IB 

Union Calendar No. 334 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 263 

[Report No. 117–428] 

To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to clarify provisions enacted 

by the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, to further the conservation of certain 

wildlife species, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 11, 2021 

Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 

BUCHANAN, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. MCNERNEY, and 

Mr. WOMACK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

JULY 22, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Mr. CASTEN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. PINGREE, 

Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. WELCH, 

Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. BUCK, Mrs. 

NAPOLITANO, Ms. MENG, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. 

HIGGINS of New York, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Ms. 

HOULAHAN, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mrs. 

LURIA, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. VEASEY, Mrs. 

CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. 

MCCOLLUM, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. KILMER, Mr. 

CARBAJAL, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. JONES, Mr. SMUCKER, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. 

RUIZ, Mr. GARCIA of California, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. BRENDAN F. 

BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. CROW, Mr. SCHRADER, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Ms. CHU, Mr. EVANS, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. WILD, Mr. UPTON, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. 

SIRES, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. TONKO, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Miss 

RICE of New York, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Ms. 

KUSTER, Mr. SABLAN, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. STANTON, Mr. 

MEEKS, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, 

Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. DELGADO, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. HIMES, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. LIEU, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mrs. FLETCHVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H263.RH H263

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ER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. ZELDIN, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. COOPER, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. TURNER, Mr. 

HARDER of California, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mrs. 

BUSTOS, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Ms. 

GARCIA of Texas, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. DEAN, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. CORREA, Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. 

SCHNEIDER, Mr. ALLRED, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. 

RYAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, 

Ms. STEVENS, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. JOYCE

of Ohio, Mr. GARBARINO, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. TITUS, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, 

Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. COHEN, 

Mrs. HARSHBARGER, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Ms. MACE, Mr. 

CARTER of Georgia, Mr. KINZINGER, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. BURCHETT, Ms. 

JACOBS of California, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. 

GOODEN of Texas, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. 

MOULTON, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. NADLER, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. 

LAHOOD, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. 

LARSEN of Washington, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. 

CRIST, Ms. BOURDEAUX, Mr. CASE, Mrs. MCCLAIN, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. 

SWALWELL, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. KIND, Mr. LAMB, Mr. 

CHABOT, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. SOTO, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. TRONE, Ms. 

STEFANIK, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. BEYER, 

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. MURPHY

of Florida, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. KAHELE, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. RUSH, Ms. 

DAVIDS of Kansas, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. CARSON, Ms. 

SLOTKIN, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. STEEL, Mr. HILL, Mr. 

NORMAN, Ms. BASS, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. BOST, Mr. REED, 

Mr. NEHLS, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 

SARBANES, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. BERA, Mr. NEAL, Ms. PORTER, Ms. 

WEXTON, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mrs. KIM of 

California, Mr. GIMENEZ, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, 

Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. ROSS, 

Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. OMAR, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. 

MORELLE, Mr. BACON, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. MANNING, Ms. JOHNSON of 

Texas, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia, Mr. KEATING, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. 

MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. MRVAN, Ms. VAN DUYNE, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. COSTA, Mr. C. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida, Ms. JACKSON

LEE, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, and Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK


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JULY 22, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 11, 2021] 


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•HR 263 RH

A BILL 

To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to clarify 

provisions enacted by the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, 

to further the conservation of certain wildlife species, 

and for other purposes. 


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•HR 263 RH

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 ‘‘Big Cat Public Safety 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of the Lacey Act Amend8 ments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (k) 

10 as subsections (b) through (l), respectively; and 

11 (2) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so re12 designated) the following: 

13 ‘‘(a) BREED.—The term ‘breed’ means to facilitate 

14 propagation or reproduction (whether intentionally or neg15 ligently), or to fail to prevent propagation or reproduc16 tion.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) CONSOLIDATED FARM AND RURAL DEVELOP19 MENT ACT.—Section 349(a)(3) of the Consolidated 

20 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

21 1997(a)(3)) is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘section 2(a)’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘section 2’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘3371(a)’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘3371’’. 


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1 (2) LACEY ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1981.—Section 

2 7(c) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 

3 3376(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 2(f)(2)(A)’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘section 2(g)(2)(A)’’. 

5 SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS. 

6 Section 3 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 

7 U.S.C. 3372) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

11 the semicolon at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

12 or’’; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by strik14 ing ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a semicolon; and 

15 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

16 and 

17 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘(1) 

18 through (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) through (3) or 

19 subsection (e)’’; and 

20 (2) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(e) CAPTIVE WILDLIFE OFFENSE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), it is unlawful for any person to— 


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•HR 263 RH

1 ‘‘(A) import, export, transport, sell, receive, 

2 acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign com3 merce, or in a manner substantially affecting 

4 interstate or foreign commerce; or 

5 ‘‘(B) breed or possess; 

6 any prohibited wildlife species. 

