II

Calendar No. 933

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1109

[Report No. 106–484]

To conserve global bear populations by prohibiting the importation, exportation, and interstate trade of bear viscera and items, products, or

substances containing, or labeled or advertised as containing, bear

viscera, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 24, 1999

Mr. MCCONNELL (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, Mr. KOHL, Mr.

FRIST, Mr. GREGG, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. WARNER, Mr. CLELAND, Mr.

SCHUMER, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. AKAKA, Mrs. FEINSTEIN,

Mr. ENZI, Mr. ROBB, Mr. GRAMS, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. LUGAR, Ms.

LANDRIEU, Mr. COCHRAN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. MACK, Mr.

TORRICELLI, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. CAMPBELL,

Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. HELMS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. KERRY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr.

GRAHAM, Mr. REID, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. FITZGERALD, Mr.

EDWARDS, Mr. REED, Mr. HATCH, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr. SARBANES, Mr.

ROTH, Mr. DODD, Mr. WELLSTONE, Mr. BRYAN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr.

SESSIONS, Mr. KYL, Mr. BOND, Mr. KERREY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. BAYH,

Mr. ASHCROFT, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr.

BENNETT, Mr. SPECTER, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. DORGAN,

and Mr. L. CHAFEE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice

and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

OCTOBER 4 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported by Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, without amendment
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•S 1109 RS

A BILL

To conserve global bear populations by prohibiting the importation, exportation, and interstate trade of bear viscera

and items, products, or substances containing, or labeled

or advertised as containing, bear viscera, 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 ‘‘Bear Protection Act

5 of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) all 8 extant species of bear—Asian black

9 bear, brown bear, polar bear, American black bear,

10 spectacled bear, giant panda, sun bear, and sloth

11 bear—are listed on Appendix I or II of the Conven12 tion on International Trade in Endangered Species

13 of Wild Fauna and Flora (27 UST 1087; TIAS

14 8249) (referred to in this section as ‘‘CITES’’);

15 (2) Article XIV of CITES provides that Parties

16 to CITES may adopt stricter domestic measures re17 garding the conditions for trade, taking, possession,

18 or transport of species on Appendix I or II, and the

19 Parties to CITES adopted a resolution (Conf. 10.8)

20 urging Parties to take immediate action to demon-
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•S 1109 RS

1 strably reduce the illegal trade in bear parts and de2 rivatives;

3 (3) the Asian bear populations have declined

4 significantly in recent years, as a result of habitat

5 loss and poaching due to a strong demand for bear

6 viscera used in traditional medicines and cosmetics;

7 (4) Federal and State undercover operations

8 have revealed that American bears have been

9 poached for their viscera;

10 (5) while most American black bear populations

11 are generally stable or increasing, commercial trade

12 could stimulate poaching and threaten certain popu13 lations if the demand for bear viscera increases; and

14 (6) prohibitions against the importation into

15 the United States and exportation from the United

16 States, as well as prohibitions against the interstate

17 trade, of bear viscera and products containing, or la18 beled or advertised as containing, bear viscera will

19 assist in ensuring that the United States does not

20 contribute to the decline of any bear population as

21 a result of the commercial trade in bear viscera.

22 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

23 The purpose of this Act is to ensure the long-term

24 viability of the world’s 8 bear species by—
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1 (1) prohibiting international trade in bear

2 viscera and products containing, or labeled or adver3 tised as containing, bear viscera;

4 (2) encouraging bilateral and multilateral ef5 forts to eliminate such trade; and

6 (3) ensuring that adequate Federal legislation

7 exists with respect to domestic trade in bear viscera

8 and products containing, or labeled or advertised as

9 containing, bear viscera.

10 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

11 In this Act:

12 (1) BEAR VISCERA.—The term ‘‘bear viscera’’

13 means the body fluids or internal organs, including

14 the gallbladder and its contents but not including

15 blood or brains, of a species of bear.

16 (2) IMPORT.—The term ‘‘import’’ means to

17 land on, bring into, or introduce into any place sub18 ject to the jurisdiction of the United States, whether

19 or not the landing, bringing, or introduction con20 stitutes an importation within the meaning of the

21 customs laws of the United States.

