I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1945 

To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act and the Rhinoceros and 

Tiger Conservation Act to provide for trade sanctions against countries 

involved in illegal trade of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 22, 2015 

Mr. DEFAZIO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, 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 African Elephant Conservation Act and the 

Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act to provide for 

trade sanctions against countries involved in illegal trade 

of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn, 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 ‘‘Targeted Use of Sanc5 tions for Killing Elephants and Rhinoceros Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

3 (1) poaching of African elephants and rhinoc4 eros has increased dramatically since 2006, and has 

5 reached levels that threaten the continued existence 

6 of many elephant and rhinoceros populations; 

7 (2) poaching of African elephants and rhinoc8 eros is being driven by increased demand for ivory 

9 and rhinoceros horn in Asia, which has caused ivory 

10 and rhinoceros horn prices to rise exponentially in 

11 recent years; 

12 (3) high prices have drawn organized criminal 

13 elements into the illegal trade of ivory and rhinoc14 eros horn, and it is widely recognized that 

15 transnational crime rings involved in trafficking in 

16 drugs, guns, and humans are also responsible for 

17 trafficking in large quantities of poached ivory and 

18 rhinoceros horn from Africa to Asia; 

19 (4) there is significant evidence that terrorist 

20 and insurgent groups in Africa, including groups 

21 with ties to Al Qaeda, are financing their operations 

22 through the sale of illegal ivory and rhinoceros horn; 

23 (5) the elephant and rhinoceros poaching crisis 

24 has become so severe, and the tactics of poachers so 

25 sophisticated, that traditional approaches to con26 servation law enforcement intended to protect eleVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 May 02, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1945.IH H1945

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1 phants and rhinoceros in their habitat in Africa are 

2 failing; 

3 (6) a number of countries that serve as major 

4 source, transit, or destination points for illegal ivory 

5 and rhinoceros horn have proven unable or unwilling 

6 to stop the product from coming across their bor7 ders; and 

8 (7) strategies to reduce demand for ivory and 

9 rhinoceros horn through education and other non10 binding means are necessary, but not sufficient, to 

11 conserve African elephant and rhinoceros popu12 lations. 

13 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

14 a means by which the United States can affect demand 

15 for and illegal trafficking of African elephant ivory and 

16 rhinoceros horn in other countries by requiring those 

17 countries to enter into consultations with the United 

18 States to end the illegal ivory and rhinoceros horn trade, 

19 as a condition of continued access to United States mar20 kets for other natural resource products. 


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1 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE 

2 AFRICAN ELEPHANT CON3 SERVATION ACT 

4 SEC. 101. ILLEGAL TRADE DEFINED. 

5 Section 2305 of the African Elephant Conservation 

6 Act (16 U.S.C. 4244) is amended by redesignating para7 graphs (5) through (13) as paragraphs (6) through (14), 

8 respectively, and by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(5) ILLEGAL TRADE.—The term ‘illegal trade’ 

11 means any sale, purchase, barter, transit, or ex12 change of raw ivory or worked ivory that was taken, 

13 traded, imported, or exported in violation of the laws 

14 of an ivory-producing country, or of international 

15 wildlife trade agreements, including CITES.’’. 

16 SEC. 102. AMENDMENT TO FINDINGS IN AFRICAN ELE17 PHANT CONSERVATION ACT. 

18 Section 2003 of the African Elephant Conservation 

19 Act (16 U.S.C. 4202) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(10) Poaching and trafficking of wildlife has 

22 become a global crisis, funding organized criminal 

23 syndicates and terrorist organizations and harming 

24 elephant populations and local communities. African 

25 elephant ivory is at the center of this crisis, and imVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 May 02, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1945.IH H1945

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1 mediate action is necessary to eliminate the demand 

2 for ivory and the profit incentive for poachers and 

3 traffickers.’’. 

4 SEC. 103. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

5 Section 2004 of the African Elephant Conservation 

6 Act (16 U.S.C. 4203) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 

8 end of paragraph (1); 

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (2) and by inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) to prevent additional African elephant 

13 ivory from entering global commerce, and to reduce 

14 demand for ivory that is driving elephant poaching 

15 by limiting natural resources-related trade with 

16 countries whose nationals are engaged in illegal 

17 ivory trade.’’. 

