[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 263 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 334
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 263
[Report No. 117-428]
To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to clarify provisions enacted
by the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, to further the conservation of
certain wildlife species, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 11, 2021
Mr. Quigley (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr.
Buchanan, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Waltz, Mr. McNerney, and Mr.
Womack) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
July 22, 2022
Additional sponsors: Mr. Casten, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Pingree,
Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Welch, Mr.
Langevin, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Buck, Mrs. Napolitano,
Ms. Meng, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Higgins of New York,
Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Takano, Ms. Underwood, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Horsford, Mr.
Hastings, Mrs. Demings, Mrs. Luria, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Kildee, Ms.
Velazquez, Mr. Veasey, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Khanna,
Mr. Vargas, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Panetta, Mr.
Kilmer, Mr. Carbajal, Mrs. Axne, Mr. Jones, Mr. Smucker, Ms. DeGette,
Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mr. Brendan F.
Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Crow, Mr. Schrader, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Schiff,
Ms. Chu, Mr. Evans, Mr. Deutch, Ms. Speier, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr.
Pallone, Ms. Wild, Mr. Upton, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Sires, Mr. Kim of New
Jersey, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Miss Rice of New York, Mr.
Pappas, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Malinowski, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Sablan, Mrs.
Beatty, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Stanton, Mr. Meeks, Mrs. Torres of
California, Mr. Neguse, Mr. Levin of California, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Mr.
Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Ms.
Adams, Mr. Delgado, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Himes, Mr. Aguilar, Mr. Lieu, Ms.
Jayapal, Mrs. Fletcher, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Zeldin, Mr. Michael F. Doyle
of Pennsylvania, Mr. Cooper, Ms. Spanberger, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Turner,
Mr. Harder of California, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Connolly, Mrs.
Bustos, Mr. Sherman, Mr. O'Halleran, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Ms. Garcia
of Texas, Mr. Perlmutter, Ms. Dean, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms.
Salazar, Mr. Correa, Ms. Newman, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Allred,
Mrs. McBath, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Ryan, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. McCaul,
Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Huffman, Ms. Escobar,
Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mr. Garbarino, Ms. Sherrill, Ms.
Titus, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Gottheimer, Ms. Blunt
Rochester, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Harshbarger, Mr. Norcross, Mr. Schweikert,
Ms. Mace, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Mr. Kinzinger, Ms. Lofgren, Mr.
Burchett, Ms. Jacobs of California, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Ms. Tenney,
Mr. Gooden of Texas, Mr. Moore of Alabama, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Moulton,
Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Courtney, Mr. LaHood, Mr.
Raskin, Mrs. Lawrence, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr.
Foster, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr.
Rutherford, Mr. Auchincloss, Mr. Crist, Ms. Bourdeaux, Mr. Case, Mrs.
McClain, Ms. Granger, Mr. Swalwell, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Amodei, Mr. Kind,
Mr. Lamb, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. Torres of New York,
Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Soto, Ms. Strickland, Mr. Trone, Ms.
Stefanik, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Beyer, Mr.
Price of North Carolina, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mrs. Murphy of
Florida, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Kahele, Ms. Schrier, Mr. Rush, Ms. Davids of
Kansas, Ms. Craig, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Carson, Ms. Slotkin, Ms.
Stansbury, Mr. Peters, Mrs. Steel, Mr. Hill, Mr. Norman, Ms. Bass, Ms.
Scanlon, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Bost, Mr. Reed, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Castro of
Texas, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Sarbanes, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Bera,
Mr. Neal, Ms. Porter, Ms. Wexton, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Wilson of
Florida, Mrs. Kim of California, Mr. Gimenez, Mr. Butterfield, Mr.
Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Payne, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr.
Lynch, Ms. Ross, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Omar, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr.
Cleaver, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Bacon, Mr. McEachin, Ms. Manning, Ms. Johnson
of Texas, Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Johnson of
Georgia, Mr. Keating, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mrs. Lee of Nevada, Mr.
Cardenas, Mr. Jeffries, Mr. Thompson of California, Ms. Malliotakis,
Mr. Mrvan, Ms. Van Duyne, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Costa, Mr. C.
Scott Franklin of Florida, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Palazzo, Mr. Gomez, Mr.
Balderson, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, and Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick
July 22, 2022
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January
11, 2021]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to clarify provisions enacted
by the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, to further the conservation of
certain wildlife species, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Big Cat Public Safety Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 2 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16
U.S.C. 3371) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (k) as
subsections (b) through (l), respectively; and
(2) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(a) Breed.--The term `breed' means to facilitate propagation or
reproduction (whether intentionally or negligently), or to fail to
prevent propagation or reproduction.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Consolidated farm and rural development act.--Section
349(a)(3) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7
U.S.C. 1997(a)(3)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``section 2(a)'' and inserting
``section 2''; and
(B) by striking ``3371(a)'' and inserting ``3371''.
