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December 05, 2025 Clear | 15°F
The 194th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  1. General Laws
  2. Part I ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
  3. Title XX PUBLIC SAFETY AND GOOD ORDER
  4. Chapter 140 LICENSES
  5. Section 141D Sale, transfer, etc. of dog or cat on roadsides, rights-of-way, medians, markets and other certain areas prohibited; penalties; enforcement

Section 141D

Section 141D: Sale, transfer, etc. of dog or cat on roadsides, rights-of-way, medians, markets and other certain areas prohibited; penalties; enforcement

[ Text of section added by 2024, 346 effective April 8, 2025.]

  Section 141D. (a) No person shall sell, offer to sell, exchange, trade, barter, lease or transfer any dog or cat on any roadside, public right-of-way, parkway, median, park or other recreation area, flea market or other outdoor market or commercial or retail parking lot.

  (b) This section shall not apply to the: (i) transfer, regardless of payment or compensation, of a dog or cat by or to a shelter or animal rescue organization licensed pursuant to section 39A of chapter 129 or a municipal animal control facility; or (ii) display of a dog or cat as part of a state or county fair exhibition, a 4-H program or similar exhibition or educational program.

  (c) A violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $50 for a first offense, a fine of not more than $100 for a second offense and a fine of not more than $300 for each subsequent offense. Each dog or cat sold, offered to be sold, exchanged, traded, bartered, leased or transferred in violation of this section shall constitute a separate offense.

  (d) A city or town shall enforce this section through its animal control officers or police officers in a manner consistent with the disposition provisions in section 21D of chapter 40.