I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1759 

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to restrict the use of exotic and wild 

animals in traveling performances. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2017 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Ms. LEE, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. 

MEEKS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. CASTOR

of Florida, Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. BLUMENAUER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to restrict the use of 

exotic and wild animals in traveling performances. 

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 ‘‘Traveling Exotic Ani5 mal and Public Safety Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) conditions inherent to traveling perform2 ances, including constant travel, temporary and col3 lapsible facilities, and the prolonged confinement 

4 and physical coercion of animals, subject exotic and 

5 wild animals to compromised welfare and chronic 

6 stress, and present public and worker health and 

7 safety risks not adequately addressed by current reg8 ulation; 

9 (2) current regulatory oversight of traveling 

10 performances is complex and costly, and these costs 

11 are not typically recouped via licensing fees, but are 

12 left to the American taxpayer; 

13 (3) the frequent mobility of traveling perform14 ances complicates oversight such that agencies and 

15 authorities cannot properly monitor, evaluate, or fol16 low through regarding the condition of animals or 

17 facilities, or their history of potential injuries, inci18 dents, illnesses, violations, or other issues, and so 

19 cannot properly protect animals, workers, or the 

20 public; 

21 (4) traveling exotic and wild animal perform22 ances use collapsible, temporary, mobile facilities, 

23 which risk escape and serious harm to animals, 

24 workers, and the public; 


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1 (5) traveling exotic and wild animal perform2 ances present safety risks by permitting or not pre3 venting public contact and by displaying animals in 

4 inappropriate, uncontrolled areas in dangerous prox5 imity to humans and other animals; 

6 (6) exotic and wild animals have intrinsic value; 

7 their wild instincts and needs are unpredictable and 

8 are not naturally suited to traveling performances, 

9 and they suffer as a result of being unable to fulfill 

10 instinctive natural behaviors; 

11 (7) exotic and wild animals used in traveling 

12 performances suffer severe and extended confine13 ment, and, deprived of natural movements and be14 haviors, are prone to chronic stress, behavioral, 

15 health, and psychological problems; 

16 (8) exotic and wild animals are forced to per17 form unnatural tricks requiring extreme physical co18 ercion, including, but not limited to the use of food 

19 and water restrictions, electric shock devices, bull20 hooks, metal bars, whips, shovels, and pitchforks, 

21 among other abuses; 

22 (9) it is not necessary to use exotic or wild ani23 mals in traveling performances to experience the cir24 cus or similar events; 


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1 (10) using exotic or wild animals as commod2 ities traded for traveling performances adds nothing 

3 to the understanding and conservation of such ani4 mals and the natural environment, and actually un5 dermines conservation efforts necessary to protect 

6 threatened and endangered species; 

7 (11) it is not possible to provide or ensure pub8 lic and worker safety or appropriate physical and 

9 mental welfare for exotic and wild animals under the 

10 traveling performance business model, which inher11 ently and significantly restricts animals’ natural 

12 movements and behaviors, and where abuse is preva13 lent and oversight problematic; 

14 (12) the use of exotic or wild animals in trav15 eling performances is or substantially affects inter16 state or foreign commerce, or the free flow thereof; 

17 it is essential to regulate such activities to assure 

18 animals’ humane care and treatment; and 

19 (13) restricting the use of exotic and wild ani20 mals in traveling performances is the most cost-ef21 fective and efficient way to safeguard animals, work22 ers, and the public. 


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1 SEC. 3. USE OF EXOTIC OR WILD ANIMALS IN TRAVELING 

2 PERFORMANCES. 

3 Section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 

4 2143) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(i)(1) No person shall cause a performance of, or 

6 allow for the participation of, an exotic animal or wild ani7 mal in a traveling animal act. 

8 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the use of an 

9 exotic animal or wild animal— 

10 ‘‘(A) in an exhibition at a nonmobile, perma11 nent institution, facility, zoo, or aquarium accredited 

12 by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums or the Glob13 al Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, or a wildlife 

14 sanctuary; 

15 ‘‘(B) as part of an environmental education 

16 program by a facility accredited by the Association 

17 of Zoos & Aquariums, if the animal used for such 

18 purposes is not so used for more than 6 months in 

19 any year and is not kept in a mobile or traveling 

20 housing facility for more than 12 hours in any day; 

21 ‘‘(C) by a university, college, laboratory, or 

22 other research facility registered with the Secretary 

23 pursuant to section 6 for the purpose of conducting 

24 research; 


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1 ‘‘(D) in film, television, or advertising, if such 

2 use does not involve a live animal exhibition con3 ducted before a public studio audience; or 

4 ‘‘(E) in a rodeo. 

5 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to domestic ani6 mals or farm animals. 

7 ‘‘(4) For the purposes of this subsection: 

8 ‘‘(A) CAUSE A PERFORMANCE.—The term 

9 ‘cause a performance’ means to be responsible for a 

10 performance, to financially benefit as an owner or 

11 operator from a performance, or to sponsor a per12 formance. 

13 ‘‘(B) DOMESTIC ANIMAL.—The term ‘domestic 

14 animal’ means any animal that is normally main15 tained as a companion or pet animal in or near the 

16 household of the owner or person who cares for the 

17 animal, such as a domestic dog (including a service 

18 dog), domestic cat, ferret, gerbil, horse, mouse, rat, 

19 guinea pig, rabbit, or hamster, but does not include 

20 any exotic animal or wild animal. 

21 ‘‘(C) ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PRO22 GRAM.—The term ‘environmental education pro23 gram’ means an animal exhibition that is profes24 sionally designed to impart knowledge or information 

25 for educational or conservation purposes about that 


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1 animal’s natural behavior, habitat, life cycle, or simi2 lar pedagogical information, conducted by an indi3 vidual qualified to impart such information, which 

4 does not include any performance of behavior that 

5 does not naturally occur for that animal in the wild 

6 state. 

7 ‘‘(D) EXOTIC ANIMAL.—The term ‘exotic ani8 mal’ means any animal that is not a domestic ani9 mal or farm animal, that is native to a foreign coun10 try or of foreign origin or character, is not native to 

11 the United States, or was introduced from abroad, 

12 whether wild-born or captive-bred, and any hybrid of 

13 such an animal, including hybrid crosses with a do14 mestic animal or farm animal, including but not lim15 ited to animals such as— 

16 ‘‘(i) cetartiodactyla (excepting alpacas, 

17 bison, cattle, deer, elk, goats, llamas, reindeer, 

18 swine, and sheep); 

19 ‘‘(ii) felidae (excepting domestic cats); 

20 ‘‘(iii) marsupialia; 

21 ‘‘(iv) nonhuman primates; 

22 ‘‘(v) perissodactyla (excepting horses, don23 keys, and mules); 

24 ‘‘(vi) pinnipedia; 

25 ‘‘(vii) proboscidea; 


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1 ‘‘(viii) ratites (excepting ostriches, emus, 

2 and rheas); and 

3 ‘‘(ix) ursidae. 

4 ‘‘(E) FARM ANIMAL.—The term ‘farm animal’ 

5 means any domestic species of alpacas, cattle, sheep, 

6 swine, goats, llamas, poultry, or horses, which are 

7 normally and have historically, been kept and raised 

8 on farms in the United States, and used or intended 

9 for use as food or fiber, or for improving animal nu10 trition, breeding, management, or production effi11 ciency, or for improving the quality of food or fiber. 

12 This term also includes animals such as rabbits, 

13 mink, and chinchilla, when they are used solely for 

14 purposes of meat or fur, and animals such as horses 

15 and llamas when used solely as work and pack ani16 mals. The term does not include exotic animals or 

17 wild animals. 

18 ‘‘(F) MOBILE OR TRAVELING HOUSING FACIL19 ITY.—The term ‘mobile or traveling housing facility’ 

20 means a transporting vehicle such as a truck, car, 

21 trailer, airplane, ship, or railway car, used to trans22 port or house animals while traveling to, from, or 

23 between locations for performance purposes. 

24 ‘‘(G) PERFORMANCE.—The term ‘performance’ 

25 means any animal act, circus, ride, carnival, parade, 


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1 race, performance, or similar undertaking in which 

2 animals are required to perform tricks, give rides, or 

3 participate as accompaniments for the entertain4 ment, amusement, or benefit of an audience. 

5 ‘‘(H) TRAVELING ANIMAL ACT.—The term 

6 ‘traveling animal act’ means any performance of ani7 mals where such animals are transported to, from, 

8 or between locations for the purpose of such per9 formance, in a mobile or traveling housing facility. 

10 ‘‘(I) WILD ANIMAL.—The term ‘wild animal’ 

11 means any animal that is not a domestic animal or 

12 farm animal, which is now or has historically been 

13 found in the wild or in the wild state, within the 

14 boundaries of the United States, its territories, or 

15 possessions, whether wild-born or captive-bred, and 

16 any hybrid of such an animal, including hybrid 

17 crosses with a domestic animal or farm animal, in18 cluding but not limited to animals such as— 

19 ‘‘(i) cetartiodactyla (excepting alpacas, 

20 bison, cattle, deer, elk, goats, llamas, reindeer, 

21 swine, and sheep); 

22 ‘‘(ii) felidae (excepting domestic cats); 

23 ‘‘(iii) marsupialia; 

24 ‘‘(iv) perissodactyla (excepting horses, don25 keys, and mules); 


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1 ‘‘(v) pinnipedia; 

2 ‘‘(vi) ratites (excepting ostriches, emus, 

3 and rheas); and 

4 ‘‘(vii) ursidae. 

5 ‘‘(J) WILDLIFE SANCTUARY.—The term ‘wild6 life sanctuary’ means an organization described in 

7 sections 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and 501(c)(3) of the Inter8 nal Revenue Code 1986 that does not— 

9 ‘‘(i) engage in commercial trade in any ex10 otic or wild animal, including the sale of any 

11 animal, animal part or derivative, offspring, 

12 photographic opportunities, or public events for 

13 financial profit or any other entertainment pur14 pose; 

15 ‘‘(ii) breed any exotic or wild animal; 

16 ‘‘(iii) permit unescorted public visitation; 

17 ‘‘(iv) permit direct contact between the 

18 public and any exotic or wild animal; or 

19 ‘‘(v) remove any exotic or wild animal from 

20 a sanctuary or enclosure for exhibition or per21 formance. 

22 ‘‘(5) A person who fails to comply with this sub23 section shall be subject to the enforcement and penalties 

24 provided for under sections 16, 19, and 29.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER LAW. 

2 (a) This Act shall not be interpreted to— 

3 (1) authorize the interstate transport of a 

4 threatened or endangered species, which is prohib5 ited under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 

6 1538); or 

7 (2) waive any requirement to comply with any 

8 regulation issued under the Animal Welfare Act. 

9 (b) The provisions of this Act shall be interpreted to 

10 be are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other laws 

11 protecting animal welfare. 

12 (c) This Act shall not be construed to limit any other 

13 Federal, State, or local law or rule that more strictly pro14 tects the welfare of animals. 

15 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

16 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

17 on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act. 

Æ 


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