II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 304 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain interstate conduct 

relating to exotic animals. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2005 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. 

KOHL, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. 

MIKULSKI, and Mr. AKAKA) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain 

interstate conduct relating to exotic animals.

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 ‘‘Sportsmanship in 

5 Hunting Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) The ethic of hunting involves the consider2 ation of fair chase, which allows the animal the op3 portunity to avoid the hunter. 

4 (2) At more than 1,000 commercial canned 

5 hunt operations across the country, trophy hunters 

6 pay a fee to shoot captive exotic animals, from Afri7 can lions to giraffes and blackbuck antelope, in 

8 fenced-in enclosures. 

9 (3) Clustered in a captive setting at unusually 

10 high densities, confined exotic animals attract dis11 ease more readily than more widely dispersed native 

12 species who roam freely. 

13 (4) The transportation of captive exotic animals 

14 to commercial canned hunt operations can facilitate 

15 the spread of disease across great distances. 

16 (5) The regulation of the transport and treat17 ment of exotic animals on shooting preserves falls 

18 outside the traditional domains of State agriculture 

19 departments and State fish and game agencies. 

20 (6) This Act is limited in its purpose and will 

21 not limit the licensed hunting of any native mam22 mals or any native or exotic birds. 

23 (7) This Act does not aim to criticize those 

24 hunters who pursue animals that are not enclosed 

25 within a fence. 
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1 (8) This Act does not attempt to prohibit 

2 slaughterhouse activities, nor does it aim to prohibit 

3 the routine euthanasia of domesticated farm ani4 mals. 

5 SEC. 3. TRANSPORT OR POSSESSION OF EXOTIC ANIMALS 

6 FOR PURPOSES OF KILLING OR INJURING 

7 THEM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 18, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘§ 49. Exotic animals 

12 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, in or substan14 tially affecting interstate or foreign commerce, know15 ingly transfers, transports, or possesses a confined 

16 exotic animal, for the purposes of allowing the kill17 ing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or 

18 for the collection of a trophy, shall be fined under 

19 this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—This section shall not apply 

21 to the killing or injuring of an exotic animal in a 

22 State or Federal natural area reserve undertaking 

23 habitat restoration. 

24 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘confined exotic animal’ means a 

2 mammal of a species not historically indigenous to 

3 the United States, that has been held in captivity, 

4 whether or not the defendant knows the length of 

5 the captivity, for the shorter of— 

6 ‘‘(A) the majority of the animal’s life; or 

7 ‘‘(B) a period of 1 year; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the term ‘captivity’ does not include any 

9 period during which an animal lives as it would in 

10 the wild— 

11 ‘‘(A) surviving primarily by foraging for 

12 naturally occurring food; 

13 ‘‘(B) roaming at will over an open area of 

14 not less than 1,000 acres; and 

15 ‘‘(C) having the opportunity to avoid hunt16 ers. 

17 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person authorized by 

19 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di20 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv21 ice, may— 

22 ‘‘(A) without a warrant, arrest any person 

23 that violates this section (including regulations 

24 promulgated under this section) in the presence 

25 or view of the arresting person; 
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1 ‘‘(B) execute any warrant or other process 

2 issued by an officer or court of competent juris3 diction to enforce this section; and 

4 ‘‘(C) with a search warrant, search for and 

5 seize any animal taken or possessed in violation 

6 of this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) FORFEITURE.—Any animal seized with or 

8 without a search warrant shall be held by the Sec9 retary or by a United States marshal, and upon con10 viction, shall be forfeited to the United States and 

11 disposed of by the Secretary of the Interior in ac12 cordance with law. 

13 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE.—The Director of the United 

14 States Fish and Wildlife Service may use by agree15 ment, with or without reimbursement, the personnel 

16 and services of any other Federal or State agency 

17 for the purpose of enforcing this section.’’. 

18 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

19 chapter 3 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 

20 adding at the end the following:

‘‘Sec. 49. Exotic animals.’’.

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