I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3546 
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 
SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 
Mr. JONES (for himself, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. JOLLY, 
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. UPTON, Mr. LOBIONDO, and Ms. LORETTA 
SANCHEZ of California) introduced 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’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The global illicit trade in wildlife may be 
worth up to $20,000,000,000 annually and the value 
of legal wildlife trade in the United States was re-
cently estimated at $2,800,000,000 annually. 
(2) The illegal trade in prohibited wildlife spe-
cies (as defined in section 2(g) of the Lacey Act 
Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371(g)) stimu-
lates demand and expands markets in which those 
species can be illegally sold. 
(3) The private possession, breeding, and sale 
of prohibited wildlife species has a substantial and 
detrimental effect on the health and general welfare 
of the people of the United States and on the con-
servation of the species themselves. 
(4) Private possession and breeding of prohib-
ited wildlife species have a substantial and direct ef-
fect on interstate commerce because prohibited wild-
life species are frequently bred and possessed to be 
used in public exhibition or for sale or transfer of 
ownership in the exotic pet trade, and are often 
transported in interstate commerce for these pur-
poses. 
(5) Private possession and breeding of prohib-
ited wildlife species contributes to the interstate 
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traffic in those species and may contribute to illegal 
international wildlife trade. 
(6) Prohibited wildlife species in private posses-
sion, or distributed intrastate, are fungible commod-
ities that cannot be differentiated, in terms of con-
trol, from prohibited wildlife species possessed or 
distributed interstate. 
(7) It is exceedingly difficult to distinguish be-
tween prohibited wildlife species that are possessed, 
bred, sold, or transported in interstate commerce 
from those that have not been. 
(8) Federal control of the intrastate private 
possession and breeding of prohibited wildlife species 
is essential to the effective control of the interstate 
incidents of traffic in prohibited wildlife species. 
(9) The United States is a party to the Conven-
tion on International Trade in Endangered Species 
of Wild Fauna and Flora, which was designed to 
protect species of wild fauna and flora against over-
exploitation through international trade. 
SEC. 3. 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 
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SEC. 4. 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, 
or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or 
foreign commerce, or to breed or possess, any live 
animal of any prohibited wildlife species. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—Paragraph 
(1) does not apply to any person that— 
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‘‘(A) is an institution accredited by the As-
sociation of Zoos and Aquariums; 
‘‘(B) is a facility that— 
‘‘(i) has an active written contract 
with an Association of Zoos and Aquar-
iums Species Survival Plan or Taxon Advi-
sory Group for breeding of prohibited wild-
life species; and 
‘‘(ii) does not breed, acquire, or sell 
prohibited wildlife species other than the 
species covered by such contract; 
‘‘(C) is a State college, university, or agen-
cy, or State-licensed veterinarian; 
‘‘(D) is 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; 
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‘‘(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; 
‘‘(E) has custody of the 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; 
‘‘(F) is in possession of a prohibited wild-
life 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, is registered with the Ani-
mal and Plant Health Inspection Service; 
‘‘(ii) does not breed, acquire, or sell 
any prohibited wildlife species after the 
date of the enactment of such Act; and 
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‘‘(iii) does not allow direct contact be-
tween the public and prohibited wildlife 
species; or 
‘‘(G) holds a valid Class C license under 
the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et 
seq.), and— 
‘‘(i) regularly travels across State 
lines to conduct circus performances fea-
turing live prohibited wildlife species, 
clowns, and aerial acts; 
‘‘(ii) engages in such travel and con-
duct before January 1, 2015; and 
‘‘(iii) does not allow direct contact be-
tween the public and prohibited wildlife 
species.’’. 
SEC. 5. 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)’’. 
(b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 4(d)(1) of the 
Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(d)(1)) 
is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A)— 
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(A) by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ after ‘‘(d),’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the comma at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (B)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(e),’’ after ‘‘(d),’’; and 
(B) by adding ‘‘or’’ after the comma at the 
end; and 
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(C) knowingly violates section 3(e),’’; and 
(4) in the matter following subparagraph (B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘knowing that’’ and all 
that follows through ‘‘treaty or regulation,’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘said’’; and 
(C) by inserting before the period ‘‘or pro-
hibited wildlife species concerned’’. 
SEC. 6. 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. 7. 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: 
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‘‘(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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