Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act of 2021
Bill: S.3220 | Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert (D-NJ)
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act of 2021
This bill prohibits the use of exotic or wild animals in performances of a traveling animal act, such as a circus, carnival, or parade. The prohibition does not apply to zoos, aquariums, research facilities, wildlife sanctuaries, and other entities. The prohibition also does not apply to domestic animals or farm animals.

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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Traveling Exotic Animal and Public 
Safety Protection Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) conditions inherent to traveling performances, 
        including constant travel, temporary and collapsible 
        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 
        regulations;
            (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 performances 
        complicates oversight such that agencies and authorities cannot 
        properly monitor, evaluate, or follow through regarding the 
        condition of animals or facilities, or their history of 
        potential injuries, incidents, illnesses, violations, or other 
        issues, and so cannot properly protect animals, workers, or the 
        public;
            (4) traveling exotic and wild animal performances use 
        collapsible, temporary, mobile facilities, which risk escape 
        and serious harm to animals, workers, and the public;
            (5) traveling exotic and wild animal performances present 
        safety risks by permitting or not preventing public contact and 
        by displaying animals in inappropriate, uncontrolled areas in 
        dangerous proximity 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 confinement, and, deprived of 
        natural movements and behaviors, are prone to chronic stress 
        and behavioral, health, and psychological problems;
            (9) exotic and wild animals are forced to perform unnatural 
        tricks requiring extreme physical coercion, including the use 
        of food and water restrictions, 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;
            (11) using exotic or wild animals as commodities traded for 
        traveling performances adds nothing to the understanding and 
        conservation of those animals and the natural environment, and 
        actually undermines conservation efforts necessary to protect 
        threatened and endangered species;
            (12) it is not possible to provide or ensure public and 
        worker safety or appropriate physical and mental welfare of 
        exotic and wild animals under the traveling performance 
        business model, which inherently and significantly restricts 
        the natural movements and behaviors of animals, and in which 
        abuse is prevalent and oversight problematic;
            (13) the use of exotic or wild animals in traveling 
        performances is or substantially affects interstate or foreign 
        commerce and the free flow of interstate 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 animals in 
        traveling performances is the most cost-effective and efficient 
        way to safeguard animals, workers, and the public.

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 performance;
                            ``(ii) to financially benefit as an owner 
                        or operator from a performance; or
                            ``(iii) to sponsor a performance.
                    ``(B) Domestic animal.--The term `domestic animal' 
                means any animal that is normally 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 dog (including a service dog), domestic cat, 
                ferret, gerbil, horse, mouse, rat, guinea pig, rabbit, 
                or hamster.
                    ``(C) Environmental education program.--The term 
                `environmental education program' means a program, 
                which may be an animal exhibition, that--
                            ``(i) is professionally designed to impart 
                        knowledge or information for educational or 
                        conservation purposes about the natural 
                        behavior, habitat, and life cycle of an animal, 
                        or similar pedagogical information, by an 
                        individual qualified to impart that 
                        information; and
                            ``(ii) does not include any performance of 
                        behavior of an animal that does not naturally 
                        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 
                                whether the animal was bred or born in 
                                the wild or in captivity; and
                                    ``(II) any hybrid of an animal 
                                described 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 
                                alpacas, 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;
                                    ``(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 animal that 
                        is a domestic animal or farm animal.
                    ``(E) Farm animal.--The term `farm animal' means an 
                alpaca, cow, sheep, swine, goat, llama, poultry, 
                rabbit, horse, mule, or donkey.
                    ``(F) Mobile or traveling housing facility.--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 performance purposes.
                    ``(G) Performance.--The term `performance' means 
                any animal act, circus, ride, carnival, display, 
                exhibition, fair, parade, petting zoo, race, 
                performance, or similar undertaking in which an animal 
                is required to perform tricks, give rides, or 
                participate as an accompaniment 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 transported 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 Internal 
                        Revenue Code of 1986;
                            ``(ii) is a place of refuge that provides 
                        care for abused, neglected, unwanted, 
                        impounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced 
                        exotic or wild animals for the lifetime of the 
                        exotic or wild animals; and
                            ``(iii) does not--
                                    ``(I) engage in commercial trade in 
                                any exotic or wild animal, including--
                                            ``(aa) the sale of any 
                                        animal, animal part, or 
                                        derivative offspring;
                                            ``(bb) photographic 
                                        opportunities; and
                                            ``(cc) public events for 
                                        financial profit or an 
                                        entertainment purpose;
                                    ``(II) breed any exotic or wild 
                                animal;
                                    ``(III) permit unescorted public 
                                visitation;
                                    ``(IV) permit direct contact 
                                between 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 participation of, an exotic or wild animal in a 
        traveling animal act.
            ``(3) Exceptions.--Paragraph (2) shall not apply to--
                    ``(A) the use of an exotic or wild animal--
                            ``(i) in an exhibition at a nonmobile, 
                        permanent institution, zoo, or aquarium 
                        accredited by the Association of Zoos and 
                        Aquariums, the World Association of Zoos and 
                        Aquariums, the Global Federation of Animal 
                        Sanctuaries, or the Alliance of Marine Mammal 
                        Parks and Aquariums;
                            ``(ii) as part of an environmental 
                        education program by a facility accredited by 
                        the Association of Zoos and Aquariums or the 
                        Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, 
                        if the animal used as part of the program is 
                        not--
                                    ``(I) used for more than 180 total 
                                days during a year; and
                                    ``(II) kept in a mobile or 
                                traveling housing facility for more 
                                than 12 total hours during a day;
                            ``(iii) by an institution of higher 
                        education, laboratory, or other research 
                        facility registered under section 6 for the 
                        purpose of conducting research;
                            ``(iv) in film, television, or advertising, 
                        if the use does not involve a live animal 
                        exhibition conducted before a public studio 
                        audience; or
                            ``(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 
                        Association or the International Wildlife 
                        Rehabilitation Council; and
                            ``(iii) if the exotic or wild animal is 
                        kept in a mobile or traveling housing facility 
                        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 comply with this 
        subsection shall be subject to the enforcement and penalties 
        described in sections 16, 19, and 29.
            ``(5) Relationship with other law.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Nothing in this subsection--
                            ``(i) authorizes the interstate transport 
                        of any species listed as threatened or 
                        endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 
                        1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or
                            ``(ii) waives any requirement to comply 
                        with any regulation issued under this Act.
                    ``(B) Supplement not supplant.--The standards and 
                requirements of this subsection--
                            ``(i) are in addition to, and not in lieu 
                        of, any other laws protecting animal welfare; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) do not limit any other Federal, 
                        State, or local law or rule that more 
                        stringently 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 regulations 
                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 subsection.''.

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.
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