18 SEC. 104. CERTIFICATION UNDER FISHERMEN’S PROTEC19 TIVE ACT OF 1967. 

20 Section 2202 of the African Elephant Conservation 

21 Act (16 U.S.C. 4222) is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION.—If the CITES Standing Com24 mittee identifies any country as a country of primary con25 cern because it is a significant source or transit or destinaVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 May 02, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1945.IH H1945

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1 tion point for illegal trade of ivory, the Secretary shall 

2 issue a certification with respect to that country under sec3 tion 8(a) of the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967 (22 

4 U.S.C. 1978(a)).’’. 

5 SEC. 105. CONSULTATION AND SANCTION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of the African Elephant 

7 Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4221 et seq.) is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 2206. CONSULTATION AND SANCTION. 

10 ‘‘(a) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

11 a certification with respect to a country under section 

12 2202(g), the President, acting through the Secretary of 

13 the Interior, shall seek to enter into consultations with the 

14 government of the country for the purpose of obtaining 

15 an agreement under which the country will immediately 

16 and significantly reduce, and will commit to terminating, 

17 all illegal trade of ivory into, out of, or within that country. 

18 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON TRADE IN RELATED NATURAL

19 RESOURCES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If consultations with a gov21 ernment under subsection (a) are not satisfactorily 

22 concluded within 90 days or if a government refuses 

23 to enter into consultations, the President shall direct 

24 the Secretary to prohibit the importation into the 


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1 United States of products of wildlife, fish, and 

2 plants from that country until the earlier of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the date an agreement with the coun4 try under subsection (a) is finalized; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the date the Secretary finds that the 

6 country is no longer a significant source or 

7 transit or destination point for illegal ivory 

8 trade. 

9 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Secretary shall 

10 publish public notice of any prohibition under this 

11 subsection not later than 30 days before the effective 

12 date of the prohibition. 

13 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF SANC14 TIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the effective date 

15 of a prohibition under subsection (b), the Secretary shall 

16 determine and report to Congress whether— 

17 ‘‘(1) the prohibition is sufficient to cause the 

18 country to immediately and significantly reduce, and 

19 commit to terminating, illegal trade of ivory into, 

20 out of, or within that country; and 

21 ‘‘(2) that country has retaliated against the 

22 United States as a result of that prohibition.’’. 

23 (b) COUNTRIES IDENTIFIED BEFORE ENACT24 MENT.— 


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1 (1) APPLICATION OF PROHIBITION.—Section 

2 2206(b) of the African Elephant Conservation Act, 

3 as amended by this section, shall apply to a country 

4 that before the date of the enactment of this Act 

5 was identified by the CITES Standing Committee as 

6 a country of primary concern because it is a signifi7 cant source or transit or destination point for illegal 

8 trade of ivory, if the CITES Standing Committee 

9 has not rescinded such identification by that date of 

10 enactment. 

11 (2) CONSULTATION.—The President, acting 

12 through the Secretary of the Interior, shall seek to 

13 enter into consultations under section 2206(a) of the 

14 African Elephant Conservation Act, as amended by 

15 this section, with a country described in paragraph 

16 (1) of this subsection by not later than 30 days after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE 

19 RHINOCEROS AND TIGER 

20 CONSERVATION ACT 

21 SEC. 201. AMENDMENT TO FINDINGS. 

22 Section 2 of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation 

23 Act (16 U.S.C. 5301) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(11) Poaching and trafficking of wildlife has 

2 become a global crisis, funding organized criminal 

3 syndicates and terrorist organizations and harming 

4 rhinoceros populations and local communities. Rhi5 noceros horn is at the center of this crisis, and im6 mediate action is necessary to eliminate the demand 

7 for rhinoceros horn and the profit incentive for 

8 poachers and traffickers.’’. 

