1.
This Act may be cited as the
Sportsmanship in Hunting Act of
2005
.
2.
Congress finds the
following:
(1)
The ethic of hunting involves
the consideration of fair chase, which allows the animal the opportunity to
avoid the hunter.
(2)
At more than 1,000 commercial
canned hunt operations across the country, trophy hunters pay a fee to shoot
captive exotic animals, from African lions to giraffes and blackbuck antelope,
in fenced-in enclosures.
(3)
Clustered in a captive
setting at unusually high densities, confined exotic animals attract disease
more readily than more widely dispersed native species who roam freely.
(4)
The transportation of captive
exotic animals to commercial canned hunt operations can facilitate the spread
of disease across great distances.
(5)
The regulation of the
transport and treatment of exotic animals on shooting preserves falls outside
the traditional domains of State agriculture departments and State fish and
game agencies.
(6)
This Act is limited in its
purpose and will not limit the licensed hunting of any native mammals or any
native or exotic birds.
(7)
This Act does not aim to
criticize those hunters who pursue animals that are not enclosed within a
fence.
(8)
This Act does not attempt to
prohibit slaughterhouse activities, nor does it aim to prohibit the routine
euthanasia of domesticated farm animals.
3.
Transport or possession of exotic animals for purposes of
killing or injuring them
(a)
Chapter 3 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
49.
(a)
(1)
Whoever, in or
substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly transfers,
transports, or possesses a confined exotic animal, for the purposes of allowing
the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or for the collection
of a trophy, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year,
or both.
(2)
This section shall not
apply to the killing or injuring of an exotic animal in a State or Federal
natural area reserve undertaking habitat restoration.
(b)
In this section—
(1)
the term confined
exotic animal means a mammal of a species not historically indigenous to
the United States, that has been held in captivity, whether or not the
defendant knows the length of the captivity, for the shorter of—
(A)
the majority of the
animal’s life; or
(B)
a period of 1 year;
and
(2)
the term
captivity does not include any period during which an animal lives
as it would in the wild—
(A)
surviving primarily by
foraging for naturally occurring food;
(B)
roaming at will over an
open area of not less than 1,000 acres; and
(C)
having the opportunity to
avoid hunters.
(c)
(1)
Any person authorized by
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service, may—
(A)
without a warrant, arrest
any person that violates this section (including regulations promulgated under
this section) in the presence or view of the arresting person;
(B)
execute any warrant or
other process issued by an officer or court of competent jurisdiction to
enforce this section; and
(C)
with a search warrant,
search for and seize any animal taken or possessed in violation of this
section.
(2)
Any animal seized with or
without a search warrant shall be held by the Secretary or by a United States
marshal, and upon conviction, shall be forfeited to the United States and
disposed of by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with law.
(3)
The Director of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service may use by agreement, with or without
reimbursement, the personnel and services of any other Federal or State agency
for the purpose of enforcing this section.
.
(b)
The analysis for chapter 3 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
Sec. 49. Exotic
animals.
.