Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 20 > Chapter 194 - Welfare of Animals; Sale of Animals

• Adequate water: means a constant access to a supply of clean, fresh, potable water provided in a sanitary manner or provided at suitable intervals for the species and not to exceed 24 hours at any interval. See
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Animal shelter: means a facility that is used to house or contain animals and is owned, operated, or maintained by a duly incorporated humane society, animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals. See
• Applicant: means a person applying for a license or for a renewal of a license under this chapter. See
• Approved independent school: means an independent school that is approved under section 166 of this title. See
• Client company: means a person who enters into an agreement with an employee leasing company to lease any or all of its regular employees. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Labor or the Commissioner's designee. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Labor or the Commissioner's designee. See
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Consumer: means an individual who purchases or receives an animal from any person permitted, licensed, or registered under this chapter. See
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Domestic: when applied to a corporation, company, association, or copartnership shall mean organized under the laws of this State; "foreign" when so applied, shall mean organized under the laws of another state, government, or country. See
• employee: means an individual who has entered into the employment of, or works under contract of service or apprenticeship with, an employer. See
• Employee leasing agreement: means an agreement, executed between an employee leasing company and a client company, pursuant to which an employee leasing company provides one or more individuals to perform services for a client company on an ongoing basis. See
• Employer: includes any body of persons, corporate or unincorporated, public or private, and the legal representative of a deceased employer, and includes the owner or lessee of premises or other person who is virtually the proprietor or operator of the business there carried on, but who, by reason of there being an independent contractor or for any other reason, is not the direct employer of the workers there employed. See
• Employment: includes public employment, and, in the case of private employers, includes all employment in any trade or occupation notwithstanding that an employer may be a nonprofit corporation, institution, association, partnership, or proprietorship. See
• Euthanasia: means the humane destruction of animals in accordance with this subdivision. See
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fair: means any public or privately operated facility where animals are confined for the purpose of display or sale, or both, or for viewing. See
• Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
• Financial responsibility: means the current and expected future condition of financial solvency sufficient to support a reasonable expectation that an employee leasing company can successfully conduct its business without jeopardizing the interests of the employees leased to the client company or the public. See
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Independent school: means a school other than a public school, which provides a program of elementary or secondary education, or both. See
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• leasing company: means a person engaged in the business of providing individuals to perform ongoing services for an indefinite time period for client companies pursuant to one or more employee leasing agreements executed between the leasing company and the client company. See
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensee: means an employee leasing company licensed under this chapter. See
• Municipality: shall include a city, town, town school district, incorporated school or fire district or incorporated village, and all other governmental incorporated units. See
• Occupational disease: means a disease that results from causes and conditions characteristic of and peculiar to a particular trade, occupation, process, or employment, and to which an employee is not ordinarily subjected or exposed outside or away from the employment and arises out of and in the course of the employment. See
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any individual, partnership, firm, joint stock company, corporation, association, trust, estate, or other legal entity. See
• Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
• Pet dealer: means any person who sells or exchanges or who offers to sell or exchange cats, dogs, or wolf-hybrids, or any combination thereof, from three or more litters of cats, dogs, or wolf-hybrids in any 12-month period. See
• Pet shop: means a place of retail or wholesale business, including a flea market, that is not part of a private dwelling, where cats, dogs, wolf-hybrids, rabbits, rodents, birds, fish, reptiles, or other vertebrates are maintained or displayed for the purpose of sale or exchange to the general public. See
• Primary enclosure: means any structure used to immediately restrict an animal or animals, excluding household pets, to a limited amount of space, such as a room, pen, cage, compartment, or hutch. See
• Public auction: means any place or establishment where dogs or cats are sold at auction to the highest bidder, whether individually, as a group, or by weight. See
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Public school: means an elementary school or secondary school operated by a school district. See
• Rescue organization: means any organization that accepts more than five animals in a calendar year for the purpose of finding adoptive homes for the animals. See
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• School board: means the board of school directors elected to manage the schools of a school district, the prudential committee of an incorporated school district, the supervisory union board of directors, and the supervisors of unorganized towns and gores. See
• School year: means the year beginning July 1 and ending the next June 30. See
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets. See
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
• State Board: means the State Board of Education established by chapter 3 of this title. See
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Wages: includes bonuses and the market value of board, lodging, fuel, and other advantages that can be estimated in money and that the employee receives from the employer as a part of his or her remuneration; but does not include any sum paid by the employer to his or her employee to cover any special expenses entailed on the employee by the nature of his or her employment. See