I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3277 

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to increase protections for animals, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 17, 2021 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI (for himself, Mr. LIEU, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. LOWENTHAL, 

Mr. VARGAS, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. 

ESHOO, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. JONES, 

Mr. NADLER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COOPER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, 

Mr. POCAN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. SUOZZI, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Mr. TAKANO, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 

GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. 

KILMER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. 

TLAIB, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. SIRES, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. 

CONNOLLY, Mr. CORREA, Mr. YARMUTH, and Ms. JACOBS of California) 

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

A BILL 

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to increase protections 

for animals, 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 ‘‘Animal Welfare En3 forcement Improvement Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO ISSUANCE OF 

5 LICENSES. 

6 Section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133) 

7 is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 3. LICENSES. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (c), (d), 

10 and (e), the Secretary shall issue licenses to dealers and 

11 exhibitors upon— 

12 ‘‘(1) the submission of an application for such 

13 license that— 

14 ‘‘(A) contains an inventory of all animals 

15 present in all of the applicant’s facilities; and 

16 ‘‘(B) is submitted in such form and man17 ner as the Secretary may prescribe; and 

18 ‘‘(2) payment of such fee established pursuant 

19 to section 23. 

20 ‘‘(b) VALIDITY OF LICENSE.—A license issued under 

21 subsection (a) shall be valid for a period not to exceed 

22 1 calendar year. An applicant shall submit an application 

23 under such subsection to renew such license each calendar 

24 year before the expiration of the previously issued license. 

25 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED DEALERS AND EXHIBITORS.—Not26 withstanding subsection (a), the Secretary may not issue 


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1 a license (including a renewal of such a license) under such 

2 subsection to a dealer or exhibitor if— 

3 ‘‘(1) such dealer or exhibitor has been found to 

4 have violated (including by entering a nolo 

5 contendere or no contest plea with respect to the vio6 lation) Federal, State, or local laws relating to ani7 mals, including this Act and any other anti-animal 

8 cruelty or wildlife protection law; or 

9 ‘‘(2) the issuance of a license to such dealer or 

10 exhibitor would facilitate the circumvention of State 

11 or local law prohibiting the private ownership of cer12 tain animals. 

13 ‘‘(d) UNANNOUNCED FACILITY INSPECTIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

15 (a) and except as provided in paragraph (2), the 

16 Secretary may not issue a license (including a re17 newal of such a license) under such subsection to a 

18 dealer or exhibitor until the dealer or exhibitor shall 

19 have demonstrated for the one year period preceding 

20 the date on which the application for such license is 

21 submitted, through full, unannounced inspections, 

22 that the facilities of such dealer or exhibitor at the 

23 time of inspection— 


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1 ‘‘(A) comply with the standards promul2 gated by the Secretary pursuant to section 13; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) have not been documented as having 

5 not complied with any such standard during 

6 more than one inspection in the previous two 

7 calendar years. 

8 ‘‘(2) NEW APPLICANTS.—In the case of an ap9 plicant seeking to be licensed as a dealer or exhibitor 

10 under subsection (a) who has not previously been so 

11 licensed, the applicant shall not be subject to more 

12 than 2 inspections conducted pursuant to paragraph 

13 (1). Both such inspections shall be conducted within 

14 the 90-day period that begins on the date of the re15 ceipt of the application by the Secretary. If, upon 

16 the second inspection, the applicant is found to have 

17 failed to meet any standard promulgated by the Sec18 retary pursuant to section 13, the Secretary shall 

19 deny the application for such license and such appli20 cant may not submit an application for such a li21 cense for a one-year period beginning on the date on 

22 which the application is so denied. 

23 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 

24 dealer or exhibitor shall not be required to obtain a license 

25 as a dealer or exhibitor under this Act if the size of the 


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1 business is determined by the Secretary to be de mini2 mis.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. HUMANE STANDARDS WITH RESPECT TO WATERING 

4 AND ADEQUATE VETERINARY CARE. 

5 Section 13(a) of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 

6 2143(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(9) The standards with respect to minimum 

8 requirements for adequate veterinary care referred 

9 to in paragraph (2) shall include, at a minimum, the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(A) Regularly scheduled visits, not less 

12 than once every 12 months, by the attending 

13 veterinarian to all dealer and exhibitor premises 

14 where animals are kept, to assess and ensure 

15 the adequacy of veterinary care and other as16 pects of animal care and use. 

17 ‘‘(B) A complete physical examination of 

18 each animal maintained by a dealer or exhibitor 

19 by the attending veterinarian not less than once 

20 every 12 months, unless animal health or safety 

21 considerations require a different protocol. 

22 ‘‘(C) Vaccinations for contagious or deadly 

23 diseases, and sampling and treatment of 

24 parasites and other pests, to which the species 

25 maintained by a dealer or exhibitor may be susVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3277.IH H3277

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1 ceptible, in accordance with a schedule ap2 proved by the attending veterinarian. 

