I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3546 

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 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 

Mr. JONES (for himself, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. JOLLY, 

Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. UPTON, Mr. LOBIONDO, and Ms. LORETTA

SANCHEZ of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Natural Resources 

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. 

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. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The global illicit trade in wildlife may be 

2 worth up to $20,000,000,000 annually and the value 

3 of legal wildlife trade in the United States was re4 cently estimated at $2,800,000,000 annually. 

5 (2) The illegal trade in prohibited wildlife spe6 cies (as defined in section 2(g) of the Lacey Act 

7 Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371(g)) stimu8 lates demand and expands markets in which those 

9 species can be illegally sold. 

10 (3) The private possession, breeding, and sale 

11 of prohibited wildlife species has a substantial and 

12 detrimental effect on the health and general welfare 

13 of the people of the United States and on the con14 servation of the species themselves. 

15 (4) Private possession and breeding of prohib16 ited wildlife species have a substantial and direct ef17 fect on interstate commerce because prohibited wild18 life species are frequently bred and possessed to be 

19 used in public exhibition or for sale or transfer of 

20 ownership in the exotic pet trade, and are often 

21 transported in interstate commerce for these pur22 poses. 

23 (5) Private possession and breeding of prohib24 ited wildlife species contributes to the interstate 


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1 traffic in those species and may contribute to illegal 

2 international wildlife trade. 

3 (6) Prohibited wildlife species in private posses4 sion, or distributed intrastate, are fungible commod5 ities that cannot be differentiated, in terms of con6 trol, from prohibited wildlife species possessed or 

7 distributed interstate. 

8 (7) It is exceedingly difficult to distinguish be9 tween prohibited wildlife species that are possessed, 

10 bred, sold, or transported in interstate commerce 

11 from those that have not been. 

12 (8) Federal control of the intrastate private 

13 possession and breeding of prohibited wildlife species 

14 is essential to the effective control of the interstate 

15 incidents of traffic in prohibited wildlife species. 

16 (9) The United States is a party to the Conven17 tion on International Trade in Endangered Species 

18 of Wild Fauna and Flora, which was designed to 

19 protect species of wild fauna and flora against over20 exploitation through international trade. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of the Lacey Act 

23 Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371) is amended— 

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

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


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1 (2) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so re2 designated) the following: 

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

4 propagation or reproduction (whether intentionally or neg5 ligently), or to fail to prevent propagation or reproduc6 tion’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) CONSOLIDATED FARM AND RURAL DEVEL9 OPMENT ACT.—Section 349(a)(3) of the Consoli10 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

11 1997(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 2(a)’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘section 2(b)’’. 

13 (2) LACEY ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1981.— 

14 (A) Section 3(e)(2)(C) of the Lacey Act 

15 Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 

16 3372(e)(2)(C)) is amended— 

17 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘section 

18 2(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2(h)’’; and 

19 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘section 

20 2(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2(h)’’. 

21 (B) Section 7(c) of the Lacey Act Amend22 ments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3376(c)) is amended 

23 by striking ‘‘section 2(f)(2)(A)’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘section 2(g)(2)(A)’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. PROHIBITIONS. 

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

3 U.S.C. 3372) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

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

7 the semicolon at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

8 or’’; 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by strik10 ing ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a semicolon; and 

11 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

12 and 

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

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

15 subsection (e)’’; and 

16 (2) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(e) CAPTIVE WILDLIFE OFFENSE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for any per20 son to import, export, transport, sell, receive, ac21 quire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce, 

22 or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or 

23 foreign commerce, or to breed or possess, any live 

24 animal of any prohibited wildlife species. 

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

26 (1) does not apply to any person that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is an institution accredited by the As2 sociation of Zoos and Aquariums; 

3 ‘‘(B) is a facility that— 

4 ‘‘(i) has an active written contract 

5 with an Association of Zoos and Aquar6 iums Species Survival Plan or Taxon Advi7 sory Group for breeding of prohibited wild8 life species; and 

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

10 prohibited wildlife species other than the 

11 species covered by such contract; 

12 ‘‘(C) is a State college, university, or agen13 cy, or State-licensed veterinarian; 

14 ‘‘(D) is a wildlife sanctuary that cares for 

15 prohibited 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 prohibited wildlife species, including off23 spring, parts, and byproducts of such ani24 mals; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) does not breed the prohibited 

2 wildlife species; 

3 ‘‘(iv) does not allow direct contact be4 tween the public and prohibited wildlife 

5 species; and 

6 ‘‘(v) does not allow the transportation 

7 and display of prohibited wildlife species 

8 off-site; 

9 ‘‘(E) has custody of the 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; 

14 ‘‘(F) is in possession of a prohibited wild15 life species that was born before the date of the 

16 enactment of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, 

17 and— 

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

19 date of the enactment of the Big Cat Pub20 lic Safety Act, is registered with the Ani21 mal and Plant Health Inspection Service; 

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

23 any prohibited wildlife species after the 

24 date of the enactment of such Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) does not allow direct contact be2 tween the public and prohibited wildlife 

3 species; or 

4 ‘‘(G) holds a valid Class C license under 

5 the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et 

6 seq.), and— 

7 ‘‘(i) regularly travels across State 

8 lines to conduct circus performances fea9 turing live prohibited wildlife species, 

10 clowns, and aerial acts; 

11 ‘‘(ii) engages in such travel and con12 duct before January 1, 2015; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) does not allow direct contact be14 tween the public and prohibited wildlife 

15 species.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. PENALTIES. 

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

18 Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(a)(1)) is 

19 amended— 

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

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

22 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 4(d)(1) of the 

23 Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(d)(1)) 

24 is amended— 

25 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 


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

2 (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the comma at 

3 the end; 

4 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ after ‘‘(d),’’; and 

6 (B) by adding ‘‘or’’ after the comma at the 

7 end; and 

8 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(C) knowingly violates section 3(e),’’; and 

11 (4) in the matter following subparagraph (B)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘knowing that’’ and all 

13 that follows through ‘‘treaty or regulation,’’; 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘said’’; and 

15 (C) by inserting before the period ‘‘or pro16 hibited wildlife species concerned’’. 

17 SEC. 6. FORFEITURE OF PROHIBITED WILDLIFE SPECIES. 

18 Section 5(a)(1) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 

19 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3374(a)(1)) is amended by inserting 

20 ‘‘bred, possessed,’’ before ‘‘imported, exported,’’. 

21 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION. 

22 Section 7(a) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 

23 (16 U.S.C. 3376(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

24 following: 


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

2 other relevant Federal and State agencies, promul3 gate any regulations necessary to implement section 

4 3(e).’’. 

Æ 


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