Summary: This Utah statute provides that any animal abandoned at a veterinarian's office for a period of ten days may be sold or placed in the custody of the nearest humane society or county dog pound after giving notice to the owner. If no humane society or dog pound is located in the county, the animal may be disposed of in a humane manner.
Summary: These are the state's veterinary practice laws. Among the provisions include licensing requirements, laws concerning the state veterinary board, veterinary records laws, and the laws governing disciplinary actions for impaired or incompetent practitioners.
Summary: This Utah statute is known as the Agricultural and Wildlife Damage Prevention Act. It creates the Agricultural and Wildlife Damage Prevention Board and Agricultural and Wildlife Damage Prevention Account. This act also makes it a class B misdemeanor to hold a raccoon or coyote in captivity (with exceptions).
Summary: Under the Utah Wolf Management Act, wolves must be managed so as to prevent the establishment of a viable pack anywhere in the state where the wolf is not listed as threatened or endangered until the wolf is delisted. If a wolf is discovered in an area where wolves are listed as threatened or endangered, the division must request its immediate removal from the state by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Summary: These statutes comprise the Utah Aquatic Invasive Species Interdiction Act. This Act makes it illegal to possess a Dreissena mussel, release one into a water body, or transport a conveyance or equipment that has been in an infested water without decontaminating it. A violation is an infraction, but a knowing or intentional violation is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
Summary: These Utah statutes require a furbearer license to take furbearers, except for red fox, striped skunk, or beavers that are doing damage to private property (with authorization). Fur dealers must have a fur dealer certificate of registration from the Division of Wildlife Resources.
Summary: Under these Utah statutes, all wildlife is the property of the state unless held in private ownership, but it is illegal to hold protected wildlife in captivity, with exceptions, such as for furbearers. Other provisions deal with invasive species, forbid remote-controlled hunting, establish the Utah State Hunting and Fishing Day, and provide penalties for violations.
Summary: This Utah statute provides that every person owning or keeping a dog shall be liable in damages for injury committed by such dog, and it shall not be necessary in any action brought therefor to allege or prove that such dog was of a vicious or mischievous disposition or that the owner or keeper thereof knew that it was vicious or mischievous. This does not apply to dogs used by law enforcement officials. In 2014, a provision for the use of arbitration in personal injury from dog bite cases was added.
Summary: A shelter may release a cat prior to the 5-day holding period to a sponsor operating a community cat program. Such a cat is exempt from licensing requirements and feeding bans. Community cat sponsors or caretakers do not have custody of any cat, and sterilization and vaccination records must be kept for three years.
Summary: Under this Utah act, a shelter may not transfer an unsterilized animal for adoption unless the shelter has a written agreement in which the recipient agrees to have the animal sterilized and gives the shelter a sterilization deposit. If a recipient fails to comply with the agreement, the animal may be seized and impounded, and the recipient forfeits the deposit. A first violation may result in a civil penalty of $250.