9 SEC. 202. AMENDMENT TO PURPOSES. 

10 Section 3 of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation 

11 Act (16 U.S.C. 5302) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(4) To provide a means by which the United 

14 States can affect demand for and illegal trafficking 

15 of rhinoceros horn in other countries by requiring 

16 those countries to enter into consultations with the 

17 United States to end the illegal trade in rhinoceros 

18 horn, as a condition of continued access to United 

19 States markets for other natural resource prod20 ucts.’’. 

21 SEC. 203. ILLEGAL TRADE DEFINED. 

22 Section 4 of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation 

23 Act (16 U.S.C. 5303) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(7) ILLEGAL TRADE.—The term ‘illegal trade’ 

2 means any sale, purchase, barter, transit, or ex3 change of raw rhinoceros horn or worked rhinoceros 

4 horn that was taken in violation of the laws of a 

5 country within the range of the black rhinoceros or 

6 white rhinoceros, or of international wildlife trade 

7 agreements, including CITES.’’. 

8 SEC. 204. CERTIFICATION UNDER FISHERMEN’S PROTEC9 TIVE ACT OF 1967. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Rhinoceros and Tiger Con11 servation Act is amended by redesignating sections 8, 9, 

12 and 10 (16 U.S.C. 5305b, 5305c, and 5306) as sections 

13 9, 10, and 11, respectively, and inserting after section 7 

14 (16 U.S.C. 5305a) the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 8. CERTIFICATION, CONSULTATION, AND SANCTION. 

16 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION.—If the CITES Standing Com17 mittee identifies any country as a country of primary con18 cern because it is a significant source or transit or destina19 tion point for illegal trade of rhinoceros horn, the Sec20 retary shall issue a certification with respect to that coun21 try under section 8(a) of the Fishermen’s Protective Act 

22 of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978(a)). 

23 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

24 issuance of a certification with respect to the country 

25 under subsection (a), the President, acting through the 


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1 Secretary of the Interior, shall seek to enter into consulta2 tions with the government of the country for the purpose 

3 of obtaining an agreement under which the country will 

4 immediately and significantly reduce, and will commit to 

5 terminating, all illegal trade of rhinoceros horn into, out 

6 of, or within that country. 

7 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON TRADE IN RELATED NATURAL

8 RESOURCES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If consultations with a gov10 ernment under subsection (b) are not satisfactorily 

11 concluded within 90 days or if a government refuses 

12 to enter into such consultations, the President shall 

13 direct the Secretary to prohibit the importation into 

14 the United States of products of wildlife, fish, and 

15 plants from that country until the earlier of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the date an agreement with the coun17 try under subsection (b) is finalized; or 

18 ‘‘(B) the date the Secretary finds that the 

19 country is no longer a significant source or 

20 transit or destination point for illegal trade of 

21 rhinoceros horn. 

22 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Secretary shall 

23 publish public notice of any prohibition under this 

24 subsection not later than 30 days before the effective 

25 date of the prohibition. 


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1 ‘‘(d) DETERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF SANC2 TIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the effective date 

3 of a prohibition under subsection (c), the Secretary shall 

4 determine and report to Congress whether— 

5 ‘‘(1) the prohibition is sufficient to cause the 

6 country to immediately and significantly reduce, and 

7 commit to terminating, illegal trade of rhinoceros 

8 horn into, out of, or within that country; and 

9 ‘‘(2) that country has retaliated against the 

10 United States as a result of that prohibition.’’. 

11 (b) COUNTRIES IDENTIFIED BEFORE ENACT12 MENT.— 

13 (1) APPLICATION OF PROHIBITION.—Section 

14 8(c) of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act, 

15 as amended by this section, shall apply to a country 

16 that before the date of the enactment of this Act 

17 was identified by the CITES Standing Committee as 

18 a country of primary concern because it is a signifi19 cant source or transit or destination point for illegal 

20 trade of rhinoceros horn, if the CITES Standing 

21 Committee has not rescinded such identification by 

22 that date of enactment. 

23 (2) CONSULTATION.—The President, acting 

24 through the Secretary of the Interior, shall seek to 

25 enter into consultations under 8(c) of the Rhinoceros 


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1 and Tiger Conservation Act, as amended by this sec2 tion, with a country described in paragraph (1) of 

3 this subsection by not later than 30 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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