Title: Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act
This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to establish a prohibition on the use of exotic or wild animals in performances (e.g., circus, ride, carnival, or parade) of a traveling animal act. The prohibition does not apply to the use of animals in: (1) zoos; (2) aquariums; (3) research facilities; (4) film, television, or advertising, if the performance is not before a public studio audience; or (5) rodeos. The prohibition also does not apply to domestic animals or farm animals.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1759 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1759

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to restrict the use of exotic and wild 
                   animals in traveling performances.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 28, 2017

  Mr. Grijalva (for himself, Ms. Lee, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Langevin, Mr. 
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Meeks, 
 Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. McSally, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. 
Costello of Pennsylvania, Mr. Cohen, and Mr. Blumenauer) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 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''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The 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 
        regulation;
            (2) current regulatory oversight of traveling performances 
        is complex and costly, and these costs are not typically 
        recouped via licensing fees, but are left to the American 
        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; their 
        wild instincts and needs are unpredictable and are not 
        naturally suited to traveling performances, and they suffer as 
        a result of being unable to fulfill instinctive natural 
        behaviors;
            (7) 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, 
        behavioral, health, and psychological problems;
            (8) exotic and wild animals are forced to perform unnatural 
        tricks requiring extreme physical coercion, including, but not 
        limited to the use of food and water restrictions, electric 
        shock devices, bullhooks, metal bars, whips, shovels, and 
        pitchforks, among other abuses;
            (9) it is not necessary to use exotic or wild animals in 
        traveling performances to experience the circus or similar 
        events;
            (10) using exotic or wild animals as commodities traded for 
        traveling performances adds nothing to the understanding and 
        conservation of such animals and the natural environment, and 
        actually undermines conservation efforts necessary to protect 
        threatened and endangered species;
            (11) it is not possible to provide or ensure public and 
        worker safety or appropriate physical and mental welfare for 
        exotic and wild animals under the traveling performance 
        business model, which inherently and significantly restricts 
        animals' natural movements and behaviors, and where abuse is 
        prevalent and oversight problematic;
            (12) the use of exotic or wild animals in traveling 
        performances is or substantially affects interstate or foreign 
        commerce, or the free flow thereof; it is essential to regulate 
        such activities to assure animals' humane care and treatment; 
        and
            (13) 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.

