I 
★
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5999 
To amend the Animal Welfare Act to restrict the use of exotic and wild 
animals in traveling performances. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2021 
Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 
COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. SEAN 
PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. NORTON, Miss RICE 
of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. 
DEAN, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
CARTWRIGHT, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. SIRES, Mrs. 
CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. NAD-
LER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. 
BROWNLEY, Ms. BASS, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TRONE, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. CARSON, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. 
TONKO, Ms. JACOBS of California, Mrs. HAYES, and Mr. MALINOWSKI) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ag-
riculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Animal Welfare Act to restrict the use of 
exotic and wild animals in traveling performances. 
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 ‘‘Traveling Exotic Ani-
mal and Public Safety Protection Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) conditions inherent to traveling perform-
ances, including constant travel, temporary and col-
lapsible facilities, and the prolonged confinement 
and physical coercion of animals, subject exotic and 
wild animals to compromised welfare and chronic 
stress, and present public and worker health and 
safety risks not adequately addressed by current reg-
ulations; 
(2) current regulatory oversight of traveling 
performances is complex and costly, and those costs 
are not typically recouped via licensing fees but are 
left to the taxpayer; 
(3) the frequent mobility of traveling perform-
ances complicates oversight such that agencies and 
authorities cannot properly monitor, evaluate, or fol-
low through regarding the condition of animals or 
facilities, or their history of potential injuries, inci-
dents, illnesses, violations, or other issues, and so 
cannot properly protect animals, workers, or the 
public; 
(4) traveling exotic and wild animal perform-
ances use collapsible, temporary, mobile facilities, 
which risk escape and serious harm to animals, 
workers, and the public; 
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(5) traveling exotic and wild animal perform-
ances present safety risks by permitting or not pre-
venting public contact and by displaying animals in 
inappropriate, uncontrolled areas in dangerous prox-
imity to humans and other animals; 
(6) exotic and wild animals have intrinsic value; 
(7) the wild instincts and needs of exotic and 
wild animals are unpredictable and not naturally 
suited to traveling performances, and exotic and wild 
animals thus suffer as a result of being unable to 
fulfill instinctive natural behaviors; 
(8) exotic and wild animals used in traveling 
performances suffer severe and extended confine-
ment, and, deprived of natural movements and be-
haviors, are prone to chronic stress and behavioral, 
health, and psychological problems; 
(9) exotic and wild animals are forced to per-
form unnatural tricks requiring extreme physical co-
ercion, including the use of food and water restric-
tions, electric shock devices, bullhooks, metal bars, 
whips, shovels, pitchforks, and other abuses; 
(10) it is not necessary to use exotic or wild 
animals in traveling performances to experience the 
circus or similar events; 
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(11) using exotic or wild animals as commod-
ities traded for traveling performances adds nothing 
to the understanding and conservation of those ani-
mals and the natural environment, and actually un-
dermines conservation efforts necessary to protect 
threatened and endangered species; 
(12) it is not possible to provide or ensure pub-
lic and worker safety or appropriate physical and 
mental welfare of exotic and wild animals under the 
traveling performance business model, which inher-
ently and significantly restricts the natural move-
ments and behaviors of animals, and in which abuse 
is prevalent and oversight problematic; 
(13) the use of exotic or wild animals in trav-
eling performances is or substantially affects inter-
state or foreign commerce and the free flow of inter-
state or foreign commerce; 
(14) it is essential to regulate the use of exotic 
or wild animals in traveling performances to ensure 
the humane care and treatment of animals; and 
(15) restricting the use of exotic and wild ani-
mals in traveling performances is the most cost-ef-
fective and efficient way to safeguard animals, work-
ers, and the public. 
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SEC. 3. USE OF EXOTIC OR WILD ANIMALS IN TRAVELING 
PERFORMANCES PROHIBITED. 
Section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 
2143) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 
subsections (h) and (i), respectively; 
(2) by redesignating the second subsection (f) 
(relating to delivery of animals by a dealer, research 
facility, exhibitor, or government) as subsection (g); 
and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(j) PROHIBITION OF EXOTIC AND WILD ANIMALS 
IN TRAVELING PERFORMANCES.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) CAUSE A PERFORMANCE.—The term 
‘cause a performance’ means— 
‘‘(i) to be responsible for a perform-
ance; 
‘‘(ii) to financially benefit as an owner 
or operator from a performance; or 
‘‘(iii) to sponsor a performance. 
‘‘(B) DOMESTIC ANIMAL.—The term ‘do-
mestic animal’ means any animal that is nor-
mally maintained as a companion or pet animal 
in or near the household of the owner or person 
who cares for the animal, such as a domestic 
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dog (including a service dog), domestic cat, fer-
ret, gerbil, horse, mouse, rat, guinea pig, rabbit, 
or hamster. 
‘‘(C) ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION
PRO-
GRAM.—The term ‘environmental education 
program’ means a program, which may be an 
animal exhibition, that— 
‘‘(i) is professionally designed to im-
part knowledge or information for edu-
cational or conservation purposes about the 
natural behavior, habitat, and life cycle of 
an animal, or similar pedagogical informa-
tion, by an individual qualified to impart 
that information; and 
‘‘(ii) does not include any performance 
of behavior of an animal that does not nat-
urally occur for that animal in the wild. 
‘‘(D) EXOTIC OR WILD ANIMAL.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘exotic 
or wild animal’ means— 
‘‘(I) any animal that is or has 
historically been found in the wild or 
in the wild state, regardless of wheth-
er the animal was bred or born in the 
wild or in captivity; and 
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‘‘(II) any hybrid of an animal de-
scribed in subclause (I), including a 
hybrid cross with a domestic animal 
or farm animal. 
‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘exotic 
or wild animal’ includes— 
‘‘(I) canidae (except domestic 
dogs); 
‘‘(II) cetartiodactyla (except al-
pacas, bison, cattle, deer, elk, goats, 
llamas, reindeer, swine, and sheep); 
‘‘(III) crocodilia; 
‘‘(IV) edentata; 
‘‘(V) elasmobranchii; 
‘‘(VI) felidae (except domestic 
cats); 
‘‘(VII) hyaenidae; 
‘‘(VIII) marsupialia; 
‘‘(IX) mustelidae; 
‘‘(X) nonhuman primates; 
‘‘(XI) 
perissodactyla 
(except 
horses, donkeys, and mules); 
‘‘(XII) pinnipedia; 
‘‘(XIII) proboscidea; 
‘‘(XIV) procyonidae; 
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‘‘(XV) ratites; 
‘‘(XVI) spheniscidae; 
‘‘(XVII) testudinidae; 
‘‘(XVIII) ursidae; 
‘‘(XIX) varanidae; and 
‘‘(XX) viverridae. 
‘‘(iii) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘exotic 
or wild animal’ does not include any ani-
mal that is a domestic animal or farm ani-
mal. 
‘‘(E) FARM ANIMAL.—The term ‘farm ani-
mal’ means an alpaca, cow, sheep, swine, goat, 
llama, poultry, rabbit, horse, mule, or donkey. 
‘‘(F) MOBILE OR TRAVELING HOUSING FA-
CILITY.—The term ‘mobile or traveling housing 
facility’ means a transporting vehicle, such as a 
truck, car, trailer, airplane, ship, or railway car, 
used to transport or house an animal while 
traveling to, from, or between locations for per-
formance purposes. 
‘‘(G) PERFORMANCE.—The term ‘perform-
ance’ means any animal act, circus, ride, car-
nival, display, exhibition, fair, parade, petting 
zoo, race, performance, or similar undertaking 
in which an animal is required to perform 
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tricks, give rides, or participate as an accom-
paniment for the entertainment, amusement, or 
benefit of an audience. 
‘‘(H) TRAVELING ANIMAL ACT.—The term 
‘traveling animal act’ means any performance 
of an animal for which the animal is trans-
ported in a mobile or traveling housing facility 
to, from, or between locations for the purpose 
of a performance. 
‘‘(I) WILDLIFE
SANCTUARY.—The term 
‘wildlife sanctuary’ means an organization 
that— 
‘‘(i) 
is 
described 
in 
sections 
170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and 501(c)(3) of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986; 
‘‘(ii) is a place of refuge that provides 
care for abused, neglected, unwanted, im-
pounded, abandoned, orphaned, or dis-
placed exotic or wild animals for the life-
time of the exotic or wild animals; and 
‘‘(iii) does not— 
‘‘(I) engage in commercial trade 
in any exotic or wild animal, includ-
ing— 
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‘‘(aa) the sale of any animal, 
animal part, or derivative off-
spring; 
‘‘(bb) photographic opportu-
nities; and 
‘‘(cc) public events for finan-
cial profit or an entertainment 
purpose; 
‘‘(II) breed any exotic or wild 
animal; 
‘‘(III) permit unescorted public 
visitation; 
‘‘(IV) permit direct contact be-
tween the public and any exotic or 
wild animal; or 
‘‘(V) remove any exotic or wild 
animal from a sanctuary or enclosure 
for exhibition or performance. 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITED USE OF EXOTIC AND WILD 
ANIMALS.—Subject to paragraph (3), no person 
shall cause a performance of, or allow for the par-
ticipation of, an exotic or wild animal in a traveling 
animal act. 
‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (2) shall not 
apply to— 
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‘‘(v) in a rodeo; 
‘‘(B) the use of an indigenous wild animal 
by a wildlife rehabilitator in an environmental 
education program— 
‘‘(i) that is permitted by the relevant 
jurisdiction; 
‘‘(ii) that is accredited or certified by 
the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Asso-
ciation or the International Wildlife Reha-
bilitation Council; and 
‘‘(iii) if the exotic or wild animal is 
kept in a mobile or traveling housing facil-
ity for not more than 12 total hours during 
a day; 
‘‘(C) a federally permitted falconer; or 
‘‘(D) a wildlife sanctuary. 
‘‘(4) PENALTY.—Any person that fails to com-
ply with this subsection shall be subject to the en-
forcement and penalties described in sections 16, 19, 
and 29. 
‘‘(5) RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER LAW.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub-
section— 
‘‘(i) authorizes the interstate trans-
port of any species listed as threatened or 
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endangered under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 
‘‘(ii) waives any requirement to com-
ply with any regulation issued under this 
Act. 
‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—The 
standards and requirements of this sub-
section— 
‘‘(i) are in addition to, and not in lieu 
of, any other laws protecting animal wel-
fare; and 
‘‘(ii) do not limit any other Federal, 
State, or local law or rule that more strin-
gently protects the welfare of animals. 
‘‘(C) PREEMPTION.—No State or political 
subdivision of a State may establish or continue 
to enforce any standards, requirements, or reg-
ulations with respect to causing a performance 
of, or allowing for the participation of, an exotic 
or wild animal in a traveling animal act that 
are inconsistent with or less stringent than the 
standards and requirements under this sub-
section.’’. 
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SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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