II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1246 

To establish and maintain a wildlife global animal information network for 

surveillance internationally to combat the growing threat of emerging 

diseases that involve wild animals, such as bird flu, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2007 

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, and Mr. AKAKA) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish and maintain a wildlife global animal information network for surveillance internationally to combat 

the growing threat of emerging diseases that involve 

wild animals, such as bird flu, 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 ‘‘Wildlife Global Animal 

5 Information Network for Surveillance Act’’ or ‘‘Wildlife 

6 GAINS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) the ongoing panzootic of highly pathogenic 

4 avian influenza (HPAI) strain H5N1 in Asia and 

5 Eurasia is a threat to global human health and the 

6 global poultry industry; 

7 (2) the HPAI virus is capable of causing mas8 sive avian die-offs, and response can easily involve 

9 the culling of tens of millions of domestic poultry or 

10 domestic waterfowl, resulting in significant economic 

11 losses; 

12 (3) the fatality rate due to infection in humans 

13 may be 30 to 50 percent or more; 

14 (4) it has long been known that wild birds are 

15 a reservoir host for avian influenza viruses world16 wide; 

17 (5) the 1918 pandemic, the most lethal of the 

18 three pandemics that killed over 40,000,000 people 

19 worldwide, was caused by an influenza virus that ini20 tially jumped directly from birds to humans and sub21 sequently evolved an ability to transmit from 

22 human-to-human; 

23 (6) this precedent for an avian influenza virus 

24 to transmit directly from birds to humans, then 

25 spread among humans, significantly raises the con26 cern about the current H5N1 influenza strain; 


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1 (7) increased surveillance, including on migra2 tory birds, is critical to controlling avian influenza 

3 and preparing for other potential emerging infec4 tious diseases; 

5 (8) the capacity to proactively detect the 

6 threats could result in significantly improved disease 

7 prediction and prevention capabilities; 

8 (9) international wildlife health surveillance 

9 does not clearly fall under the jurisdiction of any 

10 Federal or international agency; 

11 (10) there is a continued inability to share real12 time data across the human, agricultural, wildlife, 

13 and veterinary agencies on zoonotic threats; 

14 (11) while surveillance at domestic poultry and 

15 domestic waterfowl production facilities and farms is 

16 an immediate and on-going monitoring need and is 

17 being supported through relevant agencies, surveil18 lance in wild bird populations that may have been 

19 exposed to the virus is a critical component to deter20 mine the spread of the virus, implement control 

21 measures, and protect human, livestock, and wildlife 

22 health; 

23 (12) monitoring and surveillance of wild migra24 tory and resident water birds are critically important 

25 to identifying all strains of influenza viruses in wild 


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1 birds as a library of possible genotypes, determining 

2 their role in the spread of the virus, and anticipating 

3 where outbreaks may occur to enhance preparedness; 

4 (13) improving surveillance of wildlife health 

5 around the world would close significant jurisdic6 tional and scientific gaps in current emerging infec7 tious disease preparedness; 

8 (14) other emerging diseases beyond bird flu 

9 merit similar attention, in terms of the potential 

10 threats to global public health as well as 

11 agribiosecurity and biodiversity; 

12 (15) the majority of emerging infectious dis13 eases identified in the past several decades have 

14 moved from wildlife to humans, largely due to 

15 human incursions into or alterations of wildlife habi16 tats and hunting, consumption, and trade of wildlife 

17 species; 

18 (16) the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) 

19 virus moved from chimpanzees to humans via these 

20 mechanisms; 

21 (17) many factors contribute to disease emer22 gence and spread from wildlife to domestic animals 

23 and humans, including environmental degradation 

24 and the handling, consumption, and trade of wildlife 

25 and wildlife-derived products; 


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1 (18) from avian influenza to the severe acute 

2 respiratory syndrome (SARS), from bovine tuber3 culosis to the Ebola virus, and from HIV/AIDS to 

4 monkey pox, a long list of zoonotic diseases nega5 tively impacts people’s lives and livelihoods and costs 

6 the global economy billions of dollars; and 

7 (19) the Government of the United States lacks 

8 a comprehensive program to monitor wildlife health 

9 around the world, a program that could proactively 

10 inform preparedness not just in the case of a poten11 tial H5N1 influenza strain pandemic, but also for a 

12 broader array of emerging infectious disease threats 

13 that often arise at the interface between wildlife, hu14 mans, and their domestic animals. 

