49–010

Calendar No. 471

109TH CONGRESS REPORT

2nd Session " ! SENATE 109–263

CAPTIVE PRIMATE SAFETY ACT OF 2005

JUNE 19, 2006.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. INHOFE, from the Committee on Environment and Public

Works, submitted the following

REPORT

[to accompany S. 1509]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was

referred a bill (S. 1509) to amend the Lacey Act Amendments of

1981 to add nonhuman primates to the definition of prohibited

wildlife species, having considered the same, reports favorably

thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

GENERAL STATEMENT AND BACKGROUND

Nonhuman primates kept as pets pose serious risks to public

health and safety. These animals can be dangerous and can spread

life-threatening diseases. Infant primates often seem cute and cooperative, but they inevitably grow larger, stronger and more aggressive. They can inflict serious harm by biting and scratching. Removing their teeth, as some pet owners do, is cruel and no safeguard against injury. The Captive Wild Animal Protection Coalition reported that, from January 1, 1995 to January 1, 2005, there

were 132 dangerous incidents reported involving primates. The

break down of these incidents by type of owner is as follows:
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Pet Research

Facility

Quarantine

Facility Circus Sanctuary Zoo Dealer Exhibitor Unknown

80 7 1 1 1 18 1 13 10

Many more incidents may have occurred, but went unreported.

Most incidents occur when primates have contact with people other

than their owners or trained caretakers. The probability of contact

with strangers and untrained people increases during interstate

transport.

Nonhuman primates can potentially transmit diseases including

Herpes B, monkeypox, Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), tuberculosis, yellow fever, and the Ebola virus. There are more than

240 species of extant primates. Primates fall into four categories:

apes, old world monkeys, new world monkeys, and prosimians. The

species from each group most commonly seen in the United States

as pets are described below along with brief descriptions of some

of the dangers that may accompany them.

APES

chimpanzees and gibbons

• All great apes become intractable during and post-puberty.

They are extremely muscular and can cause great injury even without intention.

• Molloscum contagiosum is an example of a virus transported

only from chimpanzees to humans as a small, domelike waxy

papule on the face and eyelids.

• Because of the close genetic relationship, almost all diseases

can be transmitted between apes and humans.

OLD WORLD MONKEYS

rhesus macaques, vervets, cynomolgus monkeys, and baboons

• Old world monkeys are tremendously aggressive and dangerous in close proximity to humans, especially after puberty.

• Old world monkeys should be considered carriers of Herpes

B, a virus that can be passed to humans through bites and through

the airborne transmission of the disease in the form of vapor, fine

particles, or larger droplets from body fluids and feces.

• The vervet monkey is known to often carry the Marburg

virus, a disease that has been fatal to humans in 7 out of 31 cases.

No symptoms are shown until death and all vervets should be

treated as if infected.

NEW WORLD MONKEYS

wooley monkeys, capuchins, squirrel monkeys, marmosets, spider

monkeys, and owl monkeys

• New world monkeys tend to be less aggressive but are far

more difficult to adapt to a pet environment.

• New world monkeys often carry diseases, such as measles,

easily contracted by young children and the elderly.
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• All four poxviruses are found in new world monkeys, with

monkeypox being the most frequent.

• Viral hepatitis A is common in capuchins, owl monkeys, and

tamarins. Often undetectable in the monkeys, the disease can still

be passed to humans. Primate handlers often contract this virus

from recently shipped animals.

• New world monkeys (mostly frugivores) are especially prime

cadidates for klebsiella and other water-borne, gram-negative bacteria. Infected primates pose a serious danger to human infants

and children with mild respiratory infections.

PROSIMIANS

galagos, tarsiers, lemurs, and lorises

• Prosimians may appear small and cuddly but have fierce and

dangerous bites.

• Prosimians are likely to carry tuberculosis, bacterial pathogens such as salmonella, and both endo-and ecto-parasites.

All nonhuman primates may carry diseases that can be passed

to their human caretakers. Poxviruses can be found in all primates

and transmitted to humans. Like humans, all primates can be infected with bacterial infection. The bacteria of most concern are

Mycobacteriaciae (tuberculosis), Shigella/Salmonella,

Campylobacter, and Klebsiella. Tuberculosis is common among pet

primates and their owners. In addition, many primates carry

parasites that are easily transmitted to humans.

In addition, captive nonhuman primates require a specialized

diet, companionship from other nonhuman primates, and housing

in very large enclosures. If a nonhuman primate becomes too difficult to handle for a pet owner, there are few options for caring

for them.

Because of the serious health risk, importing nonhuman primates to the U.S. for the pet trade has been banned by Federal

regulation since 1975. In addition, many States already prohibit

these animals as pets. Still, there is a vigorous trade of those animals already in the country and held in private ownership. Estimates are that 15,000 are privately owned. However, the pet trade

is largely unregulated, therefore, that number may be much higher. Because many of these animals are moved in interstate commerce, Federal legislation is needed.

OBJECTIVES OF THE LEGISLATION

S. 1509 amends the Lacey Act by adding nonhuman primates to

the list of animals that cannot be transported, sold, received, acquired or purchased in interstate or foreign commerce. It has no

impact on the trade or transportation of nonhuman primates

owned by zoos, research facilities, or other federally licensed and

regulated entities. Federal licenses or registration are required for

all commercial activity, such as breeders, dealers, research institutions, exhibitors, and transporters, therefore, they are exempt.

The bill is similar to the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, which Congress passed in 2003 to prohibit interstate commerce in lions, tigers, and other big cats for the pet trade.
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SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title.

This section provides that this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Captive

Primate Safety Act of 2005’’.

Sec. 2. Addition of nonhuman primates to the definition of prohibited wildlife species.

