[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 95 (Tuesday, July 8, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6993-S7011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. Graham, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. 
        Boxer, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Torricelli, and Mrs. Murray):
  S. 995. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit 
certain interstate conduct relating to exotic animals; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.


            THE CAPTIVE EXOTIC ANIMAL PROTECTION ACT OF 1997

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation to 
prevent the cruel and unsporting practice of ``canned'' hunting, or 
caged kills. I am pleased to be joined by Senators Graham, Kennedy, 
Boxer, Moynihan, Torricelli, and Murray.
  In a canned hunt, a customer pays to shoot a captive exotic animal on 
a small game ranch where the animal typically is trapped inside a 
fenced-in enclosure. The enclosed space prevents the animal from 
escaping and making it an easy prey. The so-called hunter returns home 
with the animal's head to mount on his or her wall and the ranch owner 
collects a large fee. No hunting, tracking or shooting skills are 
required. The animals are easy targets because they typically are 
friendly to humans, having spent years in captivity, and having been 
cared for and fed by the canned hunt ranch owners.
  There are reported to be more than 1,000 canned hunting operations in 
the United States. At these ranches, a customer can, for example, 
``hunt'' a Dama gazelle for $3,500, a Cape Buffalo for $6,000 or a Red 
Deer for $6,000. The rarer the animal, the higher the price.
  My bill is similar to legislation I introduced in the 104th Congress, 
S. 1493.

[[Page S7011]]

It is directed only at true canned hunts. It does not affect cattle 
ranching, the hunting or breeding of any animals that live in the wild 
in the United States, rodeos, livestock shows, petting zoos, or horse 
or dog racing. It merely bans the procuring and transport of non-
native, exotic mammals for the purpose of shooting them for 
entertainment, or to collect a trophy. The bill would not affect larger 
ranches, where animals have some opportunity to escape hunters. Nor 
does the bill affect the hunting of any animals that live in the wild 
in the United States.
  Many hunters believe that canned hunts are unethical and make a 
mockery of their sport. For example, the Boone and Crockett Club, a 
hunting organization founded by Teddy Roosevelt, has called canned 
hunts ``unfair'' and ``unsportsmanlike.'' Bill Burton, the former 
outdoors writer for the Baltimore Sun and a hunter, testifying last 
year in support of this legislation, stated, ``There is a common belief 
that the hunting of creatures which have no reasonable avenue to escape 
is not up to traditional standards. Shooting game in confinement is not 
within these standards.''
  Canned hunts also are strongly opposed by animal protection groups. 
As the Humane Society of the United States has said about animals in 
canned hunts, ``the instinct to flee, their greatest natural defense, 
has been replaced by trust--trust that is rewarded with a cruel and 
brutal death.'' Indeed, many animals killed in canned hunts suffer 
immeasurably as they receive shot after shot to non-vital organs. This 
practice is intended to preserve the head and chest regions intact so 
that the animals will make more attractive trophies.
  The practice of keeping captive animals for canned hunts may also 
pose a danger to native wildlife or livestock if the captive animals 
escape. John Talbott, acting director of the Wyoming Department of Fish 
and Game, stated that ``Tuberculosis and other disease documented among 
game ranch animals in surrounding States'' pose ``an extremely serious 
threat to Wyoming's native big game.'' This is one reason why Wyoming 
has banned canned hunts. Other States that have banned these hunts 
include California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, 
Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
  Unfortunately, in most States, canned hunts are largely unregulated. 
The lack of State laws, and the fact that many of these animals move in 
interstate commerce, make Federal legislation necessary.
  I urge my colleagues who want to understand the cruelty involved in a 
canned hunt to visit my office and view a videotape of an actual canned 
hunt. You will witness a defenseless Corsican ram, cornered near a 
fence, being shot over and again with arrows, and clearly experiencing 
an agonizing death, then only to be dealt a final blow by a firearm. 
Then I urge you to join me in support of this legislation which will 
put an end to this needless suffering.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 995

       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 ``Captive Exotic Animal 
     Protection Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. TRANSPORT OR POSSESSION OF EXOTIC ANIMALS FOR 
                   PURPOSES OF KILLING OR INJURING THEM.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 3 of title 18, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 48. Exotic animals

       ``(a) Prohibition.--Whoever, in or 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.
       ``(b) Definitions.--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 for the shorter of--
       ``(A) the greater part of the life of the animal; or
       ``(B) a period of 1 year;
     whether or not the defendant knew the length of the 
     captivity; and
       ``(2) the term `captivity' does not include any period 
     during which an animal--
       ``(A) lives as it would in the wild, surviving primarily by 
     foraging for naturally occurring food, roaming at will over 
     an open area of not less than 1,000 acres; and
       ``(B) has the opportunity to avoid hunters.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 3 of 
     title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:
``48. Exotic animals.''.
                                 ______