II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1197

To prohibit the importation of products made with dog or cat fur, to prohibit

the sale, manufacture, offer for sale, transportation, and distribution

of products made with dog or cat fur in the United States, and for

other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 9, 1999

Mr. ROTH (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr.

SCHUMER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To prohibit the importation of products made with dog or

cat fur, to prohibit the sale, manufacture, offer for sale,

transportation, and distribution of products made with

dog or cat fur in the United States, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dog and Cat Protec5 tion Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings:

4 (1) An estimated 2,000,000 dogs and cats are

5 slaughtered and sold annually as part of the inter6 national fur trade. Internationally, dog and cat fur

7 is used in a wide variety of products, including fur

8 coats and jackets, fur-trimmed garments, hats,

9 gloves, decorative accessories, stuffed animals, and

10 other toys.

11 (2) As demonstrated by forensic tests, dog and

12 cat fur products are being imported into the United

13 States, in some cases with deceptive labeling to con14 ceal the use of dog or cat fur.

15 (3) Dog and cat fur, when dyed, is not easily

16 distinguishable to persons who are not experts from

17 other furs such as fox, rabbit, coyote, wolf, and

18 mink. Dog and cat fur is generally less expensive

19 than other types of fur and may be used as a sub20 stitute for more expensive types of furs.

21 (4) Foreign fur producers use dogs and cats

22 bred for their fur, and also use strays and stolen

23 pets.

24 (5) The methods of housing, transporting, and

25 slaughtering dogs and cats for fur production are

26 generally unregulated and inhumane.
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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

2 (1) to prohibit the sale, manufacture, offer for

3 sale, transportation, and distribution in the United

4 States of dog and cat fur products;

5 (2) to require accurate labeling of fur species so

6 that consumers in the United States can make in7 formed choices; and

8 (3) to prohibit the trade in, both imports and

9 exports of, dog and cat fur products, to ensure that

10 the United States market does not encourage the

11 slaughter of dogs or cats for their fur, and to ensure

12 that the purposes of this Act are not undermined.

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

14 In this Act:

15 (1) DOG FUR.—The term ‘‘dog fur’’ means the

16 pelt or skin of any animal of the species canis

17 familiaris.

18 (2) CAT FUR.—The term ‘‘cat fur’’ means the

19 pelt or skin of any animal of the species felis catus.

20 (3) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United

21 States’’ means the customs territory of the United

22 States, as defined in general note 2 of the Har23 monized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

24 (4) COMMERCE.—The term ‘‘commerce’’ means

25 transportation for sale, trade, or use between any
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1 State, territory, or possession of the United States,

2 or the District of Columbia, and any place outside

3 thereof.

4 (5) DOG OR CAT FUR PRODUCT.—The term

5 ‘‘dog or cat fur product’’ means any item of mer6 chandise which consists, or is composed in whole or

7 in part, of any dog fur, cat fur, or both.

8 (6) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes any

9 individual, partnership, corporation, association, or10 ganization, business trust, government entity, or

11 other entity.

12 (7) INTERESTED PARTY.—The term ‘‘interested

13 party’’ means any person having a contractual, fi14 nancial, humane, or other interest.

15 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

16 the Secretary of the Treasury.

17 (9) DULY AUTHORIZED OFFICER.—The term

18 ‘‘duly authorized officer’’ means any United States

19 Customs officer, any agent of the Federal Bureau of

20 Investigation, or any agent or other person author21 ized by law or designated by the Secretary to enforce

22 the provisions of this Act.

23 SEC. 4. PROHIBITIONS.

24 (a) PROHIBITION ON MANUFACTURE, SALE, AND

25 OTHER ACTIVITIES.—No person in the United States or
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1 subject to the jurisdiction of the United States may intro2 duce into commerce, manufacture for introduction into

3 commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in commerce, offer to

4 sell, or transport or distribute in commerce, any dog or

5 cat fur product.

6 (b) IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.—No dog or cat fur

7 product may be imported into, or exported from, the

8 United States.

9 SEC. 5. LABELING.

10 Section 2(d) of the Fur Products Labeling Act (15

11 U.S.C. 69(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘; except that such

12 term shall not include such articles as the Commission

13 shall exempt by reason of the relatively small quantity or

14 value of the fur or used fur contained therein’’.

15 SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, either independ17 ently or in cooperation with the States, political subdivi18 sions thereof, and interested parties, is authorized to carry

19 out operations and measures to eradicate and prevent the

20 activities prohibited by section 4.

21 (b) INSPECTIONS.—A duly authorized officer may,

22 upon his own initiative or upon the request of any inter23 ested party, detain for inspection and inspect any product,

24 package, crate, or other container, including its contents,
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1 and all accompanying documents to determine compliance

2 with this Act.

3 (c) SEIZURES AND ARRESTS.—If a duly authorized

4 officer has reasonable cause to believe that there has been

5 a violation of this Act or any regulation issued under this

6 Act, such officer may search and seize, with or without

7 a warrant, the item suspected of being the subject of the

8 violation, and may arrest the owner of the item. An item

9 so seized shall be held by any person authorized by the

10 Secretary pending disposition of civil or criminal pro11 ceedings.

12 (d) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The burden of proof shall

13 lie with the owner to establish that the item seized is not

14 a dog or cat fur product subject to forfeiture and civil pen15 alty under section 7.

16 (e) ACTION BY U.S. ATTORNEY.—Upon presentation

17 by a duly authorized officer or any interested party of

18 credible evidence that a violation of this Act or any regula19 tion issued under this Act has occurred, the United States

20 Attorney with jurisdiction over the suspected violation

21 shall investigate the matter and shall take appropriate ac22 tion under this Act.

23 (f) CITIZEN SUITS.—Any person may commence a

24 civil suit to compel the Secretary to implement and enforce

25 this Act, or to enjoin any person from taking action in
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1 violation of any provision of this Act or any regulation

2 issued under this Act.

3 (g) REWARD.—The Secretary may pay a reward to

4 any person who furnishes information which leads to an

5 arrest, criminal conviction, civil penalty assessment, or

6 forfeiture of property for any violation of this Act or any

7 regulation issued under this Act.

8 (h) REGULATIONS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue

10 final regulations, after notice and opportunity for

11 public comment, to implement this Act within 180

12 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

13 (2) FEES.—The Secretary may charge reason14 able fees for expenses to the Government connected

15 with permits or certificates authorized by this Act,

16 including expenses for—

17 (A) processing applications;

18 (B) reasonable inspections; and

19 (C) the transfer, handling, or storage of

20 evidentiary items seized and forfeited under this

21 Act.

22 All fees collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be

23 deposited in the Treasury in an account specifically

24 designated for enforcement of this Act and available

25 only for that purpose.
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1 SEC. 7. PENALTIES.

2 (a) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who violates any

3 provision of this Act or any regulation issued under this

4 Act may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than

5 $25,000 for each violation.

6 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who knowingly

7 violates any provision of this Act or any regulation issued

8 under this Act shall, upon conviction for each violation,

9 be imprisoned for not more than 1 year, fined in accord10 ance with title 18, United States Code, or both.

11 (c) FORFEITURE.—Any dog or cat fur product that

12 is the subject of a violation of this Act or any regulation

13 issued under this Act shall be subject to seizure and for14 feiture to the same extent as any merchandise imported

15 in violation of the customs laws.

16 (d) INJUNCTION.—Any person who violates any pro17 vision of this Act or any regulation issued under this Act

18 may be enjoined from further sales of any fur products.

19 (e) APPLICABILITY.—The penalties in this section

20 apply to violations occurring on or after the date of enact21 ment of this Act.

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