This section amends the Lacey Act by adding nonhuman primates to the list of animals that cannot be transported, sold, received, acquired or purchased in interstate or foreign commerce.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

On July 27, 2005, Senator Jeffords introduced S. 1509, which

was cosponsored by Senators Chafee, Lautenberg, Lieberman and

Ensign. The bill was received, read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The committee

met on May 23, 2006, to consider the bill. S. 1509 was ordered favorably reported without amendment by voice vote.

HEARINGS

No committee hearings were held on S. 1509.

ROLLCALL VOTES

The Committee on Environment and Public Works met to consider S. 1509 on May 23, 2006. The bill was ordered favorably reported by voice vote. No roll call votes were taken.

REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing

Rules of the Senate, the committee finds that S. 1509 does not create any additional regulatory burdens, nor will it cause any adverse impact on the personal privacy of individuals.

MANDATES ASSESSMENT

In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

(Public Law 104–4), the committee finds that S. 1509 would not impose Federal intergovernmental unfunded mandates on State, local,

or tribal governments.

COST OF LEGISLATION

Section 403 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act requires that a statement of the cost of the reported bill,

prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, be included in the report. That statement follows:
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S. 1509, Captive Primate Safety Act of 2005, As ordered reported by

the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on

May 23, 2006

Summary

S. 1509 would amend the Lacey Act to prohibit interstate and

foreign trade of nonhuman primates. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $17 million over the 2007–2011 period,

assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. The bill could

increase direct spending and revenue collections, but we estimate

that any such changes would be insignificant.

S. 1509 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in

the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no

costs on State, local, or tribal governments.

S. 1509 would impose a private-sector mandate as defined in

UMRA on certain entities that handle nonhuman primates. Based

on information from government and industry sources, CBO estimates that the direct costs of the mandate would fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA ($128 million in 2006, adjusted for inflation).

Estimated Cost to the Federal Government

The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1509 is shown in the following table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).

By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Estimated Authorization Level ................................................................................ 2 3 4 4 4

Estimated Outlays ................................................................................................... 2 3 4 4 4

Basis of Estimate

S. 1509 would make it illegal to import, export, transport, sell,

receive, acquire, or purchase nonhuman primates (e.g., monkeys

and apes). Violators of the proposed prohibition on interstate and

foreign trade of such animals would be subject to criminal and civil

penalties.

Based on information provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (USFWS), CBO estimates that implementing S. 1509 would

cost about $4 million annually, primarily for additional staff to conduct inspections and investigations to enforce the legislation. CBO

expects that the agency would take about 3 years to reach that

level of effort. Thus, we estimate that the added duties for USFWS

would cost about $17 million over the 2007–2011 period, assuming

appropriation of the necessary amounts.

Enacting S. 1509 could increase revenues from civil and criminal

fines. Based on information obtained from the USFWS about the

relatively small number of violations likely to occur, CBO estimates

that any such increase would be less than $500,000 annually.

Moreover, such changes would be fully offset by increases in direct

spending from the Crime Victims Fund (where criminal fines are
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deposited) or the resource management account of the USFWS

(where civil fines are deposited and used for rewards to informers

and for other program costs).

Estimated Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments

S. 1509 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in

UMRA and would impose no costs on State, local, or tribal governments.

Estimated Impact on the Private Sector

S. 1509 would impose a private-sector mandate by prohibiting

persons, with some exceptions, from importing, exporting, transporting, selling, receiving, acquiring, or purchasing in interstate or

foreign commerce nonhuman primates (including lemurs, monkeys,

and apes). The bill would exempt several groups from the prohibition, including: entities that are licensed or registered and inspected by a Federal agency; a State college, university, or agency,

or certain persons licensed by the State; other groups such as accredited wildlife sanctuaries that qualify under the bill’s criteria;

and individuals that have custody of nonhuman primates solely for

the purpose of transporting them to an exempted individual.

The Endangered Species Act already prohibits the interstate sale

and international trade of certain nonhuman primates that qualify

under the act. In addition, the international trade of nonhuman

primates is regulated under the Convention on International Trade

in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The Convention,

to which the United States is a party, requires all import, export,

re-export, and introduction of species covered by the Convention to

be authorized through a licensing system. This bill would expand

the list of nonhuman primates for which commercial activities are

regulated.

The cost of the mandate would be either the cost of getting licensed, registered, or accredited for those who are not required to

do so under current law or the forgone net income from lost sales.

According to government sources and information from wildlife

sanctuaries, the bill would not cause significant new activity in the

demand for licenses or accreditations. Those sources estimate that

fewer than 20 wildlife sanctuaries would have to be accredited in

order for them to continue to harbor nonhuman primates. CBO expects that the incremental costs to the entities that would have get

accredited, licensed, or registered in order to deal with nonhuman

primates would not be substantial. Also, under the bill, breeders

currently licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture

would not be able to obtain a license to breed and sell nonhuman

primates. According to several industry observers, the forgone net

income from lost sales would not be substantial. Consequently,

CBO estimates that the cost to the private sector of complying with

the mandate would fall below the annual threshold established in

UMRA ($128 million in 2006, adjusted for inflation).

Estimate Prepared By: Federal Costs: Matthew Pickford; Impact

on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie Miller; Impact

on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.

Estimate Approved By: Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant Director for

Budget Analysis.
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CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules

of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill as reported

are shown as follows: Existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in [black brackets], new matter is printed in italic, existing

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman:

[16 U.S.C. 3371(G)]

TITLE 16. CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 53. CONTROL OF ILLEGALLY TAKEN FISH AND

WILDLIFE

SECTION 3371. DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this chapter:

(a) * * *

* * * * * * *

(g)PROHIBITED WILDLIFE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘prohibited wildlife species’’ means any live species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah,

jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such a species or any nonhuman

primate.

* * * * * * *

Æ