    Section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2143) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(i)(1) No person shall cause a performance of, or allow for the 
participation of, an exotic animal or wild animal in a traveling animal 
act.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the use of an exotic animal 
or wild animal--
            ``(A) in an exhibition at a nonmobile, permanent 
        institution, facility, zoo, or aquarium accredited by the 
        Association of Zoos & Aquariums or the Global Federation of 
        Animal Sanctuaries, or a wildlife sanctuary;
            ``(B) as part of an environmental education program by a 
        facility accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, if 
        the animal used for such purposes is not so used for more than 
        6 months in any year and is not kept in a mobile or traveling 
        housing facility for more than 12 hours in any day;
            ``(C) by a university, college, laboratory, or other 
        research facility registered with the Secretary pursuant to 
        section 6 for the purpose of conducting research;
            ``(D) in film, television, or advertising, if such use does 
        not involve a live animal exhibition conducted before a public 
        studio audience; or
            ``(E) in a rodeo.
    ``(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to domestic animals or farm 
animals.
    ``(4) For the purposes of this subsection:
            ``(A) Cause a performance.--The term `cause a performance' 
        means to be responsible for a performance, to financially 
        benefit as an owner or operator from a performance, or 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, but does not include any exotic 
        animal or wild animal.
            ``(C) Environmental education program.--The term 
        `environmental education program' means an animal exhibition 
        that is professionally designed to impart knowledge or 
        information for educational or conservation purposes about that 
        animal's natural behavior, habitat, life cycle, or similar 
        pedagogical information, conducted by an individual qualified 
        to impart such information, which does not include any 
        performance of behavior that does not naturally occur for that 
        animal in the wild state.
            ``(D) Exotic animal.--The term `exotic animal' means any 
        animal that is not a domestic animal or farm animal, that is 
        native to a foreign country or of foreign origin or character, 
        is not native to the United States, or was introduced from 
        abroad, whether wild-born or captive-bred, and any hybrid of 
        such an animal, including hybrid crosses with a domestic animal 
        or farm animal, including but not limited to animals such as--
                    ``(i) cetartiodactyla (excepting alpacas, bison, 
                cattle, deer, elk, goats, llamas, reindeer, swine, and 
                sheep);
                    ``(ii) felidae (excepting domestic cats);
                    ``(iii) marsupialia;
                    ``(iv) nonhuman primates;
                    ``(v) perissodactyla (excepting horses, donkeys, 
                and mules);
                    ``(vi) pinnipedia;
                    ``(vii) proboscidea;
                    ``(viii) ratites (excepting ostriches, emus, and 
                rheas); and
                    ``(ix) ursidae.
            ``(E) Farm animal.--The term `farm animal' means any 
        domestic species of alpacas, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, 
        llamas, poultry, or horses, which are normally and have 
        historically, been kept and raised on farms in the United 
        States, and used or intended for use as food or fiber, or for 
        improving animal nutrition, breeding, management, or production 
        efficiency, or for improving the quality of food or fiber. This 
        term also includes animals such as rabbits, mink, and 
        chinchilla, when they are used solely for purposes of meat or 
        fur, and animals such as horses and llamas when used solely as 
        work and pack animals. The term does not include exotic animals 
        or wild animals.
            ``(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 animals while traveling 
        to, from, or between locations for performance purposes.
            ``(G) Performance.--The term `performance' means any animal 
        act, circus, ride, carnival, parade, race, performance, or 
        similar undertaking in which animals are required to perform 
        tricks, give rides, or participate as accompaniments for the 
        entertainment, amusement, or benefit of an audience.
            ``(H) Traveling animal act.--The term `traveling animal 
        act' means any performance of animals where such animals are 
        transported to, from, or between locations for the purpose of 
        such performance, in a mobile or traveling housing facility.
            ``(I) Wild animal.--The term `wild animal' means any animal 
        that is not a domestic animal or farm animal, which is now or 
        has historically been found in the wild or in the wild state, 
        within the boundaries of the United States, its territories, or 
        possessions, whether wild-born or captive-bred, and any hybrid 
        of such an animal, including hybrid crosses with a domestic 
        animal or farm animal, including but not limited to animals 
        such as--
                    ``(i) cetartiodactyla (excepting alpacas, bison, 
                cattle, deer, elk, goats, llamas, reindeer, swine, and 
                sheep);
                    ``(ii) felidae (excepting domestic cats);
                    ``(iii) marsupialia;
                    ``(iv) perissodactyla (excepting horses, donkeys, 
                and mules);
                    ``(v) pinnipedia;
                    ``(vi) ratites (excepting ostriches, emus, and 
                rheas); and
                    ``(vii) ursidae.
            ``(J) Wildlife sanctuary.--The term `wildlife sanctuary' 
        means an organization described in sections 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) 
        and 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 1986 that does not--
                    ``(i) engage in commercial trade in any exotic or 
                wild animal, including the sale of any animal, animal 
                part or derivative, offspring, photographic 
                opportunities, or public events for financial profit or 
                any other 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.
    ``(5) A person who fails to comply with this subsection shall be 
subject to the enforcement and penalties provided for under sections 
16, 19, and 29.''.

SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER LAW.

    (a) This Act shall not be interpreted to--
            (1) authorize the interstate transport of a threatened or 
        endangered species, which is prohibited under the Endangered 
        Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1538); or
            (2) waive any requirement to comply with any regulation 
        issued under the Animal Welfare Act.
    (b) The provisions of this Act shall be interpreted to be are in 
addition to, and not in lieu of, any other laws protecting animal 
welfare.
    (c) This Act shall not be construed to limit any other Federal, 
State, or local law or rule that more strictly protects the welfare of 
animals.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that 
is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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