Animal shelters would need state licenses and yearly renewals

Animal shelters would have to get a Department of Health and Social Services license and renew it every year. The rule covers each animal shelter and each separate branch operating in Delaware. The Department may charge fees that do not exceed its administrative costs. The Department must inspect a shelter before issuing an initial license, subject to the existing-shelter exception stated below. The Department may refuse, suspend, or revoke a license for listed violations, including false records, failed inspections, unpaid fees or fines, or repeated noncompliance. A shelter operating without a license could receive a warning or a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, with each day counting as another violation. The licensing provisions would take effect January 1, 2027.

The Department would inspect a shelter before issuing its first license. The rule applies to shelters seeking an initial license in Delaware. A shelter that operated before January 1, 2027, would not need this initial inspection if it had a satisfactory inspection under § 3008F(b) during the year before January 1, 2027. The inspection rule would apply when an initial license is issued on or after January 1, 2027; the exception depends on an inspection during the year before that date.

The text would use a shared definition of animal shelter and would allow shelters to place unclaimed animals with other shelters, rescue organizations, or adoptive homes. The definition covers facilities sheltering stray, abandoned, abused, or owner-surrendered animals; foster homes and rescue groups operating on private property are excluded from the shelter definition. Shelters must provide at least three business days for owners to reclaim animals, except for owner-surrendered animals, cases where the owner is known, and cats returned through a free-roaming cat program. An animal may be euthanized after five days only when it has not been adopted, transferred, placed in a free-roaming cat program, or reclaimed and no reasonable alternative exists. Shelters must keep a registry of organizations willing to accept animals for adoption or long-term placement. These animal-care rules would apply beginning January 1, 2027.