Effective February 1, 2010, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 601.9.3.1, 601.11.20, and 601.12.5.7, to align our standards with section 26 (7 U.S.C. 2156) of the Animal Welfare Act as amended by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.
The Act’s amendments added prohibitions on using USPS® to advertise an animal for use in an animal fighting venture or to advertise a knife, gaff, or any other sharp instruments designed or intended to be attached to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture. In addition, the Act also revised the definition of the term “animal fighting venture” to refer to “any event, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce involving a fight conducted or to be conducted between at least two animals”.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
601 Mailability
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9.0 Perishable
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9.3 Live Animals
[Revise the heading and text of 9.3.1, as follows:]
9.3.1 Prohibition on Animals Intended for Use in an Animal Fighting Venture
An animal is nonmailable if such animal is being mailed for the purpose of having it participate in an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. 2156). This standard applies regardless of whether such venture is permitted under the laws of the state in which it is conducted. Violators can be subject to the criminal penalties in 18 U.S.C. 49. See 11.20 for the prohibition on mailing sharp instruments intended for use in an animal fighting venture and 12.5.7 for restrictions on mailing written, printed, or graphic matter related to animal fighting ventures.
For this standard:
a. The term animal means any live bird, or any live mammal (e.g., dog), except human.
b. The term animal fighting venture means any event, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, that involves a fight conducted or to be conducted between at least two animals for purposes of sport, wagering, or entertainment (excluding any activity whose primary purpose involves using one or more animals in hunting other animals).
c. The term state means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any U.S. territory or possession.
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11.0 Other Restricted and Nonmailable Matter
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[Revise the heading and text of 11.20, as follows:]
11.20 Prohibition on Sharp Instruments Intended for Use in an Animal Fighting Venture
The interstate or international mailing of a knife, a gaff, or any other sharp instrument attached, or designed or intended to be attached, to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture (as defined in section 9.3.1b) is prohibited (7 U.S.C. 2156). Violators can be subject to the criminal penalties in 18 U.S.C. 49. See 9.3.1 for the prohibition on mailing animals intended for use in an animal fighting venture and 12.5.7 for the restrictions on mailing written, printed, or graphic matter related to animal fighting ventures.
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12.0 Written, Printed, and Graphic Matter Generally
12.5 Other Nonmailable Matter
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[Revise the heading and text of 12.5.7, as follows:]
12.5.7 Restriction on Matter Related to Animal Fighting Ventures
This standard does not pertain to written, printed, or graphic matter related to fighting ventures involving live birds if such fight is permitted under the laws of the state in which the fight is to take place (7 U.S.C. 2156). The terms animal, animal fighting venture, and state are defined in 9.3.1. Written, printed, or graphic matter is nonmailable if it:
a. Advertises an animal for use in an animal fighting venture;
b. Advertises a knife, a gaff, or any other sharp instrument attached, or designed or intended to be attached, to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture; or
c. Promotes or in any other manner furthers an animal fighting venture.
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We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of the DMM and into the next update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards, Pricing, 1-28-10
