Say No to Captive Primate Safety Act

  Captive Primate SafetyAct (uappeal.org) 

To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to prohibit certain activities involving prohibited primate species, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 30, 2024

Mr. Blumenauer (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Neguse, and Ms. Mace) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to prohibit certain activities involving prohibited primate species, and for other purposes.

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. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES INVOLVING PROHIBITED PRIMATE SPECIES.

(a) Definition Of Prohibited Primate Species.—Section 2 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371) is amended—

(1) by redesignating subsections (h) through (l) as subsections (i) through (m), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:

“(h) Prohibited Primate Species.—The term ‘prohibited primate species’ means any live species of nonhuman primate, including species of chimpanzee, galago, gibbon, gorilla, lemur, loris, monkey, orangutan, tarsier, or any hybrid of such species.”.

(b) Prohibited Acts.—Section 3(e) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3372(e)) is amended—

(1) by striking paragraph (1) and all that follows through the period at the end of the undesignated matter following subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:

“(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), it is unlawful for any person—

“(A) to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce, or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce, any prohibited wildlife species or prohibited primate species; or

“(B) to breed or possess any prohibited wildlife species or prohibited primate species.”; and

(2) in paragraph (2)—

(A) in subparagraph (C), by inserting “or prohibited primate species” after “prohibited wildlife species” each place it appears; and

(B) by striking subparagraphs (D) and (E) and inserting the following:

“(D) an entity or individual that has custody of any prohibited wildlife species or prohibited primate species for the purpose of expeditiously transporting the prohibited wildlife species or prohibited primate species, as applicable, to an entity or individual described in this paragraph with respect to the species;

“(E) an entity or individual that is in possession of any prohibited wildlife species or prohibited primate species that was born before the date of the enactment of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, with respect to a prohibited wildlife species, or the Captive Primate Safety Act, with respect to a prohibited primate species, if the entity or individual—

“(i) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the applicable Act, registers each individual animal of each prohibited wildlife species or prohibited primate species, as applicable, 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 or prohibited primate species, as applicable, after the date of enactment of the applicable Act; and

“(iii) does not allow direct contact between the public and any prohibited wildlife species or prohibited primate species, as applicable; or

“(F) a research facility that conducts research that involves a prohibited primate species that is registered with the Department of Agriculture, if the research facility holds the registration in good standing.”.

(c) Regulations.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate regulations implementing the amendments made by subsections (a) and (b).

(2) ENFORCEABILITY.—The enforceability of the amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall not be affected by a failure of the Secretary of the Interior to timely promulgate regulations under paragraph (1).

(d) Technical Amendments.—

(1) Section 4 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3373) is amended—

(A) in subsection (b)—

(i) in the second sentence, by striking “subpenas” and inserting “subpoenas”; and

(ii) in the fourth sentence, by striking “subpena issued pursuant to this paragraph” and inserting “subpoena issued pursuant to this subsection”; and

(B) in subsection (e), in the first sentence, by striking “Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976” and inserting “Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)”.

(2) Section 6(b) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375(b)) is amended—

(A) in the matter preceding the proviso, by striking “Attorney General;” and inserting “Attorney General:”; and

(B) in the first sentence of the proviso, by striking “subpena” and inserting “subpoena”.

(3) Section 8(a) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3377(a)) is amended by striking “Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976” and inserting “Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act”.