S1415SEP9

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending September 9, 2005

S.1415 A bill to amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to protect captive wildlife and make technical corrections.

BRIEF

The bill report noted that former US Representative John F. Lacey (R-IA) sponsored the law known as the Lacey Act that, in the 1900’s, aimed to protect States’game animals and game birds from interstate shipment if they were killed in violation of State laws. The law covers all “fish and wildlife and their parts and products” if they were illegally harvested. The Lacey Act, however, did not anticipate the current phenomena of Americans keeping big cats as pets and transporting them around the country.

The report noted that the phenomena is growing and presents a risk to the public and the cats as it is that most owners are ill-equipped and untrained in handling the health and wellbeing of such species. Roadside zoos are also unable to truly care for the animals. The result is thousands of injury and documented deaths of many such wild animals over the past ten years.

The bill would address the problem by revising what is called the ‘two-step’ approach to enforcing the law: The animal must first be taken, owned or sold in violation of existing laws or treaties and then imported, exported, sold or bought. A technical revision in the law would make the laws against trafficking in prohibited wild animals easier to enforce. Anyone in violation of the law could face fines up to $20,000 and up to five years in prison.

Sponsor: Senator James M. Inhofe (R-OK)

Vote: Passed Senate without objection (September 9, 2005)

Cost to the taxpayers: $3 million yearly.