I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2863 

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

animals in traveling performances. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2019 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. 

LEE of California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of 

New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Ms. NORTON, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Ms. SPEIER) 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 PROHIBITED. 

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— 

9 ‘‘(A) domestic animals or farm animals; 

10 ‘‘(B) the use of an exotic or wild animal— 

11 ‘‘(i) in an exhibition at a nonmobile, per12 manent institution, zoo, or aquarium accredited 

13 by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), 

14 the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums 

15 (WAZA), or the Global Federation of Animal 

16 Sanctuaries (GFAS); 

17 ‘‘(ii) as part of an environmental education 

18 program by a facility accredited by the Associa19 tion of Zoos & Aquariums, if the animal used 

20 for such purposes is not so used for more than 

21 6 months in any year, and is not kept in a mo22 bile or traveling housing facility for more than 

23 12 hours in any day; 

24 ‘‘(iii) by a university, college, laboratory, or 

25 other research facility registered with the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:13 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2863.IH H2863

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1 retary pursuant to section 6 for the purpose of 

2 conducting research; 

3 ‘‘(iv) in film, television, or advertising, if 

4 such use does not involve a live animal exhi5 bition conducted before a public studio audi6 ence; or 

7 ‘‘(v) in a rodeo; 

8 ‘‘(C) the use of indigenous wildlife in an exhi9 bition or environmental education program by a 

10 wildlife rehabilitator that is— 

11 ‘‘(i) permitted by the relevant jurisdiction; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) accredited or certified by the National 

14 Wildlife Rehabilitation Association (NWRA) or 

15 the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Coun16 cil (IWRC) if the animal used for such purposes 

17 is not kept in a mobile or traveling housing fa18 cility for more than 12 hours in any day; 

19 ‘‘(D) a federally permitted falconer; or 

20 ‘‘(E) a wildlife sanctuary, as defined herein. 

21 ‘‘(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the fol22 lowing definitions apply: 

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

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

25 performance, to financially benefit as an owner or 


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1 operator from a performance, or to sponsor a per2 formance. 

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

4 animal’ means any animal that is normally main5 tained as a companion or pet animal in or near the 

6 household of the owner or person who cares for the 

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

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

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

10 any exotic animal or wild animal. 

11 ‘‘(C) ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PRO12 GRAM.—The term ‘environmental education pro13 gram’ means a program, which may include animal 

14 exhibition, that is professionally designed to impart 

15 knowledge or information for educational or con16 servation purposes about that animal’s natural be17 havior, habitat, life cycle, or similar pedagogical in18 formation, conducted by an individual qualified to 

19 impart such information, which does not include any 

20 performance of behavior that does not naturally 

21 occur for that animal in the wild state. 

22 ‘‘(D) EXOTIC AND WILD ANIMALS.—The terms 

23 ‘exotic animal’, ‘wild animal’, ‘exotic and wild ani24 mal’, and ‘exotic or wild animal’ mean any animal 

25 that is not a domestic animal or farm animal, which 


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1 is now or has historically been found in the wild or 

2 in the wild state, whether wild-borne or captive-bred, 

3 and any hybrid of such an animal, including hybrid 

4 crosses with a domestic animal or farm animal, in5 cluding but not limited to animals such as— 

6 ‘‘(i) canidae (excepting domestic dogs); 

7 ‘‘(ii) cetartiodactyla (excepting alpacas, 

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

9 swine, and sheep); 

10 ‘‘(iii) crocodilia; 

11 ‘‘(iv) edentata; 

12 ‘‘(v) elasmobranchii; 

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

14 ‘‘(vii) hyaenidae; 

15 ‘‘(viii) marsupialia; 

16 ‘‘(ix) mustelidae; 

17 ‘‘(x) nonhuman primates; 

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

20 ‘‘(xii) pinnipedia; 

21 ‘‘(xiii) proboscidea; 

22 ‘‘(xiv) procyonidae; 

23 ‘‘(xv) ratites; 

24 ‘‘(xvi) spheniscidae; 

25 ‘‘(xvii) testudinidae; 


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1 ‘‘(xviii) ursidae; 

2 ‘‘(xix) varanidae; and 

3 ‘‘(xx) viverridae. 

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

5 means alpacas, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, llamas, 

6 poultry, rabbits, horses, mules, or donkeys. The term 

7 does not include exotic animals or wild animals. 

8 ‘‘(F) MOBILE OR TRAVELING HOUSING FACIL9 ITY.—The term ‘mobile or traveling housing facility’ 

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

11 trailer, airplane, ship, or railway car, used to trans12 port or house animals while traveling to, from, or 

13 between locations for performance purposes. 

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

15 means any animal act, circus, ride, carnival, display, 

16 exhibition, fair, parade, petting zoo, race, perform17 ance, or similar undertaking in which animals are 

18 required to perform tricks, give rides, or participate 

19 as accompaniments for the entertainment, amuse20 ment, or benefit of an audience. 

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

22 ‘traveling animal act’ means any performance of ani23 mals where such animals are transported to, from, 

24 or between locations for the purpose of such per25 formance, in a mobile or traveling housing facility. 


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1 ‘‘(I) WILDLIFE SANCTUARY.—The term ‘wildlife 

2 sanctuary’ means an organization described in sec3 tions 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and 501(c)(3) of the Internal 

4 Revenue Code 1986, which is a place of refuge that 

5 provides care for abused, neglected, unwanted, im6 pounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced wildlife 

7 for their lifetime, and which does not— 

8 ‘‘(i) engage in commercial trade in any ex9 otic or wild animal, including the sale of any 

10 animal, animal part or derivative, offspring, 

11 photographic opportunities, or public events for 

12 financial profit or any other entertainment pur13 pose; 

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

15 ‘‘(iii) permit unescorted public visitation; 

16 ‘‘(iv) permit direct contact between the 

17 public and any exotic or wild animal; or 

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

19 a sanctuary or enclosure for exhibition or per20 formance. 

21 ‘‘(4) A person who fails to comply with this 

22 subsection shall be subject to the enforcement and 

23 penalties provided for under sections 16, 19, and 

24 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 in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other laws pro11 tecting 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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