110 HR 1691 IH: Inhumane Trapping Prevention
U.S. House of Representatives
2007-03-26
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Inhumane Trapping Prevention
Act
.
2.It is the policy of the
United States to end the needless maiming and suffering inflicted upon animals
through the use of conventional steel-jawed leghold traps by prohibiting the
import or export of, and the shipment in interstate commerce of, such traps and
of articles of fur from animals that were trapped in such traps.
3.Prohibited acts
and penalties
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person—
(1)to import, export,
or transport in interstate commerce an article of fur, if any part or portion
of such article is derived from an animal that was trapped in a conventional
steel-jawed leghold trap;
(2)to import, export,
deliver, carry, or transport by any means whatever, in interstate commerce, any
conventional steel-jawed leghold trap;
(3)to
sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any conventional steel-jawed leghold trap
that was delivered, carried, or transported in violation of paragraph (2);
or
(4)to
violate any rule made by the Secretary under this Act.
(b)Whoever
knowingly violates subsection (a) shall, in addition to any other penalty that
may be imposed—
(1)for the first such
violation, be imprisoned for not more than 5 days or fined under title 18,
United States Code, or both; and
(2)for each
subsequent violation, be imprisoned for not more than two years or fined under
title 18, United States Code, or both.
4.
(a)The Secretary shall pay, to any person who furnishes
information which leads to a conviction of a violation of any provision of this
Act or any rule made under this Act, an amount equal to one-half of the fine
paid pursuant to the conviction.
(b)Any
officer or employee of the United States or of any State or local government
who furnishes information or renders service in the performance of his or her
official duties is not eligible for payment under this section.
5.
(a)Except with respect to violations of this Act to which
subsection (b) applies, this Act and any rules made under this Act shall be
enforced by the Secretary, who may utilize by agreement, with or without
reimbursement, the personnel, services, and facilities of any other Federal
agency or any State agency for purposes of enforcing this Act and such
rules.
(b)Import and export
violations
(1)The importation of articles in violation of section
3(a) shall be treated as a violation of the customs laws of the United States,
and those provisions of law relating to violations of the customs laws of the
United States shall apply thereto.
(2)The authorities under the
Export Administration Act of 1979
(50 U.S.C. App. 2401 et seq.) (as continued in effect under the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act), including penalties, shall be used to enforce
the provisions of this Act relating to the export of articles in violation of
section 3(a).
(c)Any person having authority to enforce this Act
(except with respect to violations to which subsection (b) applies), may, in
exercising such authority—
(1)detain for
inspection, search, and seize any package, crate, or other container, including
its contents, and all accompanying documents, if such individual has reasonable
cause to suspect that in such package, crate, or other container are articles
with respect to which a violation of this Act (except with respect to a
violation to which subsection (b) applies) has occurred, is occurring, or is
about to occur;
(2)make arrests
without a warrant for any violation of this Act (except with respect to a
violation to which subsection (b) applies) committed in his or her presence or
view, or if the individual has probable cause to believe that the person to be
arrested has committed or is committing such a violation; and
(3)execute and serve
any arrest warrant, search warrant, or other warrant or criminal process issued
by any judge or magistrate of any court of competent jurisdiction for
enforcement of this Act (except with respect to violations to which subsection
(b) applies).
(d)
(1)Except with respect to
exports to which the provisions of the Export
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2401 et seq.) (as
continued in effect under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act)
apply, and imports to which the customs laws of the United States apply,
pursuant to subsection (b), any article of fur or conventional steel-jawed
leghold trap taken, possessed, sold, purchased, offered for sale or purchase,
imported, exported, transported, delivered, received, carried, or shipped in
violation of this Act or any rule made under this Act, shall be subject to
forfeiture to the United States. Those provisions of law relating to—
(A)the seizure,
summary and judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of property for violations of
the customs laws of the United States,
(B)the disposition of
such property or the proceeds from the sale thereof,
(C)the remission or
mitigation of such forfeitures, and
(D)the compromise of
claims,
shall apply
to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under
the provisions of this subsection, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent
with this Act.(2)Such
duties as are imposed upon the customs officer or any other person with respect
to the seizure and forfeiture of property under the customs laws of the United
States may be performed with respect to seizures and forfeitures of property
under this subsection by the Secretary or such officers and employees as may be
authorized or designated for that purpose by the Secretary, or, upon the
request of the Secretary, by any other agency that has authority to manage and
dispose of seized property.
(e)The
Attorney General of the United States may seek to enjoin any person who is
alleged to be in violation of this Act or any rule made under this Act.
(f)The
Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the head of any other
department or agency with enforcement responsibilities under this Act shall
cooperate with the Secretary in ensuring that this Act, and rules made under
this Act, are enforced in the most effective and efficient manner.
6.In this Act:
(1)The term
article of fur means—
(A)any furskin (as
such term is used under Note 1 of chapter 43 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States), including any raw furskin classified under heading 4301
of such Schedule; or
(B)any article,
however produced, that consists in whole or part of any such furskin.
(2)The term
conventional steel-jawed leghold trap means any spring-powered pan
or sear-activated device with two opposing steel jaws, whether the jaws are
smooth, toothed, padded, or offset, which is designed to capture an animal by
snapping closed upon the animal’s limb or part thereof.
(3)The term
customs laws of the United States means any other law or
regulation enforced or administered by the United States Customs
Service.
(4)The term
import means to land on, bring into, or introduce into, any place
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, whether or not such landing,
bringing, or introduction constitutes an entry into the customs territory of
the United States.
(5)The term
interstate commerce has the meaning given such term in section 10
of title 18, United States Code.
(6)The term
Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
7.The Secretary may make rules to carry out
this Act.
8.This Act shall take
effect one year after the date of its enactment.