II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2731 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain interstate conduct 

relating to exotic animals. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2004 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. 

CORZINE, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. KOHL, Mr. DURBIN, and 

Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain 

interstate conduct relating to exotic animals.

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 ‘‘Captive Exotic Animal 

5 Protection Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) The ethic of hunting involves the consider2 ation of fair chase, which allows the animal the op3 portunity to avoid the hunter. 

4 (2) At more than 1,000 commercial canned 

5 hunt operations across the country, trophy hunters 

6 pay a fee to shoot captive exotic animals, from Afri7 can lions to giraffes and blackbuck antelope, in 

8 fenced-in enclosures. 

9 (3) Clustered in a captive setting at unusually 

10 high densities, confined exotic animals attract dis11 ease more readily than more widely dispersed native 

12 species who roam freely. 

13 (4) The transportation of captive exotic animals 

14 to commercial canned hunt operations can facilitate 

15 the spread of disease across great distances. 

16 (5) The regulation of the transport and treat17 ment of exotic animals on shooting preserves falls 

18 outside the traditional domains of State agriculture 

19 departments and State fish and game agencies. 

20 (6) This Act is limited in its purpose and will 

21 not limit the licensed hunting of any native mam22 mals or any native or exotic birds. 

23 (7) This Act does not aim to criticize those 

24 hunters who pursue animals that are not enclosed 

25 within a fence. 
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1 (8) This Act does not attempt to prohibit 

2 slaughterhouse activities, nor does it aim to prohibit 

3 the routine euthanasia of domesticated farm ani4 mals. 

5 SEC. 3. TRANSPORT OR POSSESSION OF EXOTIC ANIMALS 

6 FOR PURPOSES OF KILLING OR INJURING 

7 THEM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 18, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘§ 49. Exotic animals 

12 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Whoever, in or substantially af13 fecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly trans14 fers, transports, or possesses a confined exotic animal, for 

15 the purposes of allowing the killing or injuring of that ani16 mal for entertainment or for the collection of a trophy, 

17 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 

18 1 year, or both. 

19 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘confined exotic animal’ means a 

21 mammal of a species not historically indigenous to 

22 the United States, that has been held in captivity, 

23 whether or not the defendant knows the length of 

24 the captivity, for the shorter of— 

25 ‘‘(A) the majority of the animal’s life; or 
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1 ‘‘(B) a period of 1 year; and 

2 ‘‘(2) the term ‘captivity’ does not include any 

3 period during which an animal lives as it would in 

4 the wild— 

5 ‘‘(A) surviving primarily by foraging for 

6 naturally occurring food; 

7 ‘‘(B) roaming at will over an open area of 

8 not less than 1,000 acres; and 

9 ‘‘(C) having the opportunity to avoid hunt10 ers. 

11 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person authorized by 

13 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di14 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv15 ice, may— 

16 ‘‘(A) without a warrant, arrest any person 

17 that violates this section (including regulations 

18 promulgated under this section) in the presence 

19 or view of the arresting person; 

20 ‘‘(B) execute any warrant or other process 

21 issued by an officer or court of competent juris22 diction to enforce this section; and 

23 ‘‘(C) with a search warrant, search for and 

24 seize any animal taken or possessed in violation 

25 of this section. 
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1 ‘‘(2) FORFEITURE.—Any animal seized with or 

2 without a search warrant shall be held by the Sec3 retary or by a United States marshal, and upon con4 viction, shall be forfeited to the United States and 

5 disposed of by the Secretary of the Interior in ac6 cordance with law. 

7 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE.—The Director of the United 

8 States Fish and Wildlife Service may use by agree9 ment, with or without reimbursement, the personnel 

10 and services of any other Federal or State agency 

11 for the purpose of enforcing this section.’’. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

13 chapter 3 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following:

‘‘Sec. 49. Exotic animals’’.

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