119-hr3732

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3732 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3732

 To provide protections for good faith donations of pet food and 
 supplies.

_______________________________________________________________________

 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.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Bring Animals Relief and Kibble Act 
of 2025'' or the ``BARK Act of 2025''.

SEC. 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).
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