7 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—Paragraph 

8 (1) does not apply to— 

9 ‘‘(A) an entity exhibiting animals to the 

10 public under a Class C license from the Depart11 ment of Agriculture, or a Federal facility reg12 istered with the Department of Agriculture that 

13 exhibits animals, if such entity or facility holds 

14 such license or registration in good standing and 

15 if the entity or facility— 

16 ‘‘(i) does not allow any individual to 

17 come into direct physical contact with a 

18 prohibited wildlife species, unless that indi19 vidual is— 

20 ‘‘(I) a trained professional em21 ployee or contractor of the entity or fa22 cility (or an accompanying employee 

23 receiving professional training); 


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1 ‘‘(II) a licensed veterinarian (or a 

2 veterinary student accompanying such 

3 a veterinarian); or 

4 ‘‘(III) directly supporting con5 servation programs of the entity or fa6 cility, the contact is not in the course 

7 of commercial activity (which may be 

8 evidenced by advertisement or pro9 motion of such activity or other rel10 evant evidence), and the contact is in11 cidental to humane husbandry con12 ducted pursuant to a species-specific, 

13 publicly available, peer-edited popu14 lation management and care plan that 

15 has been provided to the Secretary 

16 with justifications that the plan— 

17 ‘‘(aa) reflects established con18 servation science principles; 

19 ‘‘(bb) incorporates genetic 

20 and demographic analysis of a 

21 multi-institution population of 

22 animals covered by the plan; and 

23 ‘‘(cc) promotes animal wel24 fare by ensuring that the freVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H263.RH H263

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1 quency of breeding is appropriate 

2 for the species; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) ensures that during public exhi4 bition of a lion (Panthera leo), tiger 

5 (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera 

6 pardus), snow leopard (Uncia uncia), jag7 uar (Panthera onca), cougar (Puma 

8 concolor), or any hybrid thereof, the animal 

9 is at least 15 feet from members of the pub10 lic unless there is a permanent barrier suffi11 cient to prevent public contact; 

12 ‘‘(B) a State college, university, or agency, 

13 or a State-licensed veterinarian; 

14 ‘‘(C) a wildlife sanctuary that cares for pro15 hibited wildlife species, and— 

16 ‘‘(i) is a corporation that is exempt 

17 from taxation under section 501(a) of the 

18 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and de19 scribed in sections 501(c)(3) and 

20 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of such Code; 

21 ‘‘(ii) does not commercially trade in 

22 any prohibited wildlife species, including 

23 offspring, parts, and byproducts of such 

24 animals; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) does not breed any prohibited 

2 wildlife species; 

3 ‘‘(iv) does not allow direct contact be4 tween the public and any prohibited wild5 life species; and 

6 ‘‘(v) does not allow the transportation 

7 and display of any prohibited wildlife spe8 cies off-site; 

9 ‘‘(D) has custody of any prohibited wildlife 

10 species solely for the purpose of expeditiously 

11 transporting the prohibited wildlife species to a 

12 person described in this paragraph with respect 

13 to the species; or 

14 ‘‘(E) an entity or individual that is in pos15 session of any prohibited wildlife species that 

16 was born before the date of the enactment of the 

17 Big Cat Public Safety Act, and— 

18 ‘‘(i) not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of the such Act, the 

20 entity or individual registers each indi21 vidual animal of each prohibited wildlife 

22 species possessed by the entity or individual 

23 with the United States Fish and Wildlife 

24 Service; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) does not breed, acquire, or sell 

2 any prohibited wildlife species after the date 

3 of the enactment of such Act; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) does not allow direct contact be5 tween the public and prohibited wildlife 

6 species.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. PENALTIES. 

8 (a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 4(a)(1) of the Lacey 

9 Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(a)(1)) is amend10 ed— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ after ‘‘(d),’’; and 

12 (2) by inserting ‘‘, (e),’’ after ‘‘subsection (d)’’. 

13 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 4(d) of the Lacey 

14 Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(d)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ after 

16 ‘‘(d),’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ 

18 after ‘‘(d),’’; 

19 (3) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ after 

20 ‘‘(d),’’; and 

21 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(4) Any person who knowingly violates section 

23 3(e) shall be fined not more than $20,000, or impris24 oned for not more than 5 years, or both. Each viola25 tion shall be a separate offense and the offense is 


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1 deemed to have been committed in the district where 

2 the violation first occurred, and in any district in 

3 which the defendant may have taken or been in pos4 session of the prohibited wildlife species.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. FORFEITURE OF PROHIBITED WILDLIFE SPECIES. 

6 Section 5(a)(1) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 

7 (16 U.S.C. 3374(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘bred, pos8 sessed,’’ before ‘‘imported, exported,’’. 

9 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION. 

10 Section 7(a) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 

11 U.S.C. 3376(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall, in consultation with 

14 other relevant Federal and State agencies, promulgate 

15 any regulations necessary to implement section 3(e).’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 334 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 263 

[Report No. 117–428] 

A BILL 

To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to 

wildlife species, and for other purposes. Safety Act, to further the conservation of certain clarify provisions enacted by the Captive Wildlife 

JULY 22, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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