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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10049 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10049

   To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act and Asian Elephant 
 Conservation Act to ban keeping elephants in captivity at zoological 
                                 parks.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 25, 2024

 Ms. Malliotakis introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act and Asian Elephant 
 Conservation Act to ban keeping elephants in captivity at zoological 
                                 parks.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Captivity of Helpless Elephants 
Reduction Act of 2024'' or the ``CHER Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Elephants live in a matriarchal hierarchy where a lead 
        female leads a large herd in the wild and migrates, traveling 
        hundreds of miles every year. African and Asian elephants have 
        been demonstrated to possess, amongst other things, intentional 
        communication, and learning, memory, and categorization 
        abilities. An Emory University experiment showed that a female 
        elephant seemed to recognize herself in a mirror, a result 
        attributed to self-awareness only seen otherwise in humans, 
        dolphins, and chimpanzees.
            (2) Captivity does not provide for the needs of normal 
        elephant behavior and reproduction. As a result, captive 
        elephants suffer both physical and emotional trauma including 
        hernias, arthritis, mental degradation, and high calf 
        mortality. The average lifespan of a captive elephant is 17 
        years; in the wild, elephants can live for 50 years or more.
            (3) It is estimated that the cost of caring for an elephant 
        in captivity can be up to $100,000 per year. In 2004, the 
        Detroit Zoo became the first major American zoo to shut down 
        its elephant exhibit on ethical grounds. In 2006, the Bronx Zoo 
        announced that it would close its exhibit once its three 
        elephants died. Since the early 1990s, more than 22 zoos had 
        shut down their elephant exhibits or announced that they were 
        phasing them out, including those in Seattle, San Francisco, 
        and Chicago.
            (4) The United Kingdom phased out all circuses featuring 
        wild animal performances by 2020 and announced its intention to 
        ban the captivity of elephants in zoos and safari parks. Dozens 
        of other countries around the world have similar prohibitions, 
        including Austria, Greece, Israel, Mexico, Peru, and Singapore. 
        India bans the keeping of elephants in circuses and zoos.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To ban the display, husbandry, and breeding of African 
        elephants in zoological parks in the United States and transfer 
        existing African elephants in such parks to authorized 
        sanctuaries.
            (2) To ban the display, husbandry, and breeding of Asian 
        elephants in zoological parks in the United States and transfer 
        existing Asian elephants in such parks to authorized 
        sanctuaries.

SEC. 4. INCREASING VIABILITY OF SPECIES CONSERVATION THROUGH 
              RELOCATION.

    (a) Section 4223 of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 
U.S.C. 4201-4246) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) to house and/or manage African elephants in 
        zoological and safari parks. All African elephants residing in 
        zoological and safari parks before the enactment of this 
        amendment shall be transferred to authorized wildlife 
        sanctuaries.''.
    (b) Section 4262 of the Asian Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
4261-4266) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) To assist in the conservation of Asian elephants by 
        prohibiting zoological and safari parks from housing and 
        managing Asian elephants and transferring any rhinoceros 
        species residing in zoological and safari parks before the 
        enactment of this amendment to authorized wildlife 
        sanctuaries.''.
                                 <all>
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