I emailed the Joe. Nelson about the doug situation, Supervisory, Program Specialist USDA APHIS Animal Care Eastern Region Office and this is what they said Below is an excerpt from; Title 9 -- Animals and Animal Products Chapter 1 -- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture PART 2 -- REGULATIONS Subpart A -- Licensing Please use the below link to review the complete regulation. Animals used for "food and fiber" are not covered by UADA APHIS Animal Care. If you have any further questions please contact this office at 919-855-7106. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/publications/AWR/PART2.HTML (3) The following persons are exempt from the licensing requirements under section 2 or section 3 of the Act: (i) Retail pet stores which sell nondangerous, pet-type animals, such as dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, gophers, domestic ferrets, chinchilla, rats, and mice, for pets, at retail only: Provided, That, Anyone wholesaling any animals, selling any animals for research or exhibition, or selling any wild, exotic, or nonpet animals retail, must have a license; (ii) Any person who sells or negotiates the sale or purchase of any animal except wild or exotic animals, dogs, or cats, and who derives no more than $500 gross income from the sale of such animals to a research facility, an exhibitor, a dealer, or a pet store during any calendar year and is not otherwise required to obtain a license; (iii) Any person who maintains a total of three (3) or fewer breeding female dogs, cats, and/or small exotic or wild mammals, such as hedgehogs, degus, spiny mice, prairie dogs, flying squirrels, and jerboas, and who sells only the offspring of these dogs, cats, or small exotic or wild mammals, which were born and raised on his or her premises, for pets or exhibition, and is not otherwise required to obtain a license. This exemption does not extend to any person residing in a household that collectively maintains a total of more than three breeding female dogs, cats, and/or small exotic or wild mammals, regardless of ownership, nor to any person maintaining breeding female dogs, cats, and/or small exotic or wild mammals on premises on which more than three breeding female dogs, cats, and/or small exotic or wild mammals are maintained, nor to any person acting in concert with others where they collectively maintain a total of more than three breeding female dogs, cats, and/or small exotic or wild mammals regardless of ownership; (iv) Any person who sells fewer than 25 dogs and/or cats per year, which were born and raised on his or her premises, for research, teaching, or testing purposes or to any research facility and is not otherwise required to obtain a license. This exemption does not extend to any person residing in a household that collectively sells 25 or more dogs and/or cats, regardless of ownership, nor to any person acting in concert with others where they collectively sell 25 or more dogs and/or cats, regardless of ownership. The sale of any dog or cat not born and raised on the premises for research purposes requires a license; (v) Any person who arranges for transportation or transports animals solely for the purpose of breeding, exhibiting in purebred shows, boarding (not in association with commercial transportation), grooming, or medical treatment, and is not otherwise required to obtain a license; [[Page 15]] (vi) Any person who buys, sells, transports, or negotiates the sale, purchase, or transportation of any animals used only for the purposes of food or fiber (including fur); Joe. Nelson Supervisory, Program Specialist USDA APHIS Animal Care Eastern Region Office Sincerely, James Barr Zilla's Fuzzy Friends Ferret Rescue and Shelter [log in to unmask] ,',', __ \ `'`,' \ ()o=; `'`','`/ .. \/ / ( / \ "/ \(_ \(_ [Posted in FML 5526]