15 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

16 The purposes of this Act are to establish and main17 tain a Wildlife Global Animal Information Network for 

18 Surveillance— 

19 (1) to more rapidly and efficiently detect, 

20 verify, and report on the presence of infectious dis21 eases, such as highly pathogenic avian influenza, in 

22 birds and other wildlife around the world; 

23 (2) to use information on pathogens found dur24 ing surveillance of wildlife to better delineate potenVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:01 Apr 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1246.IS S1246

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1 tial threats to domestic animals, humans, as well as 

2 wildlife itself; 

3 (3) to use information on when and where 

4 HPAI and other pathogens of concern are identified 

5 in wildlife— 

6 (A) to better guide preparedness in the 

7 United States and around the world; and 

8 (B) to carry out a strategic wildlife health 

9 surveillance initiative that will provide regions, 

10 countries, and specific locations with early 

11 warning information that will help target re12 sources toward enhancement of agribiosecurity, 

13 surveillance, public health vigilance, and related 

14 areas; 

15 (4) to create an open access database within 

16 which information on HPAI and other pathogens of 

17 interest identified in wild birds and other wildlife 

18 can be shared as close to real time as possible; 

19 (5) to protect the health and safety of United 

20 States citizens and officials traveling or living 

21 abroad; and 

22 (6) to protect the economic interests of the 

23 United States and its partners from threats to 

24 health, agriculture, and natural resources, including 

25 wildlife itself. 


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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United 

5 States Agency for International Development, acting 

6 through one or more eligible organizations. 

7 (2) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘eligi8 ble organization’’ means an organization chartered 

9 in the United States with— 

10 (A) extensive global wildlife health experi11 ence in tracking disease in wild birds and other 

12 wildlife, including free-ranging, captive, and 

13 wild bird species; 

14 (B) proven ability in identifying avian in15 fluenza, Ebola virus, and other pathogens in 

16 wild birds or other wildlife; 

17 (C) experience managing and implementing 

18 similar wildlife surveillance activities; and 

19 (D) accredited zoological facilities in the 

20 United States. 

21 (3) HPAI.—The term ‘‘HPAI’’ means highly 

22 pathogenic avian influenza. 

23 (4) WILDLIFE GAINS.—The term ‘‘Wildlife 

24 GAINS’’ means the Wildlife Global Animal Informa25 tion Network for Surveillance established under sec26 tion 5(a). 


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1 (5) WILDLIFE GAINS PARTNERS.—The term 

2 ‘‘Wildlife GAINS partners’’ means the partners of 

3 the Wildlife GAINS described in section 5(b). 

4 SEC. 5. WILDLIFE GLOBAL ANIMAL INFORMATION NET5 WORK FOR SURVEILLANCE. 

6 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Adminis7 trator, acting through one or more eligible organizations, 

8 is authorized to establish and maintain a program to im9 plement a Wildlife Global Animal Information Network for 

10 Surveillance. 

11 (b) PARTNERS.—In administering the Wildlife 

12 GAINS, the Administrator shall collaborate with appro13 priate— 

14 (1) Federal and State agency partners, includ15 ing— 

16 (A) the Department of Agriculture, acting 

17 through— 

18 (i) the Agricultural Research Service; 

19 and 

20 (ii) the Animal and Plant Health In21 spection Service; 

22 (B) the Department of Health and Human 

23 Services, acting through the Centers for Dis24 ease Control and Prevention; 

25 (C) the Department of Homeland Security; 


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1 (D) the Department of Defense; 

2 (E) the Department of the Interior, acting 

3 through— 

4 (i) the United States Geological Sur5 vey; and 

6 (ii) the United States Fish and Wild7 life Service; and 

8 (F) various State wildlife agencies in the 

9 United States; 

10 (2) multilateral agency partners, including— 

11 (A) the Food and Agriculture Organiza12 tion; 

13 (B) the World Health Organization; 

14 (C) the Office International des Epizooties, 

15 the world animal health organization; and 

16 (D) the World Conservation Union; 

17 (3) conservation organizations with expertise in 

18 international and domestic wildlife monitoring and 

19 surveillance; 

20 (4) accredited colleges of veterinary medicine 

21 and medicine; and 

22 (5) other national and international partners, 

23 as necessary. 

