An animal shelter may not sell or give a cat to a research facility.

3. Owner's claim after 6-day period. An owner may reacquire a cat at any time prior to its disposition under subsection 2 upon payment of any municipal impoundment fee and actual fees incurred for food, shelter and veterinary care and any other reasonable fee imposed by the animal shelter.

4. Euthanasia for severely sick, severely injured or extremely vicious cat. A humane agent, an animal control officer or an animal shelter may authorize in writing the immediate euthanasia of a severely sick, severely injured or extremely vicious cat upon determining that the animal control officer of the municipality where the cat was found has been notified or, if the cat has cat identification, the owner of the cat has been notified.

5. Immunity. A veterinarian, a humane agent, an animal control officer or an animal shelter, including a person employed by an animal shelter, is not civilly liable to the owner of a cat for the loss of that cat resulting from actions taken in compliance with this section.

Nothing in this subsection grants to an animal shelter or person any immunity from liability arising from the gift, sale or other transference of a cat to a research facility in violation of subsection 2.

Sec. 4. 7 MRSA §§3919-B and 3919-C are enacted to read:

§3919-B.__Disposition of pet when owner is institutionalized

Notwithstanding sections 3913 and 3919-A and except as provided in Title 17, section 1021, when a person brings a pet to an animal shelter because the owner of that pet is incarcerated or hospitalized, that person shall provide the animal shelter with the name and address of the pet's owner and the name and address of the facility where the person is incarcerated or hospitalized.__The person bringing the pet to the shelter shall also provide the shelter with that person's name and address and that person's relationship to the owner or the official capacity in which that person is acting to enforce the animal welfare laws.__The animal shelter may accept the pet unless the shelter is in quarantine.__An animal shelter accepting a pet under this section shall comply with the provisions of this section.