- Jul 2023
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www.congress.gov www.congress.gov
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``(2) Limitation on application.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to-- ``(A) an entity exhibiting animals to the public under a Class C license from the Department of Agriculture, or a Federal facility registered with the Department of Agriculture that exhibits animals, if such entity or facility holds such license or registration in good standing and if the entity or facility-- ``(i) does not allow any individual to come into direct physical contact with a prohibited wildlife species, unless that individual is-- ``(I) a trained professional employee or contractor of the entity or facility (or an accompanying employee receiving professional training); ``(II) a licensed veterinarian (or a veterinary student accompanying such a veterinarian); or ``(III) <<NOTE: Public information. Plan.>> 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-- ``(aa) reflects established conservation science principles; ``(bb) <<NOTE: Analysis.>> incorporates genetic and demographic analysis of a multi- institution population of animals covered by the plan; and ``(cc) promotes animal welfare by ensuring that the frequency of breeding is appropriate for the species; and ``(ii) ensures that during public exhibition of a lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), snow leopard (Uncia uncia), jaguar (Panthera onca), cougar (Puma concolor), or any hybrid thereof, the animal is at least 15 feet from members of the public unless there is a permanent barrier sufficient to prevent public contact; ``(B) a State college, university, or agency, or a State-licensed veterinarian; ``(C) 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 described in sections 501(c)(3) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of such Code; [[Page 136 STAT. 2338]] ``(ii) does not commercially trade in any prohibited wildlife species, including offspring, parts, and byproducts of such animals; ``(iii) does not breed any prohibited wildlife species; ``(iv) does not allow direct contact between the public and any prohibited wildlife species; and ``(v) does not allow the transportation and display of any prohibited wildlife species off- site; ``(D) has custody of any 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; or ``(E) an entity or individual that is in possession of any prohibited wildlife species that was born before the date of the enactment of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, and-- ``(i) <<NOTE: Deadline. Registration.>> not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the such Act, the entity or individual registers each individual animal of each prohibited wildlife species possessed by the entity or individual with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; ``(ii) does not breed, acquire, or sell any prohibited wildlife species after the date of the enactment of such Act; and ``(iii) does not allow direct contact between the public and prohibited wildlife species.''.
Limitations/Exceptions
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``(e) Captive Wildlife Offense.-- [[Page 136 STAT. 2337]] ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), it is unlawful for any person to-- ``(A) import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce, or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce; or ``(B) breed or possess;
Captive Wildlife Offense
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``(a) Breed.--The term `breed' means to facilitate propagation or reproduction (whether intentionally or negligently), or to fail to prevent propagation or reproduction.''.
Definition of Breed
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www.congress.gov www.congress.gov
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(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)— (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 following: “(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 prohibited wildlife species concerned”.
(d) Criminal penalties (1) Any person who-
(A) knowingly imports or exports any fish or wildlife or plants in violation of any provision of this chapter (other than subsections (b), (d), (e), and (f) of section 3372 of this title), or
(B) violates any provision of this chapter (other than subsections (b), (d), (e), and (f) of section 3372 of this title) by knowingly engaging in conduct that involves the sale or purchase of, the offer of sale or purchase of, or the intent to sell or purchase, fish or wildlife or plants with a market value in excess of $350,
knowing that the fish or wildlife or plants were taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of, or in a manner unlawful under, any underlying law, treaty or regulation, shall be fined not more than $20,000, or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. Each violation shall be a separate offense and the offense shall be deemed to have been committed not only in the district where the violation first occurred, but also in any district in which the defendant may have taken or been in possession of the said fish or wildlife or plants.
(2) Any person who knowingly engages in conduct prohibited by any provision of this chapter (other than subsections (b), (d), (e), and (f) of section 3372 of this title) and in the exercise of due care should know that the fish or wildlife or plants were taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of, or in a manner unlawful under, any underlying law, treaty or regulation shall be fined not more than $10,000, or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. Each violation shall be a separate offense and the offense shall be deemed to have been committed not only in the district where the violation first occurred, but also in any district in which the defendant may have taken or been in possession of the said fish or wildlife or plants.
(3) Any person who knowingly violates subsection (d) or (f) of section 3372 of this title-
(A) shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, if the offense involves-
(i) the importation or exportation of fish or wildlife or plants; or
(ii) the sale or purchase, offer of sale or purchase, or commission of an act with intent to sell or purchase fish or wildlife or plants with a market value greater than $350; and
(B) shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both, if the offense does not involve conduct described in subparagraph (A).
(4) Any person who knowingly violates section 3372(e) of this title shall be fined not more than $20,000, or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. Each violation shall be a separate offense and the offense is deemed to have been committed in the district where the violation first occurred, and in any district in which the defendant may have taken or been in possession of the prohibited wildlife species.
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(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)”.
