[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 154 (Thursday, November 8, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11612-S11613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BIDEN:
  S. 1655. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit 
certain interstate conduct relating to exotic animals; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.
  Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I rise today to introduce the Captive 
Exotic Animal Protection Act. This legislation was first introduced in 
the 104th Congress by former Senator Frank Lautenberg and I am pleased 
to be here today continuing his legacy.
  The Captive Exotic Animal Protection Act would make it illegal to 
knowingly transfer, transport, or possess in interstate commerce of 
foreign commerce, a confined exotic mammal for the purposes of allowing 
the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or for the 
collection of a trophy. The bill protects exotic mammals that have been 
held in captivity for the shorter of a. the greater part of the 
animal's life, or b. a period of one year, whether or not the defendant 
knew the length of the captivity. This bill is intended to prevent the 
cruel and unsporting practice of what we have come to know as ``canned 
hunts.''
  Words cannot describe a ``canned'' hunt. The images that I have seen,

[[Page S11613]]

footage taken surreptitiously at these ranches, provides evidence that 
the treatment of these animals is troubling. Today, 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, blackbuck antelope, assorted African goats and sheep, a 
Corsican ram, or a boar, in fenced-in enclosures. The hunting of these 
animals typically occurs in a fenced enclosure and is often in a 
``guaranteed kill'' arrangement meaning that a hunter by virtue of the 
fact that he has paid his fee is assured of a kill.
  Now hunting is a sport and if you ask any of the hunters in my home 
State of Delaware or elsewhere about this they will tell you that there 
is an ethic of hunting that involves consideration of fair chase, 
affording the animal the opportunity to evade or elude the hunter. 
Canned hunts, in fenced-in enclosures, weigh the odds so heavily in 
favor of the hunters that it essentially eliminates the fair chase 
component. In addition, these animals on hunting ranches are often fed 
by hand, in a sense domesticated, and have little or no fear of humans. 
They don't run when they see a human being in front of them. This 
practice is unfair and unsportsmanlike.
  But it is not just about the fact that this practice is inhumane, 
there are also other concerns. Clustered in a captive setting at 
unusually high densities, confined exotic animals often attract disease 
more readily than more widely dispersed native species who roam freely. 
These exotics then interact with native species through fences, 
jeopardizing the health of deer, elk, and other native species. Animal 
disease places hunting programs and wildlife watching programs, that 
generate millions of dollars in economic activity, at risk.
  While a number of States have taken action to prohibit the practice 
of canned hunts, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, 
Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming have passed such 
statutes, that is only a small segment of the country. Unfortunately, 
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 games agencies. The Captive 
Exotic Animal Protection Act is specifically designed to address this 
problem, which directly involves an issue of interstate commerce.
  This is sensible legislation that is backed by responsible hunters, 
animal protection advocates, wildlife scientists, environmentalists and 
zoological professionals. The Boone and Crockett Club and the Izaak 
Walton League of America, nationally recognized hunting clubs, have 
policy positions affirmatively opposing canned hunts. In addition, this 
legislation is supported by the Humane Society of the United States, 
the Doris Day Animal League, the Fund for Animals, and the Animal 
Protection Institute.
  I want to say to my colleagues who may have questions about this 
legislation that the Captive Exotic Animal Protection Act is limited in 
its scope and purpose and will not limit the licensed hunting of any 
native mammals or any native or exotic birds. The bill is directed at 
true ``canned'' hunts and covers only exotic mammals, or those not 
historically indigenous to the United States. Birds, native or non-
native, and indigenous mammals, such as white tail deer and bears, are 
not covered by the bill. This legislation is a federal remedy and 
proposed specifically to deal with the purely commercial interstate 
movement of exotic animals destined to be killed at canned hunting 
ranches.
  I hope you will join me in supporting this legislation.
                                 ______