22 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means—

23 (A) an individual, corporation, partnership,

24 trust, association, or other private entity;
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1 (B) an officer, employee, agent, depart2 ment, or instrumentality of—

3 (i) the Federal Government;

4 (ii) any State, municipality, or polit5 ical subdivision of a State; or

6 (iii) any foreign government;

7 (C) a State, municipality, or political sub8 division of a State; and

9 (D) any other entity subject to the juris10 diction of the United States.

11 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

12 the Secretary of the Interior.

13 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State,

14 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of

15 Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Com16 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Amer17 ican Samoa, and any other territory, commonwealth,

18 or possession of the United States.

19 (6) TRANSPORT.—The term ‘‘transport’’ means

20 to move, convey, carry, or ship by any means, or to

21 deliver or receive for the purpose of movement, con22 veyance, carriage, or shipment.

23 SEC. 5. PROHIBITED ACTS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

25 (b), a person shall not—
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1 (1) import into, or export from, the United

2 States bear viscera or any product, item, or sub3 stance containing, or labeled or advertised as con4 taining, bear viscera; or

5 (2) sell or barter, offer to sell or barter, pur6 chase, possess, transport, deliver, or receive, in inter7 state or foreign commerce, bear viscera or any prod8 uct, item, or substance containing, or labeled or ad9 vertised as containing, bear viscera.

10 (b) EXCEPTION FOR WILDLIFE LAW ENFORCEMENT

11 PURPOSES.—A person described in subparagraph (B) or

12 (C) of section 4(3) may import into, or export from, the

13 United States, or transport between States, bear viscera

14 or any product, item, or substance containing, or labeled

15 or advertised as containing, bear viscera if the importa16 tion, exportation, or transportation—

17 (1) is solely for wildlife law enforcement pur18 poses; and

19 (2) is authorized by a valid permit issued under

20 Appendix I or II of the Convention on International

21 Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and

22 Flora (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249), in any case in

23 which such a permit is required under the Conven24 tion.
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1 SEC. 6. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT.

2 (a) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A person that knowingly

3 violates section 5 shall be fined under title 18, United

4 States Code, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.

5 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—

6 (1) AMOUNT.—A person that knowingly violates

7 section 5 may be assessed a civil penalty by the Sec8 retary of not more than $25,000 for each violation.

9 (2) MANNER OF ASSESSMENT AND COLLEC10 TION.—A civil penalty under this subsection shall be

11 assessed, and may be collected, in the manner in

12 which a civil penalty under the Endangered Species

13 Act of 1973 may be assessed and collected under

14 section 11(a) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1540(a)).

15 (c) PRODUCTS, ITEMS, AND SUBSTANCES.—Any bear

16 viscera, or any product, item, or substance sold, imported,

17 or exported, or attempted to be sold, imported, or ex18 ported, in violation of this section (including any regula19 tion issued under this section) shall be seized and forfeited

20 to the United States.

21 (d) REGULATIONS.—After consultation with the Sec22 retary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Health and

23 Human Services, and the United States Trade Represent24 ative, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as are nec25 essary to carry out this section.
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1 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary, the Secretary of

2 the Treasury, and the Secretary of the department in

3 which the Coast Guard is operating shall enforce this sec4 tion in the manner in which the Secretaries carry out en5 forcement activities under section 11(e) of the Endangered

6 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1540(e)).

7 (f) USE OF PENALTY AMOUNTS.—Amounts received

8 as penalties, fines, or forfeiture of property under this sec9 tion shall be used in accordance with section 6(d) of the

10 Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375(d)).

11 SEC. 7. DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING TRADE PRACTICES.

12 The Secretary and the Secretary of State shall dis13 cuss issues involving trade in bear viscera with the appro14 priate representatives of countries trading with the United

15 States that are determined by the Secretary and the

16 United States Trade Representative to be the leading im17 porters, exporters, or consumers of bear viscera, and at18 tempt to establish coordinated efforts with the countries

19 to protect bears.

20 SEC. 8. REPORT.

21 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

22 of this Act, the Secretary, in cooperation with appropriate

23 State agencies, shall submit to the Committee on Environ24 ment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee

25 on Resources of the House of Representatives a report de-
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1 tailing the progress of efforts to end the illegal trade in

2 bear viscera.
Calendar No. 933

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1109

[Report No. 106–484]

A BILL

To conserve global bear populations by prohibiting

the importation, exportation, and interstate tradeof bear viscera and items, products, or substances containing, or labeled or advertised ascontaining, bear viscera, and for other purposes.

OCTOBER 4 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported without amendment