§3373. Penalties and sanctions (a) Civil penalties (1) Any person who engages in conduct prohibited by any provision of this chapter (other than subsections (b), (d), (e), and (f) of section 3372 of this title) and in the exercise of due care should know that the fish or wildlife or plants were taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of, or in a manner unlawful under, any underlying law, treaty, or regulation, and any person who knowingly violates subsection (d), (e), or (f) of section 3372 of this title, may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of not more than $10,000 for each such violation: Provided, That when the violation involves fish or wildlife or plants with a market value of less than $350, and involves only the transportation, acquisition, or receipt of fish or wildlife or plants taken or possessed in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the United States, any Indian tribal law, any foreign law, or any law or regulation of any State, the penalty assessed shall not exceed the maximum provided for violation of said law, treaty, or regulation, or $10,000, whichever is less.
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Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.), and—
From Title 7-AGRICULTURE CHAPTER 54-TRANSPORTATION, SALE, AND HANDLING OF CERTAIN ANIMALS
§2131. Congressional statement of policy The Congress finds that animals and activities which are regulated under this chapter are either in interstate or foreign commerce or substantially affect such commerce or the free flow thereof, and that regulation of animals and activities as provided in this chapter is necessary to prevent and eliminate burdens upon such commerce and to effectively regulate such commerce, in order-
(1) to insure that animals intended for use in research facilities or for exhibition purposes or for use as pets are provided humane care and treatment;
(2) to assure the humane treatment of animals during transportation in commerce; and
(3) to protect the owners of animals from the theft of their animals by preventing the sale or use of animals which have been stolen.
The Congress further finds that it is essential to regulate, as provided in this chapter, the transportation, purchase, sale, housing, care, handling, and treatment of animals by carriers or by persons or organizations engaged in using them for research or experimental purposes or for exhibition purposes or holding them for sale as pets or for any such purpose or use.
( Pub. L. 89–544, §1(b), formerly §1, Aug. 24, 1966, 80 Stat. 350 ; Pub. L. 91–579, §2, Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1560 ; renumbered and amended Pub. L. 94–279, §2, Apr. 22, 1976, 90 Stat. 417 .)
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“(2) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to any person that— “(A) is an institution accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums; “(B) is a facility that— “(i) has an active written contract with an Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan or Taxon Advisory Group for breeding of prohibited wildlife 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 agency, 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 described in sections 501(c)(3) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of such Code; “(ii) does not commercially trade in prohibited wildlife species, including offspring, parts, and byproducts of such animals; “(iii) does not breed the prohibited wildlife species; “(iv) does not allow direct contact between 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 wildlife 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 Public Safety Act, is registered with the Animal 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 “(iii) does not allow direct contact between 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 featuring live prohibited wildlife species, clowns, and aerial acts; “(ii) engages in such travel and conduct before January 1, 2015; and “(iii) does not allow direct contact between the public and prohibited wildlife species.”.
Now reads:
(2) Limitation on application Paragraph (1) does not apply to-
(A) an entity exhibiting animals to the public under a Class C license from the Department of Agriculture, or a Federal facility registered with the Department of Agriculture that exhibits animals, if such entity or facility holds such license or registration in good standing and if the entity or facility-
(i) does not allow any individual to come into direct physical contact with a prohibited wildlife species, unless that individual is-
(I) a trained professional employee or contractor of the entity 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-
(aa) reflects established conservation science principles;
(bb) incorporates genetic and demographic analysis of a multi-institution population of animals covered by the plan; and
(cc) promotes animal welfare by ensuring that the frequency of breeding is appropriate for the species; and
(ii) ensures that during public exhibition of a lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), snow leopard (Uncia uncia), jaguar (Panthera onca), cougar (Puma concolor), or any hybrid thereof, the animal is at least 15 feet from members of the public unless there is a permanent barrier sufficient to prevent public contact;
(B) a State college, university, or agency, or a State-licensed veterinarian;
(C) a wildlife sanctuary that cares for prohibited wildlife species, and-
(i) is a corporation that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of title 26 and described in sections 501(c)(3) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of such title;
(ii) does not commercially trade in any prohibited wildlife species, including offspring, parts, and byproducts of such animals;
(iii) does not breed any prohibited wildlife species;
(iv) does not allow direct contact between the public and any prohibited wildlife species; and
(v) does not allow the transportation and display of any prohibited wildlife species off-site;
(D) has custody of any 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; or
(E) an entity or individual that is in possession of any prohibited wildlife species that was born before December 20, 2022, and-
(i) not later than 180 days after December 20, 2022, the entity or individual registers each individual animal of each prohibited wildlife species possessed by the entity or individual with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
(ii) does not breed, acquire, or sell any prohibited wildlife species after December 20, 2022; and
(iii) does not allow direct contact between the public and prohibited wildlife species.
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(2) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows: “(e) Captive wildlife offense.— “(1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for any person 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 breed or possess, any live animal of any prohibited wildlife species.
