H.R. 3112: Better CARE for Animals Act of 2025

H.R. 3112 does not write a new rulebook for how animals must be treated. It changes who can enforce the rules already on the books and how hard those rules bite.

The centerpiece is a new enforcement role for the Attorney General. Federal prosecutors could file a civil case in U.S. district court and ask a judge for a restraining order, an injunction, removal or relocation of the animals, license revocation, or civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation, for each day it continues. Because the penalty stacks daily, a single violation that runs for a week could reach as much as $70,000.

The bill also lets the government seize animals tied to a violation and forfeit them to the United States. The person responsible could be charged a reasonable fee to cover the government's cost of moving and caring for those animals.

There is a fix for a recurring problem after a seizure: who pays to house and treat the animals while the case drags on. H.R. 3112 requires penalty and fine money collected under the law to go toward the reasonable costs of temporary care, which could reimburse the shelters, sanctuaries, rescues, and veterinarians that take animals in mid-case.

On licensing, the bill rewrites the rule so no dealer or exhibitor can exhibit, buy, sell, or transport animals in commerce without a valid license that has not been suspended.

Finally, it pushes the two agencies to work together. Within 180 days of enactment, the USDA would have to sign an information-sharing agreement with the Justice Department, including timely reports on violators racking up multiple serious citations.