H.R. 3732

119 HR 3732 IH: Bring Animals Relief and Kibble Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-06-04
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 3732  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   June 4, 2025   Mr. Raskin  (for himself,  Mrs. Kim ,  Mrs. McBath ,  Mr. Fitzpatrick ,  Mrs. Dingell , and  Ms. Malliotakis ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To provide protections for good faith donations of pet food and supplies.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Bring Animals Relief and Kibble Act of 2025   or the   BARK Act of 2025  .
2.
Liability for damages from good faith donations of pet food and supplies
(a)
In general
(1)
Liability of persons
A person shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability arising from the nature, age, packaging, or condition of an apparently fit pet-related product that the person donates in good faith to a State or unit of local government or a nonprofit organization for ultimate distribution to qualified animals.
(2)
Liability of nonprofit organizations
A nonprofit organization shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability arising from the nature, age, packaging, or condition of an apparently fit pet-related product that the nonprofit organization received as a donation from a person in good faith for ultimate distribution to qualified animals.
(3)
Liability of State and local governments
A State or unit of local government shall not be subject to liability arising from the nature, age, packaging, or condition of an apparently fit pet-related product that the State or unit of local government received as a donation from a person in good faith for ultimate distribution to qualified animals.
(4)
Waiver not applicable to gross negligence or intentional misconduct
Paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) shall not apply to an injury to, or death of, an ultimate user or recipient of the apparently fit pet-related product that results from an act or omission of the person, nonprofit organization, or State or unit of local government, as applicable, constituting gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
(b)
Partial compliance
If a person donates in good faith pet food or pet supplies that do not meet all quality and labeling standards imposed by Federal, State, and local laws and regulations, such person shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability in accordance with this section if the State or unit of local government or nonprofit organization to which the food or supplies are donated—
(1)
is informed by such person of the distressed or defective condition of the food or supplies;
(2)
agrees to recondition such food or supplies to comply with such quality and labeling standards prior to distribution of such food or supplies; and
(3)
is knowledgeable of such quality and labeling standards to properly recondition such food or supplies.
(c)
Construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed to—
(1)
create any liability; or
(2)
supercede State or local health regulations.
(d)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Apparently fit pet-related product
The term  apparently fit pet-related product  means any pet food or pet supply that meets all quality and labeling standards imposed by Federal, State, and local laws and regulations even though the product may not be readily marketable due to appearance, age, freshness, grade, size, surplus, or other conditions.
(2)
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 terms
The terms  donate ,  gross negligence ,  intentional misconduct ,  nonprofit organization , and  person  have the meanings given such terms in section 22(b) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 ( 42 U.S.C. 1791(b) ).
(3)
Emotional support animal
The term  emotional support animal  means an animal that—
(A)
is covered by the exclusion specified in section 5.303 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulation); and
(B)
is not a service animal.
(4)
Pet
The term  pet  means a domesticated animal, such as a dog, cat, bird, rodent, fish, turtle, or other animal that is kept for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes.
(5)
Pet food
The term  pet food  means any raw, cooked, processed, or prepared edible substance, ice, beverage, or ingredient used or intended for use in whole or in part for consumption by a qualified animal.
(6)
Pet supply
The term  pet supply  means tangible personal property used for qualified animals, including pet carriers, crates, kennels, houses, cages, clothing, bedding, toys, collars, leashes, leads, tie-outs, feeders, bowls, dishes, pet gates, or pet doors.
(7)
Qualified animal
The term  qualified animal  means a pet, an emotional support animal, or a service animal.
(8)
Service animal
The term  service animal  has the meaning given the term in section 36.104 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulation).