I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7840 
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit the taking for 
a trophy of any endangered or threatened species of fish or wildlife 
in the United States and the importation of endangered and threatened 
species trophies into the United States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 29, 2024 
Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Mr. LIEU, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. 
PELOSI, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
MCCOLLUM, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, 
Mr. SOTO, Mr. SUOZZI, and Mr. GOLDMAN of New York) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit 
the taking for a trophy of any endangered or threatened 
species of fish or wildlife in the United States and the 
importation of endangered and threatened species tro-
phies into the United States, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Prohibiting Threat-
ened and Endangered Creature Trophies Act of 2024’’ or 
the ‘‘ProTECT Act of 2024’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Trophy hunting of imperiled species under-
mines efforts to conserve wildlife populations be-
cause trophy hunters routinely target the biggest, 
strongest males, and removing those individuals 
from the population can decrease genetic variation, 
decrease reproduction, alter social structures, in-
crease infanticide, and cause unnatural evolutionary 
impacts. 
(2) When trophy hunting of imperiled species is 
sanctioned, poaching activity increases, further 
threatening the survival of wildlife populations. 
(3) Legal trade in wildlife parts and products 
can provide cover for markets for illegal trade in 
wildlife 
products, 
which 
is 
worth 
up 
to 
$20,000,000,000 annually and run by professional 
criminal networks linked to other transnational orga-
nized criminal activities, including trafficking in nar-
cotics, weapons, and humans. 
(4) While the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) currently prohibits the take 
and import of species listed under that Act as en-
dangered species, it does not automatically extend 
those protections to species listed as threatened spe-
cies. 
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SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS REGARDING TAKING AND IMPORT-
ING OF ENDANGERED SPECIES AND THREAT-
ENED SPECIES TROPHIES. 
(a) PROHIBITION OF TAKING OR IMPORTING.—Sec-
tion 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1538) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) TROPHIES.—It is unlawful for any person sub-
ject to the jurisdiction of the United States— 
‘‘(1) to take for a trophy within the United 
States or the territorial sea of the United States any 
species of fish or wildlife listed under section 4 as 
a threatened species; or 
‘‘(2) to import into the United States any tro-
phy of any species of fish or wildlife listed under sec-
tion 4 as a threatened species.’’. 
(b) PROHIBITION OF PERMITS.—Section 10(a) of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The Sec-
retary may permit’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as other-
wise provided in this subsection, the Secretary may 
permit’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) The Secretary may not permit or otherwise 
allow— 
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‘‘(A) taking for a trophy any species of fish or 
wildlife listed under section 4; or 
‘‘(B) importing into the United States any tro-
phy of any species of fish or wildlife listed under sec-
tion 4, notwithstanding section 9(b).’’. 
(c) ANTIQUES.—Section 10(h)(1) of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539(h)(1)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘Sections 4(d), 9(a), and 9(c) do not apply’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Sections 4(d), 9(a), 9(c), and 9(h)(2) do 
not apply’’. 
(d) DEFINITION.—Section 3 of the Endangered Spe-
cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (21) as para-
graph (22); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (20) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(21) The term ‘trophy’ means a whole dead 
animal, or a readily recognizable part or derivative 
of an animal, that— 
‘‘(A) is raw, processed, or manufactured; 
and 
‘‘(B) was obtained under a hunting license 
or other authorization issued by any State, for-
eign government, or private landowner.’’. 
Æ 
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