I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1532

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to strengthen enforcement of provisions 

relating to animal fighting, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2003

Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland (for himself, Mr. ANDREWS, Mrs. MCCARTHY of 

New York, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. TANCREDO, and Mr. BLUMENAUER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to strengthen enforcement 

of provisions relating to animal fighting, 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 ‘‘Animal Fighting Pro5 hibition Enforcement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ENFORCEMENT OF ANIMAL FIGHTING PROHIBI7 TIONS UNDER THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 26 of the Animal Welfare 

9 Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (h) 

2 as subsections (d) through (i), respectively; 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(c) SHARP INSTRUMENTS.—It shall be unlawful for 

6 any person to knowingly sell, buy, transport, or deliver in 

7 interstate or foreign commerce a knife, a gaff, or any 

8 other sharp instrument attached, or designed or intended 

9 to be attached, to the leg of a bird for use in an animal 

10 fighting venture.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by para12 graph (1)), by striking ‘‘(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (f) (as redesignated by para14 graph (1))—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘(a), (b), or (c)’’ and in16 serting ‘‘(a), (b), (c), or (d)’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘1 year’’ and inserting ‘‘2 

18 years’’; 

19 (5) by striking subsection (g) (as redesignated 

20 by paragraph (1)) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(g) INVESTIGATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or any per23 son authorized by the Secretary shall make such in24 vestigations as the Secretary considers necessary to 
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1 determine whether any person has violated or is vio2 lating any provision of this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE.—Through cooperative agree4 ments, the Secretary may obtain the assistance of 

5 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Depart6 ment of the Treasury, and other law enforcement 

7 agencies of the United States and of State, tribal, 

8 and local governmental agencies in the conduct of an 

9 investigation under paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(3) WARRANTS.—

11 ‘‘(A) ISSUANCE.—A judge of the United 

12 States, United States magistrate judge, or 

13 judge of a State or tribal court of competent ju14 risdiction in the district in which is located an 

15 animal, paraphernalia, instrument, or other 

16 property or thing that there is probable cause 

17 to believe was involved, is about to be involved, 

18 or is intended to be involved in a violation of 

19 this section shall issue a warrant to search for 

20 and seize the animal or other property or thing. 

21 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION; EXECUTION.—A 

22 United States marshal or any person authorized 

23 under this section to conduct an investigation 

24 may apply for and execute a warrant issued 

25 under subparagraph (A), and any animal, para-
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1 phernalia, instrument, or other property or 

2 thing seized under such a warrant shall be held 

3 by the authorized person pending disposition of 

4 the animal, paraphernalia, instrument, or other 

5 property or thing by a court in accordance with 

6 this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(4) STORAGE OF ANIMALS.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An animal seized by a 

9 United States marshal or other authorized per10 son under paragraph (3) shall be taken prompt11 ly to an animal housing facility in which the 

12 animal shall be stored humanely. 

13 ‘‘(B) NO FACILITY AVAILABLE.—If there is 

14 not available a suitable animal storage facility 

15 sufficient in size to hold all of the animals in16 volved in a violation, a United States marshal 

17 or other authorized person shall—

18 ‘‘(i) seize a representative sample of 

19 the animals for evidentiary purposes to be 

20 transported to an animal storage facility in 

21 which the animals shall be stored hu22 manely; and

23 ‘‘(ii)(I) keep the remaining animals at 

24 the location where the animals were seized;
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1 ‘‘(II) provide for the humane care of 

2 the animals; and 

3 ‘‘(III) cause the animals to be banded, 

4 tagged, or marked by microchip and photo5 graphed or videotaped for evidentiary pur6 poses. 

7 ‘‘(5) CARE.—While a seized animal is held in 

8 custody, a United States marshal or other author9 ized person shall ensure that the animal is provided 

10 necessary care (including housing, feeding, and vet11 erinary treatment). 

12 ‘‘(6) FORFEITURE.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any animal, para14 phernalia, instrument, vehicle, money, or other 

15 property or thing involved in a violation of this 

16 section shall be liable to be proceeded against 

17 and forfeited to the United States at any time 

18 on complaint filed in any United States district 

19 court or other court of the United States for 

20 any jurisdiction in which the animal, para21 phernalia, instrument, vehicle, money, or other 

22 property or thing is found. 

23 ‘‘(B) DISPOSITION.—On entry of a judg24 ment of forfeiture, a forfeited animal shall be 
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1 disposed of by humane means, as the court may 

2 direct. 

3 ‘‘(C) COSTS.—Costs incurred by the 

4 United States for care of an animal seized and 

5 forfeited under this section shall be recoverable 

6 from the owner of the animal—

7 ‘‘(i) in the forfeiture proceeding, if the 

8 owner appears in the forfeiture proceeding; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(ii) in a separate civil action brought 

11 in the jurisdiction in which the owner is 

12 found, resides, or transacts business. 

13 ‘‘(D) CLAIM TO PROPERTY.—

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The owner, custo15 dian, or other person claiming an interest 

16 in a seized animal may prevent disposition 

17 of the animal by posting, or may be or18 dered by any United States district court 

19 or other court of the United States, or by 

20 any tribal court, for any jurisdiction in 

21 which the animal is found to post, not 

22 later than 10 days after the animal is 

23 seized, a bond with the court in an amount 

24 sufficient to provide for the care of the 

25 animal (including housing, feeding, and 
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1 veterinary treatment) for not less than 30 

2 days. 

3 ‘‘(ii) RENEWAL.—The owner, custo4 dian, or other person claiming an interest 

5 in a seized animal may renew a bond, or 

6 be ordered to renew a bond, by posting a 

7 new bond, in an amount sufficient to pro8 vide for the care of the animal for at least 

9 an additional 30 days, not later than 10 

10 days after the expiration of the period for 

11 which a previous bond was posted. 

12 ‘‘(iii) DISPOSITION.—If a bond expires 

13 and is not renewed, the animal may be dis14 posed of as provided in subparagraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(7) EUTHANIZATION.—Notwithstanding para16 graphs (1) through (6), an animal may be humanely 

17 euthanized if a veterinarian determines that the ani18 mal is suffering extreme pain.’’; and 

19 (6) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by para20 graph (1))—

21 (A) in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para22 graph (2), by inserting before the semicolon the 

23 following: ‘‘(including a movement to, from, or 

24 within land under the jurisdiction of an Indian 

25 tribe)’’; and 
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1 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘tele2 phone, radio, or television’’ and inserting ‘‘tele3 phone, the Internet, radio, television, or any 

4 technology’’. 

5 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

6 23 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2153) is amend7 ed—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘SEC. 23. The Secretary’’ and 

9 inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 23. FEES; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) FEES.—The Secretary’’; and 

12 (2) by striking the third sentence and inserting 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec16 essary to carry out this Act.’’. 

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section take effect on the later of—

19 (1) the date of enactment of this Act; or 

20 (2) May 13, 2003.

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