Captive Primate Safety Act
Bill: S.1588 | Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT)
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Captive Primate Safety Act
This bill limits the trade and possession of nonhuman primates. For example, the bill prohibits most individuals from owning a nonhuman primate as a pet.

To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to prohibit importation, 
 exportation, transportation, sale, receipt, acquisition, and purchase 
    in interstate or foreign commerce, or in a manner substantially 
 affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or possession, of any live 
               animal of any prohibited primate species.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Captive Primate Safety Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF PROHIBITED PRIMATE SPECIES.

    Section 2 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (g) through (k) as 
        paragraphs (h) through (l), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (f) the following:
    ``(g) Prohibited Primate Species.--The term `prohibited primate 
species' means any live species of nonhuman primate, including 
chimpanzees, galagos, gibbons, gorillas, lemurs, lorises, monkeys, 
orangutans, tarsiers, or any hybrid of such a species.''.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS.

    (a) Prohibited Acts.--Section 3 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 
(16 U.S.C. 3372) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3)(B)(iii), by striking ``; or'' 
                and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(4) subject to subsection (f), to import, export, 
        transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or 
        foreign commerce, or in a manner substantially affecting 
        interstate or foreign commerce, or to possess, any prohibited 
        primate species; or
            ``(5) to attempt to commit any act described in paragraphs 
        (1) through (4).'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
            (3) by inserting before subsection (g) (as so redesignated) 
        the following:
    ``(f) Nonapplicability of Prohibited Primate Species Offense.--
Subsection (a)(4) does not apply to--
            ``(1) a person exhibiting animals to the public under a 
        Class C license issued by the Department of Agriculture, or a 
        Federal facility registered with the Department of Agriculture 
        that exhibits animals, if such person or facility--
                    ``(A) holds such license or registration in good 
                standing; and
                    ``(B) does not allow any individual to come into 
                direct physical contact with a prohibited primate 
                species, other than a lemur or a galago, unless that 
                individual is--
                            ``(i) a trained professional employee or 
                        contractor of the person 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 conservation 
                        programs of the entity or facility, the contact 
                        is not in the course of commercial activity 
                        (which may be evidenced by advertisement or 
                        promotion of such activity or other relevant 
                        evidence), and the contact is incidental to 
                        humane husbandry conducted pursuant to a 
                        species-specific, publicly available, peer-
                        edited population management and care plan that 
                        has been provided to the Secretary with 
                        justifications that the plan--
                                    ``(I) reflects established 
                                conservation science principles;
                                    ``(II) incorporates genetic and 
                                demographic analysis of a multi-
                                institution population of animals 
                                covered by the plan; and
                                    ``(III) promotes animal welfare by 
                                ensuring that the frequency of breeding 
                                is appropriate for the species;
            ``(2) a person registered as a research facility by the 
        Department of Agriculture;
            ``(3) a State college, university, or agency, or a State-
        licensed veterinarian;
            ``(4) a wildlife sanctuary that cares for prohibited 
        primate species, and--
                    ``(A) is a corporation that is exempt from taxation 
                under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
                1986 and described in sections 501(c)(3) and 
                170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of such Code;
                    ``(B) does not commercially trade in any prohibited 
                primate species, including offspring, parts, and 
                byproducts of such animals;
                    ``(C) does not breed any prohibited primate 
                species;
                    ``(D) does not allow direct contact between the 
                public and any prohibited primate species; and
                    ``(E) does not allow the transportation and display 
                of any prohibited primate species off-site;
            ``(5) a person that has custody of any prohibited primate 
        species solely for the purpose of expeditiously transporting 
        the prohibited primate species to a person described in this 
        subsection with respect to the species; or
            ``(6) a person that is in possession of any prohibited 
        primate species that was born before the date of the enactment 
        of the Captive Primate Safety Act, if the person--
                    ``(A) not later than 180 days after the date of the 
                enactment of such Act, registers each individual animal 
                of each prohibited primate species possessed by the 
                person with the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                Service;
                    ``(B) does not breed, acquire, or sell any 
                prohibited primate species after the date of the 
                enactment of such Act; and
                    ``(C) does not allow direct contact between the 
                public and prohibited primate species.''.
    (b) Civil Penalties.--Section 4(a)(1) of the Lacey Act Amendments 
of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and (f)'' and inserting ``(f), and (g)''; 
        and
            (2) by striking ``or (f)'' and inserting ``(f), or (g)''.
    (c) Criminal Penalties.--Section 4(d) of the Lacey Act Amendments 
of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and (f)'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``(f), and (g)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``(d) or (f)'' and 
        inserting ``(d), (f), or (g)''.
    (d) Effective Date; Regulations.--
            (1) Effective date.--Subsections (a) through (c), and the 
        amendments made by those subsections, shall take effect on the 
        earlier of--
                    (A) the date of promulgation of regulations under 
                paragraph (2); and
                    (B) the expiration of the period referred to in 
                paragraph (2).
            (2) Regulations.--Not later than the end of the 180-day 
        period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
        Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate regulations 
        implementing the amendments made by this section.

SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.

    Section 7(a) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 
3376(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``3(f)'' and inserting 
        ``3(g)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) The Secretary shall, in consultation with other 
        relevant Federal and State agencies, promulgate any regulations 
        necessary to implement section 3(f).''.
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