I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2245 

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit import and 

export of any species listed or proposed to be listed under such Act 

as a threatened species or endangered species, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2019 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

CARTWRIGHT, Mr. COHEN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. TED LIEU of California, 

Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, and Mr. MOULTON) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, 

and 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 Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit 

import and export of any species listed or proposed to 

be listed under such Act as a threatened species or 

endangered species, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Conserving Ecosystems 

3 by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies 

4 Act’’ or the ‘‘CECIL Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO PROHIBITED ACTS. 

6 Section 9(a)(1) of the Endangered Species Act of 

7 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538(a)(1)) is amended by striking sub8 paragraph (A) and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) import into or export from the United 

10 States any species listed or proposed to be listed 

11 under section 4(c) as a threatened species or endan12 gered species;’’. 

13 SEC. 3. IMPORTS OF SPORT-HUNTED TROPHIES. 

14 Section 10(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

15 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(3) Before issuing any permit under this Act au18 thorizing import of any sport-hunted trophy of a threat19 ened species or endangered species, the Secretary must 

20 make a finding after public notice and comment pursuant 

21 to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, of whether 

22 the country where the animal was killed adequately pro23 vides for the conservation and monitoring for that species, 

24 including— 

25 ‘‘(A) a management plan for that species based 

26 on the best available science that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) addresses existing threats to the spe2 cies; provides a significant conservation benefit 

3 to the species; 

4 ‘‘(ii) formally coordinates with adjacent 

5 countries to protect transboundary populations; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) ensures that any take is sustainable 

8 and does not contribute to the species’ decline 

9 in either the short-term or long-term according 

10 to current population estimates derived through 

11 the use of the best available science; 

12 ‘‘(B) such management plan is being actively 

13 implemented; 

14 ‘‘(C) the country where the animal was killed 

15 demonstrates transparency, accountability, and 

16 verifiability in governance to ensure that any bene17 fits of trophy hunting, including revenue from such 

18 taking, materially, directly and substantially benefits 

19 the conservation of that species; and 

20 ‘‘(D) hunting of the species in such country en21 hances the propagation or survival of the species. 

22 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding sections 9(b) and 9(c)(2), no 

23 permit may be issued by the Secretary for the import of 

24 a sport-hunted trophy of an elephant or lion taken in Tan25 zania, Zimbabwe, or Zambia.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. PERMIT FEES FOR SPORT-HUNTED TROPHY IM2 PORTS. 

3 Section 10(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 

4 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(2)) is amended by redesignating 

5 subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D), and by inserting 

6 after subparagraph (B) the following: 

7 ‘‘(C) No permit may be issued by the Secretary under 

8 this Act for import of a sport-hunted trophy unless the 

9 applicant pays to the Secretary all administrative costs in10 curred by the United States that are associated with proc11 essing the permit application.’’. 

12 SEC. 5. TRANSPARENCY OF SPORTS-HUNTED TROPHY IM13 PORT PERMITS. 

14 Section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

15 (16 U.S.C. 1539(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘which is 

16 made under this section’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘under 

17 this Act for an endangered species or threatened species’’. 

18 SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE CON19 SERVATION COUNCIL. 

20 The International Wildlife Conservation Council of 

21 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is hereby abol22 ished. 

23 SEC. 7. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

26 of the United States shall conduct and submit to the ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Apr 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2245.IH H2245

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1 gress a report on the results of a study of the effectiveness 

2 of trophy hunting in supporting international wildlife con3 servation efforts. 

4 (b) REPORT.—The report shall— 

5 (1) include a detailed analysis of how permit 

6 fees and other payments from hunters to govern7 ment entities and hunting guides in host countries 

8 are applied to tangible actions supporting the con9 servation of the target species and other wildlife in 

10 such countries; 

11 (2) identify data gaps and recommend informa12 tion that hunters and host countries must submit to 

13 verify the impacts of trophy hunting on wildlife con14 servation efforts; and 

15 (3) recommend actions that the Department of 

16 the Interior and the Congress should take to ensure 

17 that trophy hunting contributes to conservation. 

Æ 


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