(e) Captive wildlife offense (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), it is unlawful for any person to-
(A) import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce, or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce; or
(B) breed or possess;
any prohibited wildlife species.
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(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 striking “; 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
§3372. Prohibited acts, Subsection a: (a) Offenses other than marking offenses It is unlawful for any person-
(1) to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish or wildlife or plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the United States or in violation of any Indian tribal law;
(2) to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce-
(A) any fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any State or in violation of any foreign law; or
(B) any plant-
(i) taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any State, or any foreign law, that protects plants or that regulates-
(I) the theft of plants;
(II) the taking of plants from a park, forest reserve, or other officially protected area;
(III) the taking of plants from an officially designated area; or
(IV) the taking of plants without, or contrary to, required authorization;
(ii) taken, possessed, transported, or sold without the payment of appropriate royalties, taxes, or stumpage fees required for the plant by any law or regulation of any State or any foreign law; or
(iii) taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any limitation under any law or regulation of any State, or under any foreign law, governing the export or transshipment of plants;
(3) within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States (as defined in section 7 of title 18)-
(A) to possess any fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any State or in violation of any foreign law or Indian tribal law, or
(B) to possess any plant-
(i) taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any State, or any foreign law, that protects plants or that regulates-
(I) the theft of plants;
(II) the taking of plants from a park, forest reserve, or other officially protected area;
(III) the taking of plants from an officially designated area; or
(IV) the taking of plants without, or contrary to, required authorization;
(ii) taken, possessed, transported, or sold without the payment of appropriate royalties, taxes, or stumpage fees required for the plant by any law or regulation of any State or any foreign law; or
(iii) taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any limitation under any law or regulation of any State, or under any foreign law, governing the export or transshipment of plants; or
(4) to attempt to commit any act described in paragraphs (1) through (3) or subsection (e).
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Section 3 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3372) is amended—
Changes to this section: §3372. Prohibited acts
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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: “(3) The Secretary shall, in consultation with other relevant Federal and State agencies, promulgate any regulations necessary to implement section 3(e).”.
Added here:
§3376. Administration (a) Regulations (1) The Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, is authorized to issue such regulations, except as provided in paragraph (2), as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 3372(f), 3373, and 3374 of this title.
(2) The Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall jointly promulgate specific regulations to implement the provisions of section 3372(b) of this title for the marking and labeling of containers or packages containing fish or wildlife. These regulations shall be in accordance with existing commercial practices.
(3) The Secretary shall, in consultation with other relevant Federal and State agencies, promulgate any regulations necessary to implement section 3372(e) of this title.
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SEC. 6. Forfeiture of prohibited wildlife species.Share ThisSection 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,”.
"bred, possessed" added here:
§3374. Forfeiture (a) In general (1) All fish or wildlife or plants bred, possessed, imported, exported, transported, sold, received, acquired, or purchased contrary to the provisions of section 3372 of this title (other than section 3372(b) of this title), or any regulation issued pursuant thereto, shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States notwithstanding any culpability requirements for civil penalty assessment or criminal prosecution included in section 3373 of this title.
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“(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 featuring live prohibited wildlife species, clowns, and aerial acts; “(ii) engages in such travel and conduct before January 1, 2015; and “(iii) does not allow direct contact between the public and prohibited wildlife species.”.
I believe this part was removed (and would be antiquated) due to changes in law regarding circuses
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“(a) Breed.—The term ‘breed’ means to facilitate propagation or reproduction (whether intentionally or negligently), or to fail to prevent propagation or reproduction”.
Definition
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The United States is a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which was designed to protect species of wild fauna and flora against overexploitation through international trade.
Argument: The U.S. has a responsibility to regulate & prevent the trade of big cats as part of CITES
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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.
Argument: Federal control of intrastate possession of prohibited wildlife species (i.e., big cats) cannot be effective without control of interstate incidents of traffic of these species
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It is exceedingly difficult to distinguish between prohibited wildlife species that are possessed, bred, sold, or transported in interstate commerce from those that have not been.
Reasoning that privately own cats are essentially "fungible commodities".
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Prohibited wildlife species in private possession, or distributed intrastate, are fungible commodities that cannot be differentiated, in terms of control, from prohibited wildlife species possessed or distributed interstate.
Fungible: items that are equivalent or consist of many identical parts such that, for practical purposes, they are interchangeable.
Commodity: an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them.
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Private possession and breeding of prohibited wildlife species contributes to the interstate traffic in those species and may contribute to illegal international wildlife trade.
how private possession leads to illegal international trade
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Private possession and breeding of prohibited wildlife species have a substantial and direct effect on interstate commerce because prohibited wildlife 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 purposes.
How private possession and breeding impacts interstate commerce and the public
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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 conservation of the species themselves.
This reasoning can be extrapolated to extend to a Small Cat Public Safety Act
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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 recently estimated at $2,800,000,000 annually.
What is the source of this figure?
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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.
Stated purpose
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