3 ‘‘(D) Preventative care and treatment as 

4 required by the species maintained by a dealer 

5 or exhibitor, in accordance with a schedule ap6 proved by the attending veterinarian.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. LICENSE SUSPENSIONS AND REVOCATIONS. 

8 Section 19 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 

9 2149) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘hereunder, he may sus12 pend’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘here13 under— 

14 ‘‘(1) in the case of any such violation that is 

15 not described in paragraph (2), the Secretary may 

16 suspend’’; 

17 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

18 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(2) in the case of such a violation that the 

22 Secretary determines presents a risk to animal wel23 fare, the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) suspend such person’s license tempo2 rarily, but for a period not to exceed 21 days; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) after notice and opportunity for an 

5 informal hearing, permanently revoke such li6 cense if the Secretary determines that— 

7 ‘‘(i) the violation occurred; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the violation presents or has pre9 sented a risk to animal welfare; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the violation has persisted past 

11 the initial period of license suspension 

12 under subparagraph (A) or the person has 

13 been found to have committed one or more 

14 other such violations (including by entering 

15 a nolo contendere or no contest plea with 

16 respect to any such violation) affecting ani17 mal welfare.’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(e)(1) Any person whose license has been suspended 

20 for any reason shall not be licensed, or registered, in his 

21 or her own name or in any other manner, within the period 

22 during which the order of suspension is in effect. No fam23 ily member, household member, partnership, firm, cor24 poration, or other legal entity in which any such person 


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1 has a substantial interest, financial or otherwise, will be 

2 licensed or registered during that period. 

3 ‘‘(2) Any person whose license has been revoked shall 

4 not be licensed or registered, in his or her own name or 

5 in any other manner, at any time, and no family member, 

6 household member, partnership, firm, corporation, or 

7 other legal entity in which any such person has a substan8 tial interest, financial or otherwise, will be licensed or reg9 istered. 

10 ‘‘(3) Any person whose license has been suspended 

11 or revoked shall not buy, sell, transport, exhibit, deliver 

12 for transportation, or be employed in any capacity with 

13 respect to any animal during the period of suspension or 

14 revocation, under any circumstances, whether on his or 

15 her behalf or on the behalf of another licensee or reg16 istrant.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. CITIZEN SUITS. 

18 Section 19 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 

19 2149), as amended by section 3, is further amended by 

20 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(f)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any per22 son may commence a civil suit on his own behalf to enjoin 

23 any person, including the United States and any other 

24 governmental instrumentality or agency (to the extent per25 mitted by the eleventh amendment to the Constitution), 


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1 who is alleged to be in violation of any provision of this 

2 Act or regulation issued under the authority thereof. The 

3 district courts shall have jurisdiction, without regard to 

4 the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties, 

5 to enforce any such provision or regulation or to order the 

6 Secretary to perform such act or duty, as the case may 

7 be. 

8 ‘‘(2) No action may be commenced under paragraph 

9 (1)— 

10 ‘‘(A) prior to sixty days after written notice of 

11 the violation has been given to the Secretary, and to 

12 any alleged violator of any such provision or regula13 tion; and 

14 ‘‘(B) if the United States has commenced and 

15 is diligently prosecuting a criminal action in a court 

16 of the United States to redress a violation of any 

17 such provision or regulation. 

18 ‘‘(3)(A) Any suit under this subsection may be 

19 brought in the judicial district in which the violation oc20 curs. 

21 ‘‘(B) In any such suit under this subsection in which 

22 the United States is not a party, the Attorney General, 

23 at the request of the Secretary, may intervene on behalf 

24 of the United States as a matter of right. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The court, in issuing any final order in any suit 

2 brought pursuant to paragraph (1), may award costs of 

3 litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert wit4 ness fees) to any party, whenever the court determines 

5 such award is appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(5) The injunctive relief provided by this subsection 

7 shall not restrict any right which any person (or class of 

8 persons) may have under any statute or common law to 

9 seek enforcement of any standard or limitation or to seek 

10 any other relief (including relief against the Secretary or 

11 a State agency).’’. 

12 SEC. 6. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON VIOLATIONS. 

13 The Animal Welfare Act is amended by inserting be14 fore section 26 (7 U.S.C. 2156) the following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 25A. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON ENFORCE16 MENT. 

17 ‘‘The Secretary shall publish, in a searchable format 

18 on a public website of the Department of Agriculture, in19 formation and reports (in their entirety and without redac20 tion) on the nature and place of all investigations and in21 spections conducted by the Secretary under section 16 (in22 cluding all reports documenting all instances of non23 compliance with this Act observed during any such inspec24 tion), enforcement records, and animal inventories.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS. 

2 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue 

4 regulations to carry out the amendments made by this 

5 Act. 

Æ 


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