Bear Protection Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2264 To conserve global bear populations by prohibiting the importation, expor- tation, and interstate trade of bear viscera and items, products, or substances containing, or labeled or advertised as containing, bear viscera, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 10, 2019 Mr. TED LIEU of California (for himself, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To conserve global bear populations by prohibiting the impor- tation, exportation, and interstate trade of bear viscera and items, products, or substances containing, or labeled or advertised as containing, bear viscera, 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 ‘‘Bear Protection Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2264.IH H2264 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2264 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) all 8 extant species of bear—Asian black 3 bear, brown bear, polar bear, American black bear, 4 spectacled bear, giant panda, sun bear, and sloth 5 bear—are listed on appendix I or II of the Conven- 6 tion on International Trade in Endangered Species 7 of Wild Fauna and Flora (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8 8249) (referred to in this section as ‘‘CITES’’); 9 (2) Article XIV of CITES provides that Parties 10 to CITES may adopt stricter domestic measures re- 11 garding the conditions for trade, taking, possession, 12 or transport of species listed on appendix I or II, 13 and the Parties to CITES adopted a resolution in 14 1997 (Conf. 10.8) urging the Parties to take imme- 15 diate action to demonstrably reduce the illegal trade 16 in bear parts; 17 (3) thousands of bears in Asia are cruelly con- 18 fined in small cages to be milked for their bile, and 19 the wild Asian bear population has declined signifi- 20 cantly in recent years, as a result of habitat loss and 21 poaching due to a strong demand for bear viscera 22 used in traditional medicines and cosmetics; 23 (4) Federal and State undercover operations 24 have revealed that American bears have been 25 poached for their viscera; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2264.IH H2264 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2264 IH (5) while most American black bear populations 1 are generally stable or increasing, commercial trade 2 could stimulate poaching and threaten certain popu- 3 lations if the demand for bear viscera increases; and 4 (6) prohibitions against the importation into 5 the United States and exportation from the United 6 States, as well as prohibitions against the interstate 7 trade, of bear viscera and products containing, or la- 8 beled or advertised as containing, bear viscera will 9 assist in ensuring that the United States does not 10 contribute to the decline of any bear population as 11 a result of the commercial trade in bear viscera. 12 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 13 The purpose of this Act is to ensure the long-term 14 viability of the world’s 8 bear species by— 15 (1) prohibiting interstate and international 16 trade in bear viscera and products containing, or la- 17 beled or advertised as containing, bear viscera; 18 (2) encouraging bilateral and multilateral ef- 19 forts to eliminate such trade; and 20 (3) ensuring that adequate Federal legislation 21 exists with respect to domestic trade in bear viscera 22 and products containing, or labeled or advertised as 23 containing, bear viscera. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2264.IH H2264 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2264 IH SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) BEAR VISCERA.—The term ‘‘bear viscera’’ 3 means the body fluids or internal organs, including 4 the gallbladder and its contents but not including 5 blood or brains, of a species of bear. 6 (2) IMPORT.—The term ‘‘import’’ means to 7 land on, bring into, or introduce into any place sub- 8 ject to the jurisdiction of the United States, whether 9 or not the landing, bringing, or introduction con- 10 stitutes an importation within the meaning of the 11 customs laws of the United States. 12 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means— 13 (A) an individual, corporation, partnership, 14 trust, association, or other private entity; 15 (B) an officer, employee, agent, depart- 16 ment, or instrumentality of— 17 (i) the Federal Government; 18 (ii) any State, municipality, or polit- 19 ical subdivision of a State; or 20 (iii) any foreign government; and 21 (C) any other entity subject to the jurisdic- 22 tion of the United States. 23 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 24 the Secretary of the Interior. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2264.IH H2264 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2264 IH (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, 1 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 2 Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Com- 3 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Amer- 4 ican Samoa, and any other territory, commonwealth, 5 or possession of the United States. 6 (6) TRANSPORT.—The term ‘‘transport’’ means 7 to move, convey, carry, or ship by any means, or to 8 deliver or receive for the purpose of movement, con- 9 veyance, carriage, or shipment. 10 SEC. 5. PROHIBITED ACTS. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 12 (b), a person shall not— 13 (1) import into, or export from, the United 14 States bear viscera or any product, item, or sub- 15 stance containing, or labeled or advertised as con- 16 taining, bear viscera; or 17 (2) sell or barter, offer to sell or barter, pur- 18 chase, possess, transport, deliver, or receive, in inter- 19 state or foreign commerce, bear viscera or any prod- 20 uct, item, or substance containing, or labeled or ad- 21 vertised as containing, bear viscera. 22 (b) EXCEPTION FOR WILDLIFE LAW ENFORCEMENT 23 PURPOSES.—A person described in subparagraph (B) of 24 section 4(3) may import into, or export from, the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2264.IH H2264 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2264 IH States, or transport between States, bear viscera or any 1 product, item, or substance containing, or labeled or ad- 2 vertised as containing, bear viscera if the importation, ex- 3 portation, or transportation— 4 (1) is solely for purposes of enforcing laws re- 5 lating to the protection of wildlife; and 6 (2) is authorized by a valid permit issued under 7 appendix I or II of the Convention on International 8 Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 9 Flora (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249), in any case in 10 which such a permit is required under the Conven- 11 tion. 12 SEC. 6. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT. 13 (a) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A person that knowingly 14 violates section 5 shall be fined under title 18, United 15 States Code, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 16 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 17 (1) AMOUNT.—A person that knowingly violates 18 section 5 may be assessed a civil penalty by the Sec- 19 retary of not more than $25,000 for each violation. 20 (2) MANNER OF ASSESSMENT AND COLLEC- 21 TION.—A civil penalty under this subsection shall be 22 assessed, and may be collected, in the manner in 23 which a civil penalty under the Endangered Species 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2264.IH H2264 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2264 IH Act of 1973 may be assessed and collected under 1 section 11(a) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1540(a)). 2 (c) SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE.—Any bear viscera or 3 any product, item, or substance exported, imported, sold, 4 bartered, attempted to be exported, imported, sold, 5 bartered, offered for sale or barter, purchased, possessed, 6 transported, delivered, or received in violation of this sec- 7 tion (including any regulation issued under this section) 8 shall be seized and forfeited to the United States. 9 (d) REGULATIONS.—After consultation with the Sec- 10 retary of the Treasury and the United States Trade Rep- 11 resentative, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as 12 are necessary to carry out this section. 13 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary, the Secretary of 14 the Treasury, and the Secretary of the department in 15 which the Coast Guard is operating shall enforce this sec- 16 tion in the manner in which the Secretaries carry out en- 17 forcement activities under section 11(e) of the Endangered 18 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1540(e)). 19 (f) USE OF PENALTY AMOUNTS.—Amounts received 20 as penalties, fines, or forfeiture of property under this sec- 21 tion shall be used in accordance with section 6(d) of the 22 Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375(d)). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2264.IH H2264 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2264 IH SEC. 7. DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING BEAR CONSERVATION 1 AND THE BEAR PARTS TRADE. 2 The Secretary shall continue discussions concerning 3 trade in bear viscera with the appropriate representatives 4 of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in 5 Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and with 6 other representatives of countries that are not party to 7 the Convention which are determined by the Secretary and 8 the United States Trade Representative to be the leading 9 importers, exporters, or consumers of bear viscera, in 10 order to seek to establish coordinated efforts with these 11 countries to protect bears. 12 SEC. 8. CERTAIN RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED. 13 Except as provided in section 5, nothing in this Act 14 shall be construed to affect the regulation by any State 15 of its bear population or to affect the hunting of bears 16 that is lawful under applicable State laws and regulations. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2264.IH H2264 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS