I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6342 

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

animals in traveling performances. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2016 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself and Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania) 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— 

8 (1) conditions inherent to traveling perform9 ances, including constant travel, temporary and col10 lapsible facilities, and the prolonged confinement 


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1 and physical coercion of animals, subject exotic and 

2 wild animals to compromised welfare and chronic 

3 stress, and present public and worker health and 

4 safety risks not adequately addressed by current reg5 ulation; 

6 (2) current regulatory oversight of traveling 

7 performances is complex and costly, and these costs 

8 are not typically recouped via licensing fees, but are 

9 left to the American taxpayer; 

10 (3) the frequent mobility of traveling perform11 ances complicates oversight such that agencies and 

12 authorities cannot properly monitor, evaluate, or fol13 low through regarding the condition of animals or 

14 facilities, or their history of potential injuries, inci15 dents, illnesses, violations, or other issues, and so 

16 cannot properly protect animals, workers, or the 

17 public; 

18 (4) traveling exotic and wild animal perform19 ances use collapsible, temporary, mobile facilities, 

20 which risk escape and serious harm to animals, 

21 workers, and the public; 

22 (5) traveling exotic and wild animal perform23 ances present safety risks by permitting or not pre24 venting public contact and by displaying animals in 


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1 inappropriate, uncontrolled areas in dangerous prox2 imity to humans and other animals; 

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

4 their wild instincts and needs are unpredictable and 

5 are not naturally suited to traveling performances, 

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

7 instinctive natural behaviors; 

8 (7) exotic and wild animals used in traveling 

9 performances suffer severe and extended confine10 ment, and, deprived of natural movements and be11 haviors, are prone to chronic stress, behavioral, 

12 health, and psychological problems; 

13 (8) exotic and wild animals are forced to per14 form unnatural tricks requiring extreme physical co15 ercion, including, but not limited to the use of food 

16 and water restrictions, electric shock devices, 

17 bullhooks, metal bars, whips, shovels, and pitchforks, 

18 among other abuses; 

19 (9) it is not necessary to use exotic or wild ani20 mals in traveling performances to experience the cir21 cus or similar events; 

22 (10) using exotic or wild animals as commod23 ities traded for traveling performances adds nothing 

24 to the understanding and conservation of such ani25 mals and the natural environment, and actually unVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Nov 19, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6342.IH H6342

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1 dermines conservation efforts necessary to protect 

2 threatened and endangered species; 

3 (11) it is not possible to provide or ensure pub4 lic and worker safety or appropriate physical and 

5 mental welfare for exotic and wild animals under the 

6 traveling performance business model, which inher7 ently and significantly restricts animals’ natural 

8 movements and behaviors, and where abuse is preva9 lent and oversight problematic; 

10 (12) the use of exotic or wild animals in trav11 eling performances is or substantially affects inter12 state or foreign commerce, or the free flow thereof; 

13 it is essential to regulate such activities to assure 

14 animals’ humane care and treatment; and 

15 (13) restricting the use of exotic and wild ani16 mals in traveling performances is the most cost-ef17 fective and efficient way to safeguard animals, work18 ers, and the public. 

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

20 PERFORMANCES. 

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

22 2143) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

24 allow for the participation of, an exotic animal or wild ani25 mal in a traveling animal act. 


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

2 exotic animal or wild animal— 

3 ‘‘(A) in an exhibition at a nonmobile, perma4 nent institution, facility, zoo, or aquarium accredited 

5 by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums or the Glob6 al Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, or a wildlife 

7 sanctuary; 

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

9 program by a facility accredited by the Association 

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

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

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

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

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

15 other research facility registered with the Secretary 

16 pursuant to section 6 for the purpose of conducting 

17 research; 

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

19 use does not involve a live animal exhibition con20 ducted before a public studio audience; or 

21 ‘‘(E) in a rodeo. 

22 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to domestic ani23 mals or farm animals. 

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


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

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

3 performance, to financially benefit as an owner or 

4 operator from a performance, or to sponsor a per5 formance. 

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

7 animal’ means any animal that is normally main8 tained as a companion or pet animal in or near the 

9 household of the owner or person who cares for the 

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

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

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

13 any exotic animal or wild animal. 

14 ‘‘(C) ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PRO15 GRAM.—The term ‘environmental education pro16 gram’ means an animal exhibition that is profes17 sionally designed to impart knowledge or information 

18 for educational or conservation purposes about that 

19 animal’s natural behavior, habitat, life cycle, or simi20 lar pedagogical information, conducted by an indi21 vidual qualified to impart such information, which 

22 does not include any performance of behavior that 

23 does not naturally occur for that animal in the wild 

24 state. 


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1 ‘‘(D) EXOTIC ANIMAL.—The term ‘exotic ani2 mal’ means any animal that is not a domestic ani3 mal or farm animal, that is native to a foreign coun4 try or of foreign origin or character, is not native to 

5 the United States, or was introduced from abroad, 

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

7 such an animal, including hybrid crosses with a do8 mestic animal or farm animal, including but not lim9 ited to animals such as— 

10 ‘‘(i) cetartiodactyla (excepting alpacas, 

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

12 swine, and sheep); 

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

14 ‘‘(iii) marsupialia; 

15 ‘‘(iv) nonhuman primates; 

16 ‘‘(v) perissodactyla (excepting horses, don17 keys, and mules); 

18 ‘‘(vi) pinnipedia; 

19 ‘‘(vii) proboscidea; 

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

21 and rheas); and 

22 ‘‘(ix) ursidae. 

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

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

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


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1 normally and have historically, been kept and raised 

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

3 for use as food or fiber, or for improving animal nu4 trition, breeding, management, or production effi5 ciency, or for improving the quality of food or fiber. 

6 This term also includes animals such as rabbits, 

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

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

9 and llamas when used solely as work and pack ani10 mals. The term does not include exotic animals or 

11 wild animals. 

12 ‘‘(F) MOBILE OR TRAVELING HOUSING FACIL13 ITY.—The term ‘mobile or traveling housing facility’ 

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

15 trailer, airplane, ship, or railway car, used to trans16 port or house animals while traveling to, from, or 

17 between locations for performance purposes. 

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

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

20 race, performance, or similar undertaking in which 

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

22 participate as accompaniments for the entertain23 ment, amusement, or benefit of an audience. 

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

25 ‘traveling animal act’ means any performance of aniVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Nov 19, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6342.IH H6342

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1 mals where such animals are transported to, from, 

2 or between locations for the purpose of such per3 formance, in a mobile or traveling housing facility. 

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

5 means any animal that is not a domestic animal or 

6 farm animal, which is now or has historically been 

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

8 boundaries of the United States, its territories, or 

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

10 any hybrid of such an animal, including hybrid 

11 crosses with a domestic animal or farm animal, in12 cluding but not limited to animals such as— 

13 ‘‘(i) cetartiodactyla (excepting alpacas, 

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

15 swine, and sheep); 

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

17 ‘‘(iii) marsupialia; 

18 ‘‘(iv) perissodactyla (excepting horses, don19 keys, and mules); 

20 ‘‘(v) pinnipedia; 

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

22 and rheas); and 

23 ‘‘(vii) ursidae. 

24 ‘‘(J) WILDLIFE SANCTUARY.—The term ‘wild25 life sanctuary’ means an organization described in 


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1 sections 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and 501(c)(3) of the Inter2 nal Revenue Code 1986 that does not— 

3 ‘‘(i) engage in commercial trade in any ex4 otic or wild animal, including the sale of any 

5 animal, animal part or derivative, offspring, 

6 photographic opportunities, or public events for 

7 financial profit or any other entertainment pur8 pose; 

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

10 ‘‘(iii) permit unescorted public visitation; 

11 ‘‘(iv) permit direct contact between the 

12 public and any exotic or wild animal; or 

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

14 a sanctuary or enclosure for exhibition or per15 formance. 

16 ‘‘(5) A person who fails to comply with this sub17 section shall be subject to the enforcement and penalties 

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

19 SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER LAW. 

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

21 (1) authorize the interstate transport of a 

22 threatened or endangered species, which is prohib23 ited under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 

24 1538); or 


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1 (2) waive any requirement to comply with any 

2 regulation issued under the Animal Welfare Act. 

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

4 be in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other laws pro5 tecting animal welfare. 

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

7 Federal, State, or local law or rule that more strictly pro8 tects the welfare of animals. 

9 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

10 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

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

12 of this Act. 

Æ 


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