(2) Lacey act amendments of 1981.--Section 7(c) of the
Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3376(c)) is amended by
striking ``section 2(f)(2)(A)'' and inserting ``section
2(g)(2)(A)''.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS.
Section 3 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3372) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking the
semicolon at the end and inserting ``; or'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking
``; or'' and inserting a semicolon; and
(iii) by striking subparagraph (C); and
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``(1) through
(3)'' and inserting ``(1) through (3) or subsection
(e)''; and
(2) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
``(e) Captive Wildlife Offense.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), it
is unlawful for any person to--
``(A) import, export, transport, sell, receive,
acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce,
or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or
foreign commerce; or
``(B) breed or possess;
any prohibited wildlife species.
``(2) Limitation on application.--Paragraph (1) does not
apply to--
``(A) an entity exhibiting animals to the public
under a Class C license from the Department of
Agriculture, or a Federal facility registered with the
Department of Agriculture that exhibits animals, if
such entity or facility holds such license or
registration in good standing and if the entity or
facility--
``(i) does not allow any individual to come
into direct physical contact with a prohibited
wildlife species, unless that individual is--
``(I) a trained professional
employee or contractor of the entity or
facility (or an accompanying employee
receiving professional training);
``(II) a licensed veterinarian (or
a veterinary student accompanying such
a veterinarian); or
``(III) directly supporting
conservation programs of the entity or
facility, the contact is not in the
course of commercial activity (which
may be evidenced by advertisement or
promotion of such activity or other
relevant evidence), and the contact is
incidental to humane husbandry
conducted pursuant to a species-
specific, publicly available, peer-
edited population management and care
plan that has been provided to the
Secretary with justifications that the
plan--
``(aa) reflects established
conservation science
principles;
``(bb) incorporates genetic
and demographic analysis of a
multi-institution population of
animals covered by the plan;
and
``(cc) promotes animal
welfare by ensuring that the
frequency of breeding is
appropriate for the species;
and
``(ii) ensures that during public
exhibition of a lion (Panthera leo), tiger
(Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus),
snow leopard (Uncia uncia), jaguar (Panthera
onca), cougar (Puma concolor), or any hybrid
thereof, the animal is at least 15 feet from
members of the public unless there is a
permanent barrier sufficient to prevent public
contact;
``(B) a State college, university, or agency, or a
State-licensed veterinarian;
``(C) a wildlife sanctuary that cares for
prohibited wildlife species, and--
``(i) is a corporation that is exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and described in sections
501(c)(3) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of such Code;
``(ii) does not commercially trade in any
prohibited wildlife species, including
offspring, parts, and byproducts of such
animals;
``(iii) does not breed any prohibited
wildlife species;
``(iv) does not allow direct contact
between the public and any prohibited wildlife
species; and
``(v) does not allow the transportation and
display of any prohibited wildlife species off-
site;
``(D) has custody of any prohibited wildlife
species solely for the purpose of expeditiously
transporting the prohibited wildlife species to a
person described in this paragraph with respect to the
species; or
``(E) an entity or individual that is in possession
of any prohibited wildlife species that was born before
the date of the enactment of the Big Cat Public Safety
Act, and--
``(i) not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of the such Act, the
entity or individual registers each individual
animal of each prohibited wildlife species
possessed by the entity or individual with the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
``(ii) does not breed, acquire, or sell any
prohibited wildlife species after the date of
the enactment of such Act; and
``(iii) does not allow direct contact
between the public and prohibited wildlife
species.''.
SEC. 4. PENALTIES.
(a) Civil Penalties.--Section 4(a)(1) of the Lacey Act Amendments
of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(e),'' after ``(d),''; and
(2) by inserting ``, (e),'' after ``subsection (d)''.
(b) Criminal Penalties.--Section 4(d) of the Lacey Act Amendments
of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``(e),'' after
``(d),'';
(2) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ``(e),'' after
``(d),'';
(3) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``(e),'' after ``(d),'';
and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Any person who knowingly violates section 3(e) shall
be fined not more than $20,000, or imprisoned for not more than
5 years, or both. Each violation shall be a separate offense
and the offense is deemed to have been committed in the
district where the violation first occurred, and in any
district in which the defendant may have taken or been in
possession of the prohibited wildlife species.''.
SEC. 5. FORFEITURE OF PROHIBITED WILDLIFE SPECIES.
Section 5(a)(1) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C.
3374(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ``bred, possessed,'' before
``imported, exported,''.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION.
Section 7(a) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C.
3376(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3) The Secretary shall, in consultation with other
relevant Federal and State agencies, promulgate any regulations
necessary to implement section 3(e).''.
Union Calendar No. 334
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 263
[Report No. 117-428]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to clarify provisions enacted
by the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, to further the conservation of
certain wildlife species, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 22, 2022
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed