I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1818 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 30, 2017 
Mr. DENHAM (for himself, Mr. JONES, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. LOBIONDO, 
Mr. GAETZ, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. ROSS, and Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
Resources 
A BILL 
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. 
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’’. 
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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.— 
(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)’’. 
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(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 
(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, 
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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 and that holds such license 
in good standing, if the entity— 
‘‘(i) has not been, and does not em-
ploy any person engaged in animal care 
who has been, convicted of or fined for an 
offense involving the abuse or neglect of 
any animal pursuant to any State, local, or 
Federal law; 
‘‘(ii) has not had, and does not em-
ploy any person who has had, a license or 
permit regarding the care, possession, exhi-
bition, breeding, or sale of animals revoked 
or suspended by any State, local, or Fed-
eral agency, including the Department of 
Agriculture, within the preceding 3-year 
period; 
‘‘(iii) has not been cited by the De-
partment of Agriculture under the Animal 
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Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) within 
the preceding 12-month period for any re-
peat violation for— 
‘‘(I) inadequate veterinary care; 
‘‘(II) handling that causes stress 
or trauma or a threat to public safety; 
‘‘(III) insufficient provisions of 
food or water; or 
‘‘(IV) failure to allow facility in-
spection; 
‘‘(iv) does not allow any individual 
other than a trained professional employee 
or contractor of the licensee (or an accom-
panying employee receiving professional 
training) or a licensed veterinarian (or an 
accompanying veterinary student) to come 
into direct physical contact with a prohib-
ited wildlife species; 
‘‘(v) 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 
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the public unless there is a permanent bar-
rier that prevents public contact or risk of 
contact; 
‘‘(vi) does not breed any prohibited 
wildlife species unless the breeding is con-
ducted pursuant to a species-specific, pub-
licly available, peer-reviewed population 
management plan developed according to 
established conservation science principles; 
‘‘(vii) maintains liability insurance in 
an amount of not less than $250,000 for 
each occurrence of property damage, bodily 
injury, or death caused by any prohibited 
wildlife species possessed by the person; 
and 
‘‘(viii) has a written plan that is made 
available to local law enforcement, State 
agencies and Federal agencies on request, 
for the quick and safe recapture or de-
struction of prohibited wildlife species in 
the event a prohibited wildlife species es-
capes, including, but not limited to, written 
protocols for training staff on methods of 
safe recapture of the escaped prohibited 
wildlife species; 
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‘‘(B) a State college, university, or agency, 
or 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; 
‘‘(ii) does not commercially trade in 
prohibited wildlife species, including off-
spring, parts, and byproducts of such ani-
mals; 
‘‘(iii) does not breed the prohibited 
wildlife species; 
‘‘(iv) does not allow direct contact be-
tween the public and prohibited wildlife 
species; and 
‘‘(v) does not allow the transportation 
and display of prohibited wildlife species 
off-site; 
‘‘(D) has custody of the prohibited wildlife 
species solely for the purpose of expeditiously 
transporting the prohibited wildlife species to a 
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person described in this paragraph with respect 
to the species; or 
‘‘(E) an entity or individual that is in pos-
session of a 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 Big Cat Pub-
lic Safety Act, the entity or individual reg-
isters each individual animal of each pro-
hibited wildlife species 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 be-
tween the public and prohibited wildlife 
species.’’. 
SEC. 4. PENALTIES. 
(a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 4(a)(1) of the Lacey 
Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(a)(1)) is 
amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ after ‘‘(d),’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘, (e),’’ after ‘‘subsection (d)’’. 
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(b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 4(d) of the 
Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(d)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ 
after ‘‘(d),’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ 
after ‘‘(d),’’; 
(3) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ after 
‘‘(d),’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(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 shall be deemed to have been com-
mitted 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. 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,’’. 
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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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