Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Kentucky General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the current version. The official bill page.
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS HB 212/GA
1 AN ACT relating to rabies vaccinations.
2 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
3 Section 1. KRS 258.005 is amended to read as follows:
4 As used in KRS 258.005 to 258.087, unless the context requires otherwise:
5 (1) "Dog" means any canine three (3) months of age or older for which there exists a
6 United States Department of Agriculture approved rabies vaccine;
7 (2) "Owner" means any person owning, keeping, or harboring a dog, cat, or ferret in
8 Kentucky;
9 (3) "Veterinarian" has the same meaning as in KRS 321.181[means a licensed
10 practitioner of veterinary medicine];
11 (4) "Qualified person" means a person granted a permit by the secretary for health and
12 family services to vaccinate his or her own dog against rabies;
13 (5) "Vaccination" means the administration by a veterinarian, veterinary technician, or
14 other qualified person of rabies vaccine approved by and administered in
15 accordance with administrative regulations promulgated by the secretary for health
16 and family services;
17 (6) "Cat" means any feline three (3) months of age or older for which there exists a
18 United States Department of Agriculture approved rabies vaccine;
19 (7) "Animal control officer" means an individual who is employed or appointed by, or
20 has contracted with:
21 (a) A city, county, urban-county government, charter county, or consolidated
22 local government to enforce the provisions of this chapter, the provisions of
23 the Kentucky Revised Statutes relating to cruelty, mistreatment, sexual crimes
24 against, or torture of animals, and local animal control ordinances; or
25 (b) An entity that has contracted with a city, county, urban-county government,
26 charter county, or consolidated local government to enforce the provisions of
27 this chapter, the provisions of the Kentucky Revised Statutes relating to
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UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS HB 212/GA
1 cruelty, mistreatment, sexual crimes against, or torture of animals, and local
2 animal control ordinances;
3 (8) "Ferret" means any musteline three (3) months of age or older for which there exists
4 a United States Department of Agriculture approved rabies vaccine;[ and]
5 (9) "Quarantine" means the confinement of an animal for observation of clinical signs
6 of illness indicating rabies infection, and the prevention of escape or contact with
7 any person or other animal; and
8 (10) "Veterinary technician" means a "veterinary technician" as that term is defined
9 in KRS 321.181, who is under the direct supervision of a veterinarian who is
10 located on the premises of the facility.
11 Section 2. KRS 258.015 is amended to read as follows:
12 (1) Every owner shall have his or her dog, cat, or ferret initially vaccinated against
13 rabies by the age of four (4) months and revaccinated at the expiration of the
14 immunization period as certified by a Kentucky-licensed[the] veterinarian. The
15 veterinarian, or a Kentucky-licensed veterinary technician in accordance to KRS
16 321.190, who vaccinates a dog, cat, or ferret shall issue to the owner a vaccination
17 certificate signed by the veterinarian or signed by both the administering
18 veterinary technician and the supervising veterinarian on a form approved by the
19 Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The vaccination certificate shall be
20 prepared and issued in duplicate, one (1) copy to be retained by the issuing
21 veterinarian and one (1) copy to be given to the owner of the dog, cat, or ferret
22 vaccinated. Each certificate shall bear the name and address of the veterinarian who
23 issued it. The veterinarian shall also furnish each dog owner with a rabies tag
24 bearing a serial number corresponding to the vaccination certificate with the year of
25 immunization. The tag shall be affixed to a collar or harness furnished by the owner
26 and shall be worn by the dog for which the tag was issued. No one except the owner
27 or his or her duly authorized agent shall remove the tag.
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UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS HB 212/GA
1 (2) Every qualified person who vaccinates his or her own dog shall comply with the
2 vaccination certificate and tag requirement provisions of subsection (1) of this
3 section and the administrative regulations promulgated under KRS 258.075.
4 (3) Every owner of a cat or ferret shall show proof of a valid rabies vaccination upon
5 request of an animal control officer or peace officer.
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HB021210.100 - 1478 - XXXX 2/6/2026 10:36 AM GAEvery fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.