I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1584 

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to prohibit the taking, 

importation, and exportation of Orcas and Orca products for public 

display, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2017 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. BEYER, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. HECK, Mr. 

HUFFMAN, Mr. KILMER, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. LEE, Ms. 

MOORE, Mr. POLIS, Mr. SMITH of Washington, and Ms. SPEIER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to 

prohibit the taking, importation, and exportation of 

Orcas and Orca products for public display, 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 ‘‘Orca Responsibility 

5 and Care Advancement Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON TAKING, IMPORTATION, AND EX2 PORTATION OF ORCAS AND ORCA PRODUCTS 

3 FOR PUBLIC DISPLAY. 

4 (a) PROHIBITION ON PERMITS FOR TAKING OR IM5 PORTATION.—Section 104(a) of the Marine Mammal Pro6 tection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374(a)) is amended to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Sec9 retary may issue permits which authorize the taking or 

10 importation of any marine mammal. 

11 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 

12 permit may be issued by the Secretary that authorizes the 

13 taking or importation of any marine mammal of the spe14 cies Orcinus orca, or any marine mammal product that 

15 consists, or is composed in whole or in part, of such spe16 cies, for the purpose of public display. 

17 ‘‘(3) Permits for the incidental taking of marine 

18 mammals in the course of commercial fishing operations 

19 may only be issued as specifically provided for in section 

20 101(a)(5) or 306, or subsection (h) of this section.’’. 

21 (b) PROHIBITION ON EXPORTATION FOR PUBLIC

22 DISPLAY.—Section 102 of the Marine Mammal Protection 

23 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1372(a)) is amended by adding 

24 at the end the following new subsections: 

25 ‘‘(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it 

26 is unlawful to export any marine mammal product that 


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1 consists, or is composed in whole or in part, of the species 

2 Orcinus orca. 

3 ‘‘(h)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

4 it is unlawful to export any marine mammal of the species 

5 Orcinus orca— 

6 ‘‘(A) for a purpose other than to transport such 

7 marine mammal to a marine mammal sanctuary; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) without a determination by the Secretary 

10 that the transportation to such sanctuary is in the 

11 best interest of the individual marine mammal. 

12 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘sanctuary’ means 

13 a place of refuge where marine mammals— 

14 ‘‘(A) live in a setting as close as possible to 

15 their natural environment; 

16 ‘‘(B) are prioritized individually with respect to 

17 well-being and autonomy; and 

18 ‘‘(C) are not used for profit or bred.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON BREEDING OF ORCAS. 

20 The Animal Welfare Act is amended by inserting 

21 after section 26 (7 U.S.C. 2156) the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 26A. BREEDING OF ORCAS. 

23 ‘‘It shall be unlawful for any person to artificially in24 seminate or breed a marine mammal of the species 


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1 Orcinus orca for purposes of using the progeny of such 

2 species for public display.’’. 

Æ 


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