106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1109

AN ACT

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 2000’’.
2

S 1109 ES

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

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

4 bear, brown bear, polar bear, American black bear,

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

6 bear—are listed on Appendix I or II of the Conven7 tion on International Trade in Endangered Species

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

9 8249) (referred to in this section as ‘‘CITES’’);

10 (2) Article XIV of CITES provides that Parties

11 to CITES may adopt stricter domestic measures re12 garding the conditions for trade, taking, possession,

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

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

15 urging Parties to take immediate action to demon16 strably reduce the illegal trade in bear parts and de17 rivatives;

18 (3) the Asian bear populations have declined

19 significantly in recent years, as a result of habitat

20 loss and poaching due to a strong demand for bear

21 viscera used in traditional medicines and cosmetics;

22 (4) Federal and State undercover operations

23 have revealed that American bears have been

24 poached for their viscera;

25 (5) while most American black bear populations

26 are generally stable or increasing, commercial trade
3

S 1109 ES

1 could stimulate poaching and threaten certain popu2 lations if the demand for bear viscera increases; and

3 (6) prohibitions against the importation into

4 the United States and exportation from the United

5 States, as well as prohibitions against the interstate

6 trade, of bear viscera and products containing, or la7 beled or advertised as containing, bear viscera will

8 assist in ensuring that the United States does not

9 contribute to the decline of any bear population as

10 a result of the commercial trade in bear viscera.

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

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

13 viability of the world’s 8 bear species by—

14 (1) prohibiting international trade in bear

15 viscera and products containing, or labeled or adver16 tised as containing, bear viscera;

17 (2) encouraging bilateral and multilateral ef18 forts to eliminate such trade; and

19 (3) ensuring that adequate Federal legislation

20 exists with respect to domestic trade in bear viscera

21 and products containing, or labeled or advertised as

22 containing, bear viscera.

23 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

24 In this Act:
4

S 1109 ES

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

2 means the body fluids or internal organs, including

3 the gallbladder and its contents but not including

4 blood or brains, of a species of bear.

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

6 land on, bring into, or introduce into any place sub7 ject to the jurisdiction of the United States, whether

8 or not the landing, bringing, or introduction con9 stitutes an importation within the meaning of the

10 customs laws of the United States.

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

12 (A) an individual, corporation, partnership,

13 trust, association, or other private entity;

14 (B) an officer, employee, agent, depart15 ment, or instrumentality of—

16 (i) the Federal Government;

17 (ii) any State, municipality, or polit18 ical subdivision of a State; or

19 (iii) any foreign government;

20 (C) a State, municipality, or political sub21 division of a State; and

22 (D) any other entity subject to the juris23 diction of the United States.

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

25 the Secretary of the Interior.
5

S 1109 ES

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

2 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of

3 Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Com4 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Amer5 ican Samoa, and any other territory, commonwealth,

6 or possession of the United States.

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

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

9 deliver or receive for the purpose of movement, con10 veyance, carriage, or shipment.

11 SEC. 5. PROHIBITED ACTS.

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

13 (b), a person shall not—

14 (1) import into, or export from, the United

15 States bear viscera or any product, item, or sub16 stance containing, or labeled or advertised as con17 taining, bear viscera; or

18 (2) sell or barter, offer to sell or barter, pur19 chase, possess, transport, deliver, or receive, in inter20 state or foreign commerce, bear viscera or any prod21 uct, item, or substance containing, or labeled or ad22 vertised as containing, bear viscera.

23 (b) EXCEPTION FOR WILDLIFE LAW ENFORCEMENT

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

25 (C) of section 4(3) may import into, or export from, the
6

S 1109 ES

1 United States, or transport between States, bear viscera

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

3 or advertised as containing, bear viscera if the importa4 tion, exportation, or transportation—

5 (1) is solely for wildlife law enforcement pur6 poses; and

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

8 Appendix I or II of the Convention on International

9 Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and

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

11 which such a permit is required under the Conven12 tion.

13 SEC. 6. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT.

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

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

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

17 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—

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

19 section 5 may be assessed a civil penalty by the Sec20 retary of not more than $25,000 for each violation.

21 (2) MANNER OF ASSESSMENT AND COLLEC22 TION.—A civil penalty under this subsection shall be

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

24 which a civil penalty under the Endangered Species
7

S 1109 ES

1 Act of 1973 may be assessed and collected under

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

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

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

5 or exported, or attempted to be sold, imported, or ex6 ported, in violation of this section (including any regula7 tion issued under this section) shall be seized and forfeited

8 to the United States.

9 (d) REGULATIONS.—After consultation with the Sec10 retary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Health and

11 Human Services, and the United States Trade Represent12 ative, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as are nec13 essary to carry out this section.

14 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary, the Secretary of

15 the Treasury, and the Secretary of the department in

16 which the Coast Guard is operating shall enforce this sec17 tion in the manner in which the Secretaries carry out en18 forcement activities under section 11(e) of the Endangered

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

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

21 as penalties, fines, or forfeiture of property under this sec22 tion shall be used in accordance with section 6(d) of the

23 Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375(d)).
8

S 1109 ES

1 SEC. 7. DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING TRADE PRACTICES.

2 The Secretary and the Secretary of State shall dis3 cuss issues involving trade in bear viscera with the appro4 priate representatives of countries trading with the United

5 States that are determined by the Secretary and the

6 United States Trade Representative to be the leading im7 porters, exporters, or consumers of bear viscera, and at8 tempt to establish coordinated efforts with the countries

9 to protect bears.

10 SEC. 8. REPORT.

11 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

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

13 State agencies, shall submit to the Committee on Environ14 ment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee

15 on Resources of the House of Representatives a report de16 tailing the progress of efforts to end the illegal trade in

17 bear viscera.

Passed the Senate October 17 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1109

AN ACT

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.