24 (c) INTERNATIONAL SURVEILLANCE.—The Adminis25 trator shall manage an international surveillance program 


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1 under which Federal Wildlife GAINS partners shall, and 

2 non-Federal Wildlife GAINS partners are encouraged 

3 to— 

4 (1) monitor and test for the presence or arrival 

5 of avian influenza and other significant avian patho6 gens at important bird areas around the world and 

7 in marketplaces with intense trade in wild birds; 

8 (2) monitor and test for the presence or arrival 

9 of other significant pathogens in free-ranging wild10 life and in places with intense trade in wild animals; 

11 (3) use trained professionals to collect samples 

12 and other data and send samples to appropriate di13 agnostic centers; 

14 (4) use the Wildlife GAINS, in partnership with 

15 relevant agencies and organizations, for con16 ducting— 

17 (A) disease surveillance activities on migra18 tory birds and other wildlife worldwide; 

19 (B) domestic and international field inves20 tigations on migratory birds and other wildlife; 

21 (C) training and capacity-building activi22 ties related to the relationships between human 

23 health, domestic animal health, and wildlife 

24 health; and 


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1 (D) research on methods and approaches 

2 for detection and enhanced surveillance of 

3 HPAI and other pathogens in migratory birds 

4 and other wildlife; and 

5 (5) send samples for pathogen identification 

6 and testing to certified laboratories that— 

7 (A) meet internationally established meth8 ods standards; 

9 (B) are located at— 

10 (i) the Centers for Disease Control 

11 and Prevention; 

12 (ii) the Office International des 

13 Epizooties, the world animal health organi14 zation; 

15 (iii) the Food and Agriculture Organi16 zation; 

17 (iv) National Veterinary Services Lab18 oratories of the Department of Agriculture; 

19 (v) the Agricultural Research Service; 

20 or 

21 (vi) other relevant specialized labora22 tories; and 

23 (C) report the findings back to the Admin24 istrator and Wildlife GAINS partners. 

25 (d) NETWORK.— 


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1 (1) PARTNERS.—The Administrator shall re2 quire Federal Wildlife GAINS partners, and encour3 age non-Federal Wildlife GAINS partners, to trans4 mit to the Administrator information related to glob5 al distribution and characteristics of significant 

6 pathogens. 

7 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator 

8 shall— 

9 (A) use surveillance reports and other for10 mal and informal sources of information to 

11 identify and investigate local disease outbreaks 

12 of avian influenza and other infectious diseases 

13 involving wildlife, in coordination with Wildlife 

14 GAINS partners; 

15 (B) develop a long-term baseline of re16 gional data related to HPAI and pathogens in 

17 migratory birds and other wildlife for analysis 

18 between and across sites to create a system to 

19 identify when and where outbreaks might occur 

20 and paths of dispersal; 

21 (C) provide technical assistance for disease 

22 prevention and control programs based on sci23 entific understanding of the relationships be24 tween wildlife health, domestic animal health, 

25 and human health; 


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1 (D) provide analytical disease findings reg2 ularly to the United States Agency for Inter3 national Development and other Federal Wild4 life GAINS partners to prevent or combat 

5 human and animal diseases; 

6 (E) conduct other activities as are nec7 essary to support the Wildlife GAINS network 

8 and Wildlife GAINS partners; and 

9 (F) coordinate Wildlife GAINS surveillance 

10 results at the headquarters of the eligible orga11 nization. 

12 (e) DATABASE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

14 manage, map, and make available on a database on 

15 the Internet all results and information gathered 

16 under this Act. 

17 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The database shall— 

18 (A) provide geographic data on wildlife 

19 populations and the movements of the popu20 lations and laboratory test results; and 

21 (B) be available for viewing by any Federal 

22 agency, foreign country, multilateral institution, 

23 organization, or individual. 

24 (f) TRAINING.—The Administrator shall request ac25 credited colleges of veterinary medicine and medicine and 


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1 other Wildlife GAINS partners to train members of the 

2 Wildlife GAINS network to— 

3 (1) monitor important wildlife areas around the 

4 world; and 

5 (2) test for the presence or arrival of avian in6 fluenza and other significant pathogens of zoonotic 

7 concern or of concern to domestic or wild animals. 

8 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

10 this Act $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

11 2012. 

Æ 


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