a) The Department of Health shall establish the Animal Population Health and 49
Education Program to support residents with veterinary services and animal control needs. The 50
Program’s goals include: 51
“(1) providing preventive and emergency veterinary services for cats and dogs; 52
“(2) reducing population growth among stray and unwanted cats and dogs; 53
“(3) reducing stray and unwanted cats and dogs entering animal shelters; 54
“(4) reducing cat and dog euthanasia rates; 55
“(5) reducing animal-inflicted injuries to humans (e.g. bites); and 56
“(6) reducing threats to public health and safety (e.g. from rabies and vehicular 57
accidents). 58
“(b) The Program shall provide animal care and education services, including: 59
“(1) Providing preventive and emergency veterinary services; 60
“(2) Providing low-cost spay and neuter clinic services; and 61

3

“(3) Implementing an educational program for animal owners regarding pet care 62
and safety, specifically in extreme weather conditions or emergencies, and on the laws related to 63
pet ownership.” 64
“(c) An individual may qualify to participate in the Program if the individual meets all of 65
the following: 66
“(1) Is 18 years of age or older; and 67
“(2) Is a resident of the District. 68
“(d) The Mayor shall adopt regulations pursuant to this section relative to: 69
“(1) Format and content of all forms required under this section; 70
“(2) Proof of eligibility under subsection (c); 71
“(3) Administration of the Fund established pursuant to section 11a; and 72
“(4) Any other matter necessary for the administration of the Fund under section 73
11a. 74
“(e) The Department of Health shall administer the Program and shall be responsible for: 75
“(1) distributing, collecting and compiling all forms, including but not limited to, 76
veterinarian participation agreements, sterilization and immunization certifications, and creating 77
a database therefrom for enforcement and accountability purposes; 78
“(2) maintaining a list of participating organizations; 79
“(3) determining eligibility; 80
“(4) obtaining the maximum number of spay, neuter and inoculation procedures 81
available to the Program’s financial parameters per calendar year; 82
“(5) and establishing rules and financial parameters per calendar year for the 83
implementation of preventive and emergency veterinarian services. 84

4

“(f) The Department of Health shall prepare and transmit an annual report to the Council 85
and Mayor on Program outcomes and the use of the fees received from the Animal Education 86
and Outreach Fund established pursuant to section 11a.”. 87
(c) Section 11a (D.C. Official Code § 8-1810.01) is amended to read as follows: 88
(1) Subsections (b), (c), and (d) are amended to read as follows: 89
“(b) Revenue deposited into the Fund shall come from: 90
“(1) 25% of each fee paid for the application, issuance, or renewal 91
of a dog license pursuant to § 8-1804(e-1); 92
“(2) Pet food registration fees paid pursuant to § 8-810.03 [Sec. 93
11c]; and 94
“(3) Funds from public or private sources. 95
“(c) Money in the Fund shall be used for the following purposes: 96
“(1) Implementation of the Animal Population Health and 97
Education Program under § 8-1810; and 98
“(2) Appropriate overhead and administrative expenses related to 99
the Fund; 100
“(d) All money deposited into the Fund shall have the following 101
parameters: 102
“(1) The money deposited into the Fund shall not revert to the 103
unrestricted fund balance of the General Fund of the District of Columbia at the end of a fiscal 104
year, or at any other time. 105
“(2) All interest earnings shall be credited to the assets of the Fund 106
and shall become part of the Fund.”. 107

5

(d) A new section 11c [D.C. Official Code § 8-1810.01c] is added to read as follows: 108
“Sec. 11c. Pet Food Registration Fees. 109
“(a) Each pet food product distributed for retail sale in the District shall be registered 110
annually with the Department of Health. 111
“(b) A registration fee for each pet food product shall be paid annually by a pet food 112
manufacturer as follows: 113
“(1) For Fiscal Year 2026, $50 per each product of each brand; 114
“(2) For Fiscal Year 2027, $75 per each product of each brand; and 115
“(3) Beginning in Fiscal Year 2028, future registration fee increases to be 116
determined by the Department of Health in each subsequent year. 117
“(c) The total of the registration fees collected under subsection (b) of this section is to be 118
distributed to the Animal Education and Outreach Fund established by § 8–1810.01.”. 119
Sec. 3. Section 202(a) of The Animal Protection Amendment Act of 2008, effective 120
December 5, 2008 (D.C. Law 17-281; D.C. Official Code § 8-1821.02(a)), is amended to read as 121
follows: 122
“(a) No person shall own, operate, maintain, open, or establish a commercial pet care 123
facility without first obtaining a basic business license with an Inspected Sales and Service 124
license endorsement pursuant to Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official Code and an 125
operational permit from the Mayor. The Mayor shall issue rules to establish the standards for the 126
care and management of animals in a commercial pet care facility, to provide for initial and 127
periodic inspections of a facility and to provide for remedial action to be taken against the 128
operational permit for failure of the facility to comply with the standards of care and 129
management established by the rules or any District or federal law or regulation applicable to the 130

6

facility, including summary suspension of the permit where the failure is of such a serious nature 131
and magnitude that it presents an imminent danger to the health or safety of a person or animal in 132
the facility.”. 133
Sec. 4. Section 4902(a)(4) of the Department of Health Functions Clarification Act of 134
2001, effective October 3, 2001 (D.C. Law 14-28; D.C. Official Code § 7-731(a)(4)), is amended 135
to read as follows: 136
“(4) Regulate health care facilities, social service facilities, commercial pet care 137
facilities and commercial animal breeder facilities;”. 138
Sec. 5. Rules 139
The Mayor, pursuant to Title I of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act, 140
approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1204; D.C. Official Code § 2-501 et seq.), may issue rules 141
to implement the provisions of this act. 142
Sec. 6. Fiscal impact statement. 143
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 144
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 145
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 146
Sec. 7. Effective date. 147
This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 148
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 149
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 150
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 151
Columbia Register. 152
153