[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 97 (Monday, July 12, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8266-S8267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
        Moynihan, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
        Torricelli, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. 
        Schumer):
  S. 1345. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit 
certain interstate conduct relating to exotic animals; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.


              CAPTIVE EXOTIC ANIMAL PROTECTION ACT OF 1999

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Captive Exotic 
Animal Protection Act, which would prohibit the barbaric and unsporting 
practice of ``canned hunts,'' or caged kills. I am pleased to be joined 
by my cosponsors Senators Boxer, Durbin, Feingold, Feinstein, Kennedy, 
Kerry, Kohl, Moynihan, Murray, Schumer, and Torricelli.
  A typical canned hunt operation collects surplus animals from wild 
animal parks, circuses, and even petting zoos, and then sells the right 
to brutally kill these animals to so-called ``hunters.'' In reality, no 
hunting, tracking or shooting skills are required. For a price, any 
``hunter'' is guaranteed a kill of the exotic animal of his choice--one 
located by a guide and blocked from escape. A wild boar ``kill'' may 
sell for $250, a pygmy goat for $400, while a rare Arabian Ibex may 
fetch up to $5000. The actual ``hunt'' of these tame animals occurs 
within a fenced enclosure, leaving the animal virtually no chance for 
escape. Fed and cared for by humans, these animals often have lost 
their instinctual impulse to flee from the so-called hunters who 
``stalk'' them.
  The actual killing methods employed by these hunters only compound 
the cruelty of slaughtering these often trusting animals. In order to 
preserve the animal as a ``trophy,'' hunters will fire multiple shots 
into non-vital organs, condemning the animal to a slow and painful 
death.
  Canned hunts are condemned by pro-animal and pro-hunting groups alike 
for being cruel and unethical. Many real 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

[[Page S8267]]

former outdoors writer for the Baltimore Sun and a hunter, testifying 
in support of this legislation, stated, ``[t]here 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.''
  In addition to being unethical, these canned hunts present a serious 
health and safety problem for livestock and native wildlife. Accidental 
escapes of animals from exotic game ranches are not uncommon, posing a 
very real threat to nearby livestock and indigenous wildlife. John 
Talbott, acting director of the Wyoming Department of Fish and Game, 
has stated that, ``[t]uberculosis and other disease documented amount 
game ranch animals in surrounding states,'' pose ``an extremely serious 
threat to Wyoming's native big game.'' In recognition of this threat, 
Wyoming itself has banned canned hunting facilities, as have the States 
of California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, 
New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Unfortunately, 
the remaining States lack legislation to outlaw canned hunts, and 
because interstate commerce in exotic animals is common, federal 
legislation is essential to control these cruel practices.
  My bill is similar to legislation I introduced in the 105th Congress, 
S. 995. The legislation I am introducing today will specifically target 
only canned hunt facilities, and will not affect any animal industries, 
such as cattle ranchers, rodeos, livestock shows, petting zoos, horse 
and dog racing, or wildlife hunting. Furthermore, this bill will not 
apply to large hunting ranches, such as those over 1,000 acres, which 
give the hunted animal a greater opportunity to escape. This bill 
merely seeks to ban the transport and trade of non-native, exotic 
animals for the purpose of staged trophy hunts.
  The idea of a defenseless animal meeting a violent end as the target 
of a canned hunt is, at the very least, distasteful to many of us. In 
an era when many of us are seeking to curb violence in our culture, 
canned hunts are certainly one form of gratuitous brutality that does 
not belong in our society.
  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 over again with arrows, clearly experiencing 
an agonizing death, only to be dealt a final blow by a firearm after 
needless suffering.
  Please join me in support of this legislation which will help to 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. 1345

       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 1999''.

     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.''.
                                 ______