I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION H. R. 10049 
To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act and Asian Elephant 
Conservation Act to ban keeping elephants in captivity at zoological parks. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 25, 2024 
Ms. MALLIOTAKIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act and Asian 
Elephant Conservation Act to ban keeping elephants in 
captivity at zoological parks. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Captivity of Helpless 
Elephants Reduction Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘CHER Act of 
2024’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Elephants live in a matriarchal hierarchy 
where a lead female leads a large herd in the wild 
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and migrates, traveling hundreds of miles every 
year. African and Asian elephants have been dem-
onstrated to possess, amongst other things, inten-
tional communication, and learning, memory, and 
categorization abilities. An Emory University experi-
ment showed that a female elephant seemed to rec-
ognize herself in a mirror, a result attributed to self- 
awareness only seen otherwise in humans, dolphins, 
and chimpanzees. 
(2) Captivity does not provide for the needs of 
normal elephant behavior and reproduction. As a re-
sult, captive elephants suffer both physical and emo-
tional trauma including hernias, arthritis, mental 
degradation, and high calf mortality. The average 
lifespan of a captive elephant is 17 years; in the 
wild, elephants can live for 50 years or more. 
(3) It is estimated that the cost of caring for 
an elephant in captivity can be up to $100,000 per 
year. In 2004, the Detroit Zoo became the first 
major American zoo to shut down its elephant ex-
hibit on ethical grounds. In 2006, the Bronx Zoo an-
nounced that it would close its exhibit once its three 
elephants died. Since the early 1990s, more than 22 
zoos had shut down their elephant exhibits or an-
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nounced that they were phasing them out, including 
those in Seattle, San Francisco, and Chicago. 
(4) The United Kingdom phased out all cir-
cuses featuring wild animal performances by 2020 
and announced its intention to ban the captivity of 
elephants in zoos and safari parks. Dozens of other 
countries around the world have similar prohibitions, 
including Austria, Greece, Israel, Mexico, Peru, and 
Singapore. India bans the keeping of elephants in 
circuses and zoos. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are the following: 
(1) To ban the display, husbandry, and breed-
ing of African elephants in zoological parks in the 
United States and transfer existing African ele-
phants in such parks to authorized sanctuaries. 
(2) To ban the display, husbandry, and breed-
ing of Asian elephants in zoological parks in the 
United States and transfer existing Asian elephants 
in such parks to authorized sanctuaries. 
SEC. 4. INCREASING VIABILITY OF SPECIES CONSERVA-
TION THROUGH RELOCATION. 
(a) Section 4223 of the African Elephant Conserva-
tion Act (16 U.S.C. 4201–4246) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
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‘‘(6) to house and/or manage African elephants 
in zoological and safari parks. All African elephants 
residing in zoological and safari parks before the en-
actment of this amendment shall be transferred to 
authorized wildlife sanctuaries.’’. 
(b) Section 4262 of the Asian Elephant Conservation 
Act (16 U.S.C. 4261–4266) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(4) To assist in the conservation of Asian ele-
phants by prohibiting zoological and safari parks 
from housing and managing Asian elephants and 
transferring any rhinoceros species residing in zoo-
logical and safari parks before the enactment of this 
amendment to authorized wildlife sanctuaries.’’. 
Æ 
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