R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-19-4.2

This is the official text of R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-19-4.2, part of Rhode Island’s Gen. Laws — part of the compiled statutory law of Rhode Island, published by the state as "Gen. Laws." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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§ 4-19-4.2. Prohibition on sales in public places.

Official statutory text

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, exchange, trade, barter, lease, or display for a commercial purpose any dog or cat on any roadside, public right-of-way, parkway, median, park, other recreation area, flea market or other outdoor market, or commercial or retail parking lot regardless of whether such access is authorized.

(b) This section shall not apply to the following:

(1) The display or adoption of dogs or cats by an animal shelter, pound, or rescue as defined in this chapter; or

(2) The display of dogs or cats as part of a state or county fair exhibition, 4-H program, or similar exhibitions or educational programs.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.