Okla. Stat. tit. 2, § 2-6-280.5

acts relating to dead, dying, disabled or diseased animals -

Requirements to sell rabbit products.

A. The Oklahoma Rabbit and Rabbit Products Inspection Act shall

apply to:

1. Any person that engages in the business of slaughtering any

rabbits or processing, freezing, packaging, or labeling any

carcasses, or parts or products of carcasses, of any rabbit, for

intrastate commerce, for use as human food or animal food. The

provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to:

a. the slaughtering of rabbits owned and raised by a

person who prepares and transports the carcasses of:

(1) rabbits or parts of rabbits exclusively for his

own use or for use by members of his household or

his nonpaying guests or employees, or

(2) rabbits owned and raised by a person who prepares

and transports the carcasses of uninspected

rabbits or parts of rabbits exclusively for sale

directly to household consumers. Said persons

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 311

are specifically prohibited from selling or

donating uninspected rabbit products to retail

stores, brokers, meat markets, schools,

orphanages, restaurants, nursing homes and

similar establishments. Said persons are further

prohibited from sales or donation of uninspected

rabbit products to caterers, charitable

institutions, public fund raising events and

similar activities. Said persons are further

prohibited from selling uninspected rabbit

products through any type of retail market or

similar establishment owned or operated by the

rabbit owner or raiser,

b. except as otherwise provided by this section, any

person who slaughters rabbits or processes or

otherwise handles rabbit products which have been or

are to be processed as required by recognized

religious dietary laws.

(1) Any person desiring such exemption shall make

application to the Oklahoma State Department of

Agriculture. The application shall be in such

form and contain such information as is required

by the Board.

(2) The Board may impose such conditions as to

sanitary standards, practices, and procedures in

granting such exemption as it deems necessary to

effectuate the purposes of the Oklahoma Rabbit

and Rabbit Products Inspection Act. Any person

who processes rabbit or rabbit products under

exemption from certain requirements as provided

in this division shall be subject to all of the

other applicable provisions of the Oklahoma

Rabbit and Rabbit Products Inspection Act and the

regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.

(3) Processing plants shall meet the sanitary

requirements set forth in the Oklahoma Rabbit and

Rabbit Products Inspection Act and shall be

required to qualify for inspection and operate as

official establishments;

2. Any person who engages in the business of buying or selling,

as rabbit products brokers, wholesalers, or otherwise, or

transporting, in intrastate commerce, or storing in or for

intrastate commerce, any carcasses, or parts or products of

carcasses, of any rabbit; or

3. Any person who engages in business, in or for intrastate

commerce, as a renderer, or engages in the business of buying,

selling, or transporting, in intrastate commerce, any dead, dying,

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 312

disabled, or diseased rabbit or parts of the carcasses of any rabbit

that died otherwise than by slaughter.

B. 1. Any person who is engaged in business specified in this

subsection shall be registered with the Board, in or for intrastate

commerce:

a. as a meat broker, renderer, or animal food

manufacturer, or engage in business in such commerce

as a wholesaler of any carcasses, or parts or products

of the carcasses, of any rabbits whether intended for

human food or other purposes; or

b. as a public warehouseman storing any such articles in

or for such commerce, or engage in the business of

buying, selling, or transporting in such commerce any

dead, dying, disabled, or diseased animals of the
or engage in business in such commerce

as a wholesaler of any carcasses, or parts or products

of the carcasses, of any rabbits whether intended for

human food or other purposes; or

b. as a public warehouseman storing any such articles in

or for such commerce, or engage in the business of

buying, selling, or transporting in such commerce any

dead, dying, disabled, or diseased animals of the

specified kinds, or parts of the carcasses of any such

animals that died otherwise than by slaughter.

2. The application for registration shall contain the name of

such person, address of each place of business at which and all

trade names under which such person conducts such business and such

other information deemed necessary by the Board.

C. Any person, firm, or corporation who is engaged in the

business of buying, selling, or transporting in intrastate commerce

dead, dying, disabled, or diseased animals, or any parts of the

carcasses of any animals that died otherwise than by slaughter,

shall buy, sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or

receive for transportation, in such commerce, any dead, dying,

disabled, or diseased rabbits or parts of the carcasses of any such

animals that died otherwise than by slaughter, shall comply with

such regulations as the Board prescribes to assure that such

animals, or the unwholesome parts or products thereof, will be

prevented from being used for human food purposes.

D. On and after September 1, 1989, no rabbit products intended

for human food shall be allowed to be sold in this state without:

1. first being inspected and approved by:

a. the United States Department of Agriculture, or

b. the Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture; or

2. having been legally imported into this state pursuant to

existing laws of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.