CECIL Act

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. Short title This Act may be cited as the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies Act CECIL Act 2. Amendment to prohibited acts Section 9(a)(1) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1538(a)(1) (A) import into or export from the United States any species listed or proposed to be listed under section 4(c) as a threatened species or endangered species; . 3. Imports of sport-hunted trophies Section 10(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1539(a) (3) Before issuing any permit under this Act authorizing import from any country of a sport-hunted trophy of a threatened species or endangered species, the Secretary must make a finding after public notice and comment pursuant to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, of whether hunting of the species in such country enhances the propagation or survival of the species. (4) Notwithstanding sections 9(b) and 9(c)(2), no permit may be issued by the Secretary for the import of a sport-hunted trophy of an elephant or lion taken in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, or Zambia. . 4. Permit fees for sport-hunted trophy imports Section 10(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(2) (C) No permit may be issued by the Secretary under this Act for import of a sport-hunted trophy unless the applicant pays to the Secretary all administrative costs incurred by the United States that are associated with processing the permit application. . 5. Transparency of sports-hunted trophy import permits Section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1539(c) which is made under this section under this Act for an endangered species or threatened species 6. Termination of International Wildlife Conservation Council The International Wildlife Conservation Council of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is hereby abolished. 7. Government Accountability Office study (a) In general Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct and submit to the Congress a report on the results of a study of the effectiveness of trophy hunting in supporting international wildlife conservation efforts. (b) Report The report shall— (1) include a detailed analysis of how permit fees and other payments from hunters to government entities and hunting guides in host countries are applied to tangible actions supporting the conservation of the target species and other wildlife in such countries; (2) identify data gaps and recommend information that hunters and host countries must submit to verify the impacts of trophy hunting on wildlife conservation efforts; and (3) recommend actions that the Department of the Interior and the Congress should take to ensure that trophy hunting contributes to conservation.

Summary: Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies Act or the CECIL Act This bill restricts: (1) the importation or exportation of species that have been proposed to be listed as threatened or endangered species, or (2) the importation of sport-hunted trophy of a threatened species or endangered species. In addition, the bill abolishes the International Wildlife Conservation Council of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.