Big Cat Public Safety Act

To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to clarify provisions enacted by the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, to further the conservation of certain wildlife species, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Big Cat Public Safety Act 2. Definitions (a) In general Section 2 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 ( 16 U.S.C. 3371 (1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (k) as subsections (b) through (l), respectively; and (2) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so redesignated) the following: (a) Breed The term breed . (b) Conforming amendments (1) Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act Section 349(a)(3) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1997(a)(3) (A) by striking section 2(a) section 2 (B) by striking 3371(a) 3371 (2) Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 Section 7(c) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 ( 16 U.S.C. 3376(c) section 2(f)(2)(A) section 2(g)(2)(A) 3. Prohibitions Section 3 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 ( 16 U.S.C. 3372 (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (2)— (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting ; or (ii) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking ; or (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); and (B) in paragraph (4), by striking (1) through (3) (1) through (3) or subsection (e) (2) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows: (e) Captive wildlife offense (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), it is unlawful for any person to— (A) import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce, or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce; or (B) breed or possess; any prohibited wildlife species. (2) Limitation on application Paragraph (1) does not apply to— (A) an entity exhibiting animals to the public under a Class C license from the Department of Agriculture, or a Federal facility registered with the Department of Agriculture that exhibits animals, if such entity or facility holds such license or registration in good standing and if the entity or facility— (i) does not allow any individual to come into direct physical contact with a prohibited wildlife species, unless that individual is— (I) a trained professional employee or contractor of the entity or facility (or an accompanying employee receiving professional training); (II) a licensed veterinarian (or a veterinary student accompanying such a veterinarian); or (III) directly supporting conservation programs of the entity or facility, the contact is not in the course of commercial activity (which may be evidenced by advertisement or promotion of such activity or other relevant evidence), and the contact is incidental to humane husbandry conducted pursuant to a species-specific, publicly available, peer-edited population management and care plan that has been provided to the Secretary with justifications that the plan— (aa) reflects established conservation science principles; (bb) incorporates genetic and demographic analysis of a multi-institution population of animals covered by the plan; and (cc) promotes animal welfare by ensuring that the frequency of breeding is appropriate for the species; and (ii) ensures that during public exhibition of a lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), snow leopard (Uncia uncia), jaguar (Panthera onca), cougar (Puma concolor), or any hybrid thereof, the animal is at least 15 feet from members of the public unless there is a permanent barrier sufficient to prevent public contact; (B) a State college, university, or agency, or a State-licensed veterinarian; (C) a wildlife sanctuary that cares for prohibited wildlife species, and— (i) is a corporation that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) (ii) does not commercially trade in any prohibited wildlife species, including offspring, parts, and byproducts of such animals; (iii) does not breed any prohibited wildlife species; (iv) does not allow direct contact between the public and any prohibited wildlife species; and (v) does not allow the transportation and display of any prohibited wildlife species off-site; (D) has custody of any prohibited wildlife species solely for the purpose of expeditiously transporting the prohibited wildlife species to a person described in this paragraph with respect to the species; or (E) an entity or individual that is in possession of any prohibited wildlife species that was born before the date of the enactment of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, and— (i) not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the such Act, the entity or individual registers each individual animal of each prohibited wildlife species possessed by the entity or individual with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; (ii) does not breed, acquire, or sell any prohibited wildlife species after the date of the enactment of such Act; and (iii) does not allow direct contact between the public and prohibited wildlife species. . 4. Penalties (a) Civil penalties Section 4(a)(1) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 ( 16 U.S.C. 3373(a)(1) (1) by inserting (e), (d), (2) by inserting , (e), subsection (d) (b) Criminal penalties Section 4(d) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 ( 16 U.S.C. 3373(d) (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting (e), (d), (2) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting (e), (d), (3) in paragraph (2), by inserting (e), (d), (4) by adding at the end the following: (4) Any person who knowingly violates section 3(e) shall be fined not more than $20,000, or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. Each violation shall be a separate offense and the offense is deemed to have been committed in the district where the violation first occurred, and in any district in which the defendant may have taken or been in possession of the prohibited wildlife species. . 5. Forfeiture of prohibited wildlife species Section 5(a)(1) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 ( 16 U.S.C. 3374(a)(1) bred, possessed, imported, exported, 6. Administration Section 7(a) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 ( 16 U.S.C. 3376(a) (3) The Secretary shall, in consultation with other relevant Federal and State agencies, promulgate any regulations necessary to implement section 3(e). . July 22, 2022 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Big Cat Public Safety Act This act revises requirements governing the trade of big cats (i.e., species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species) under the Lacey Act to limit the possession, breeding, and exhibition of big cats. The Lacey Act prohibits any person from importing, exporting, buying, selling, transporting, receiving, or acquiring big cats across state lines or the U.S. border. However, some exemptions are provided for certain entities, such as universities and wildlife sanctuaries. (Sec. 3) The act expands the Lacey Act prohibitions to include a prohibition on possessing or breeding big cats. Breeding means facilitating propagation or reproduction (whether intentionally or negligently), or failing to prevent propagation or reproduction. Owners of big cats that were born before this act's enactment may keep their big cats, but the owners must register them with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The act modifies the list of entities that are exempt from prohibitions to export, buy, sell, transport, receive, acquire, possess, or breed big cats. The modified list includes exemptions for entities or facilities exhibiting animals to the public if they (1) hold a Class C license in good standing under the Animal Welfare Act, and (2) do not allow individuals to come into direct physical contact with big cats. However, direct contact is allowed if the individual is a trained professional, a veterinarian, or directly supporting conservation programs that do not involve commercial activities and meet other specified restrictions. (Sec. 4) A person who knowingly violates the act must be fined not more than $20,000, or imprisoned for no more than five years, or both. The act considers each violation to be a separate offense. The offense must be deemed to have been committed not only in the district where the violation first occurred, but also in any district in which the defendant may have taken or been in possession of the prohibited wildlife species. (Sec. 5) The act extends forfeiture provisions to fish, wildlife, or plants that are bred or possessed; thus, big cats bred or possessed in violation of the act are subject to forfeiture. (Sec. 6) The Department of the Interior must issue regulations to implement this act.