I 

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. 

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 ‘‘Captivity of Helpless 

5 Elephants Reduction Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘CHER Act of 

6 2024’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Elephants live in a matriarchal hierarchy 

10 where a lead female leads a large herd in the wild 


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1 and migrates, traveling hundreds of miles every 

2 year. African and Asian elephants have been dem3 onstrated to possess, amongst other things, inten4 tional communication, and learning, memory, and 

5 categorization abilities. An Emory University experi6 ment showed that a female elephant seemed to rec7 ognize herself in a mirror, a result attributed to self8 awareness only seen otherwise in humans, dolphins, 

9 and chimpanzees. 

10 (2) Captivity does not provide for the needs of 

11 normal elephant behavior and reproduction. As a re12 sult, captive elephants suffer both physical and emo13 tional trauma including hernias, arthritis, mental 

14 degradation, and high calf mortality. The average 

15 lifespan of a captive elephant is 17 years; in the 

16 wild, elephants can live for 50 years or more. 

17 (3) It is estimated that the cost of caring for 

18 an elephant in captivity can be up to $100,000 per 

19 year. In 2004, the Detroit Zoo became the first 

20 major American zoo to shut down its elephant ex21 hibit on ethical grounds. In 2006, the Bronx Zoo an22 nounced that it would close its exhibit once its three 

23 elephants died. Since the early 1990s, more than 22 

24 zoos had shut down their elephant exhibits or anVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Oct 28, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10049.IH H10049

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1 nounced that they were phasing them out, including 

2 those in Seattle, San Francisco, and Chicago. 

3 (4) The United Kingdom phased out all cir4 cuses featuring wild animal performances by 2020 

5 and announced its intention to ban the captivity of 

6 elephants in zoos and safari parks. Dozens of other 

7 countries around the world have similar prohibitions, 

8 including Austria, Greece, Israel, Mexico, Peru, and 

9 Singapore. India bans the keeping of elephants in 

10 circuses and zoos. 

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

12 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

13 (1) To ban the display, husbandry, and breed14 ing of African elephants in zoological parks in the 

15 United States and transfer existing African ele16 phants in such parks to authorized sanctuaries. 

17 (2) To ban the display, husbandry, and breed18 ing of Asian elephants in zoological parks in the 

19 United States and transfer existing Asian elephants 

20 in such parks to authorized sanctuaries. 

21 SEC. 4. INCREASING VIABILITY OF SPECIES CONSERVA22 TION THROUGH RELOCATION. 

23 (a) Section 4223 of the African Elephant Conserva24 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 4201–4246) is amended by adding 

25 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(6) to house and/or manage African elephants 

2 in zoological and safari parks. All African elephants 

3 residing in zoological and safari parks before the en4 actment of this amendment shall be transferred to 

5 authorized wildlife sanctuaries.’’. 

6 (b) Section 4262 of the Asian Elephant Conservation 

7 Act (16 U.S.C. 4261–4266) is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) To assist in the conservation of Asian ele10 phants by prohibiting zoological and safari parks 

11 from housing and managing Asian elephants and 

12 transferring any rhinoceros species residing in zoo13 logical and safari parks before the enactment of this 

14 amendment to authorized wildlife sanctuaries.’’. 

Æ 


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