Haley's Act

Haley's Act - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to: (1) define the term "big cat" to mean any live species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species; (2) allow the Secretary of Agriculture to deny or revoke licenses to animal dealers and exhibitors based on recommendations from state or local officials with jurisdiction over captive wildlife; (3) require the Secretary to include in standards that govern the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of animals by dealers, research facilities, and exhibitors a minimum requirement to provide for public safety; (4) increase civil and criminal penalties for violations of such Act; (5) prohibit a licensed exhibitor or dealer from allowing direct contact between a big cat and a member of the public, with an exception for zoos; and (6) prohibit the Secretary from granting a license to a dealer or exhibitor of a big cat until the Secretary has issued regulations to implement this Act.

[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1947 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1947

 To promote public safety and improve the welfare of captive big cats, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 19, 2007

 Mrs. Boyda of Kansas (for herself, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Moran of 
 Kansas, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. George Miller of 
California, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. 
   Hirono, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, and Mr. Stark) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To promote public safety and improve the welfare of captive big cats, 
                        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 ``Haley's Act''.

SEC. 2. BIG CATS.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 2 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 
2132) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(p) The term `big cat' means any live species of lion, tiger, 
leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species.
    ``(q) The term `direct contact' means any situation in which an 
individual may potentially touch or otherwise come into physical 
contact with any live specimen of a species.''.
    (b) Applicability of State Law.--Section 3 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 
2133) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``The Secretary 
may deny or revoke a license based on a recommendation from the 
appropriate State or local officials with jurisdiction over captive 
wildlife.''
    (c) Public Safety.--Section 13(a)(2) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 
2143(a)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the final period and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) to provide for public safety.''.
    (d) Increased Fines.--Section 19 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2149) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``$2,500'' 
                and inserting ``$10,000''; and
                    (B) in the seventh sentence, by striking ``shall be 
                subject to'' and all that follows through ``each 
                offense'' and inserting ``shall be subject to a civil 
                penalty of $5,000 for each offense'' ; and
            (2) in subsection (d) in the first sentence, by striking 
        ``$2,500'' and inserting ``$10,000''.
    (e) Prohibition on Direct Contact With Big Cats.--Such Act is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 30. PROHIBITION ON DIRECT CONTACT BETWEEN PUBLIC AND BIG CATS.

    ``(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), it shall be unlawful 
for an exhibitor or dealer licensed by the Secretary under this Act to 
allow direct contact between a big cat and a member of the public.
    ``(b) Exception.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to an 
        exhibitor that is a zoo, as determined by the Secretary.
            ``(2) Consideration of accreditation.--In determining 
        whether an exhibitor is a zoo under paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall consider--
                    ``(A) whether the exhibitor is accredited by, and 
                in good standing with, the Association of Zoos and 
                Aquariums; and
                    ``(B) whether the exhibitor operates with 
                sufficient regard for public safety.''.
    (f) Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
        issue regulations pursuant to section 21 of the Animal Welfare 
        Act (7 U.S.C. 2151) to implement the amendments made by this 
        Act.
            (2) Restriction on licenses.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture may 
                not grant a license under section 3 of such Act to a 
                dealer or exhibitor that possesses or intends to 
                possess a big cat until the regulations described in 
                paragraph (1) have been issued.
                    (B) Exception.--The restriction described in 
                subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the renewal of an 
                existing license.
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