Sponsors (17)
Official title: To provide protections for good faith donations of pet food and supplies.
Introduced June 4, 2025 by Jamie Ben Raskin · Last progress June 4, 2025
The bill boosts donations and reduces waste by limiting donor liability and clarifying terms for donated pet food and supplies, increasing aid to animals and service-animal users, but it raises animal health risks, potential public costs, and legal/complaint complexities for harmed owners and local regulators.
Donors and nonprofit/state/local recipients can donate and accept apparently fit pet food and supplies with reduced legal risk, making charities and shelters more likely to receive and redistribute surplus goods.
Nonprofits, state and local governments, and animal welfare organizations can accept and distribute more donated pet supplies without fear of liability for product condition, expanding direct aid to animals and people who rely on service or emotional support animals.
Nonprofits and government recipients can preserve and recondition substandard but salvageable pet food/supplies (with recipient agreement), reducing waste and keeping usable goods in circulation instead of disposal.
Pets and people who rely on donated supplies face higher risk of illness or injury if donors and recipients reduce quality controls because liability is limited, especially when reconditioning fails or is not thorough.
Taxpayers and local governments could indirectly bear public costs (e.g., animal health responses, disposal or cleanup) if contaminated or unsafe donated pet products cause harm.
Pet owners harmed by donated products may face limited remedies and complex litigation because the bill narrows liability except for gross negligence or intentional misconduct, making compensation harder to obtain.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates federal liability protection for good-faith donors and recipients of donated pet food and supplies, with exceptions for gross negligence and intentional misconduct.
Creates a federal Good Samaritan–style protection for people and organizations who donate or receive pet food and pet supplies in good faith for distribution to animals. Donors, nonprofit organizations, and state or local governments are shielded from civil or criminal liability over the condition, age, packaging, or nature of "apparently fit" donated pet products, except where injury or death results from gross negligence or intentional misconduct. The bill also allows limited protection for items that do not meet quality or labeling standards if the donor notifies the recipient and the recipient agrees to recondition the items before distributing them.