Kangaroo Protection Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 917 To prohibit the sale of kangaroo products, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 8, 2021 Mr. CARBAJAL (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To prohibit the sale of kangaroo products, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kangaroo Protection 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROHIBITED ACTS WITH RESPECT TO KANGAROOS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 18, United 7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 8 lowing new section: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H917.IH H917 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 917 IH ‘‘SEC. 50. PROHIBITED ACTS WITH RESPECT TO KAN- 1 GAROOS. 2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No person may knowingly— 3 ‘‘(1) bring into the United States for commer- 4 cial purposes, possess with the intent to sell, or sell 5 a kangaroo (as defined by subsection (h)); or 6 ‘‘(2) introduce into interstate commerce, manu- 7 facture for introduction into interstate commerce, 8 sell, trade, or advertise in interstate commerce, offer 9 to sell, or transport or distribute in interstate com- 10 merce, any kangaroo product (as defined by sub- 11 section (h)). 12 ‘‘(b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who vio- 13 lates any provision of this section shall be subject to a 14 criminal penalty of not more than— 15 ‘‘(1) one year in prison for each prohibited ac- 16 tion under subsection (a); or 17 ‘‘(2) $10,000 for each prohibited action under 18 subsection (a). 19 ‘‘(c) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who violates any 20 provision of this section may be assessed a civil penalty 21 of not more than $10,000 for each prohibited action under 22 subsection (a). 23 ‘‘(d) FORFEITURE.—Any kangaroo or kangaroo 24 product (as defined by subsection (h)) found to be used 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H917.IH H917 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 917 IH by a person in violation of subsection (a), shall be subject 1 to forfeiture to the United States. 2 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of the Interior, 3 in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary 4 of Commerce, the Secretary of Agriculture, or any other 5 agency the Secretary of the Interior determines necessary 6 for consultation, may issue regulations appropriate to 7 carry out this Act. 8 ‘‘(f) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior, 9 in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary 10 of Commerce, the Secretary of Agriculture, or any other 11 agency the Secretary of the Interior determines necessary 12 for consultation, shall enforce this Act or any regulation 13 implemented pursuant to this Act. 14 ‘‘(g) CITIZEN SUIT.—(1) Except as provided in para- 15 graph (3), any person may commence a civil suit on their 16 own behalf— 17 ‘‘(A) to enjoin any person, including the 18 United States and any other governmental in- 19 strumentality or agency (to the extent per- 20 mitted by the eleventh amendment to the Con- 21 stitution), who is alleged to be in violation of 22 any provision of this section or regulation 23 issued under the authority thereof; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H917.IH H917 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 917 IH ‘‘(B) against the Secretary of the Interior 1 where there is alleged a failure of the Secretary 2 to perform any act or duty under this section 3 which is not discretionary with the Secretary. 4 ‘‘(2) The district courts shall have jurisdiction, 5 without regard to the amount in controversy or the 6 citizenship of the parties, to enforce any such provi- 7 sion or regulation, or to order the Secretary of the 8 Interior to perform such act or duty, as the case 9 may be. 10 ‘‘(3)(A) No action may be commenced under 11 paragraph (1)(A) of this section— 12 ‘‘(i) prior to sixty days after written notice 13 of the violation has been given to the Secretary, 14 and to any alleged violator of any such provi- 15 sion or regulation; 16 ‘‘(ii) if the United States has commenced 17 action to impose a civil penalty pursuant to this 18 section; or 19 ‘‘(iii) if the United States has commenced 20 and is diligently prosecuting a criminal action 21 in a court of the United States or a State to 22 redress a violation of any such provision or reg- 23 ulation. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H917.IH H917 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 917 IH ‘‘(B) No action may be commenced under sub- 1 paragraph (1)(B) of this section prior to sixty days 2 after written notice has been given to the Secretary. 3 ‘‘(4)(A) Any suit under this subsection may be 4 brought in the judicial district in which the violation 5 occurs. 6 ‘‘(B) In any such suit under this subsection in 7 which the United States is not a party, the Attorney 8 General, at the request of the Secretary of the Inte- 9 rior, may intervene on behalf of the United States 10 as a matter of right. 11 ‘‘(5) The court, in issuing any final order in 12 any suit brought pursuant to paragraph (1) of this 13 subsection, may award costs of litigation (including 14 reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) to any 15 party, whenever the court determines such award is 16 appropriate. 17 ‘‘(6) Any injunctive relief provided under this 18 subsection shall not restrict any right which any per- 19 son (or class of persons) may have under any statute 20 or common law to seek enforcement of any standard 21 or limitation or to seek any other relief (including 22 relief against the Secretary or a State agency). 23 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H917.IH H917 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 917 IH ‘‘(1) KANGAROO.—The term ‘kangaroo’ means 1 any dead animal of the species or a part of any dead 2 animal of the species Osphranter rufus (commonly 3 known as the ‘red kangaroo’), Macropus giganteus 4 (commonly known as the ‘eastern grey kangaroo’), 5 Macropus fuliginosus (commonly known as the 6 ‘western grey kangaroo’), or Osphranter robustus 7 (commonly known as the ‘common wallaroo kan- 8 garoo’). 9 ‘‘(2) KANGAROO PRODUCT.—The term ‘kan- 10 garoo product’ means any item that is composed in 11 whole or in part of a kangaroo. 12 ‘‘(3) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ includes any 13 individual, partnership, association, corporation, 14 trust, or any officer, employee, agent, department, 15 or instrumentality of the Federal Government or of 16 any State or political subdivision thereof, or any 17 other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the United 18 States. 19 ‘‘(4) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘United 20 States’, when used in a geographical context, means 21 each of the several States of the United States, the 22 District of Columbia, and territories and possessions 23 of the United States.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H917.IH H917 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 917 IH (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 1 of chapter 3 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 2 by inserting after the item relating to section 49 the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘50. Prohibited acts with respect to kangaroos.’’. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 5 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 180 6 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H917.IH H917 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS