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 ‘‘Big Cat Public Safety 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of the Lacey Act 
Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (k) 
as subsections (b) through (l), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so re-
designated) the following: 
‘‘(a) BREED.—The term ‘breed’ means to facilitate 
propagation or reproduction (whether intentionally or neg-
ligently), or to fail to prevent propagation or reproduc-
tion.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) CONSOLIDATED FARM AND RURAL DEVEL-
OPMENT
ACT.—Section 349(a)(3) of the Consoli-
dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 
1997(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 2(a)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘section 2(b)’’. 
(2) LACEY ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1981.— 
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(A) Section 3(e)(2)(C) of the Lacey Act 
Amendments 
of 
1981 
(16 
U.S.C. 
3372(e)(2)(C)) is amended— 
(i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘section 
2(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2(h)’’; and 
(ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘section 
2(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2(h)’’. 
(B) Section 7(c) of the Lacey Act Amend-
ments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3376(c)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘section 2(f)(2)(A)’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 2(g)(2)(A)’’. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS. 
Section 3 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 
U.S.C. 3372) is amended— 
(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 strik-
ing ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a semicolon; and 
(iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 
and 
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(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘(1) 
through (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) through (3) or 
subsection (e)’’; and 
(2) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(e) CAPTIVE WILDLIFE OFFENSE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for any per-
son to import, export, transport, sell, receive, ac-
quire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce, 
or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or 
foreign commerce, or to breed or possess, any pro-
hibited 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 Depart-
ment of Agriculture, or a Federal facility reg-
istered 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 indi-
vidual is— 
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‘‘(I) a trained professional em-
ployee 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 con-
servation programs of the entity or fa-
cility, the contact is not in the course 
of commercial activity (which may be 
evidenced by advertisement or pro-
motion of such activity or other rel-
evant evidence), and the contact is in-
cidental to humane husbandry con-
ducted pursuant to a species-specific, 
publicly available, peer-edited popu-
lation 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 
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multi-institution 
population 
of 
animals covered by the plan; and 
‘‘(cc) promotes animal wel-
fare by ensuring that the fre-
quency of breeding is appropriate 
for the species; 
‘‘(ii) ensures that during public exhi-
bition of a lion (Panthera leo), tiger 
(Panthera 
tigris), 
leopard 
(Panthera 
pardus), snow leopard (Uncia uncia), jag-
uar 
(Panthera 
onca), 
cougar 
(Puma 
concolor), or any hybrid thereof, the ani-
mal is at least 15 feet from members of 
the public unless there is a permanent bar-
rier 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) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and de-
scribed 
in 
sections 
501(c)(3) 
and 
170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of such Code; 
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‘‘(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 be-
tween the public and any prohibited wild-
life species; and 
‘‘(v) does not allow the transportation 
and display of any prohibited wildlife spe-
cies 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 pos-
session 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 indi-
vidual animal of each prohibited wildlife 
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‘‘(4) Any person who knowingly violates sub-
section (e) of section 3 shall be fined not more than 
$20,000, or imprisoned for not more than five 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.’’. 
SEC. 5. FORFEITURE OF PROHIBITED WILDLIFE SPECIES. 
Section 5(a)(1) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 
1981 (16 U.S.C. 3374(a)(1)) is amended by inserting 
‘‘bred, possessed,’’ before ‘‘imported, exported,’’. 
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION. 
Section 7(a) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 
(16 U.S.C. 3376(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(3) The Secretary shall, in consultation with 
other relevant Federal and State agencies, promul-
gate any regulations necessary to implement section 
3(e).’’. 
Æ 
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