ProTECT Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4804 To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit the taking for a trophy of any endangered or threatened species of fish or wildlife in the United States and the importation of endangered and threatened species trophies into the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 23, 2019 Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Mr. TED LIEU of California, and Mr. KING of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit the taking for a trophy of any endangered or threatened species of fish or wildlife in the United States and the importation of endangered and threatened species tro- phies into the United States, 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 ‘‘Prohibiting Threat- 4 ened and Endangered Creature Trophies Act of 2019’’ or 5 the ‘‘ProTECT Act of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Oct 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4804.IH H4804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4804 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 The Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Trophy hunting of imperiled species under- 3 mines efforts to conserve wildlife populations be- 4 cause trophy hunters routinely target the biggest, 5 strongest males, and removing those individuals 6 from the population can decrease genetic variation, 7 decrease reproduction, alter social structures, in- 8 crease infanticide, and cause unnatural evolutionary 9 impacts. 10 (2) When trophy hunting of imperiled species is 11 sanctioned, poaching activity increases, further 12 threatening the survival of wildlife populations. 13 (3) Legal trade in wildlife parts and products 14 can provide cover for markets for illegal trade in 15 wildlife products, which is worth up to 16 $20,000,000,000 annually and run by professional 17 criminal networks linked to other transnational orga- 18 nized criminal activities, including trafficking in nar- 19 cotics, weapons, and humans. 20 (4) While the Endangered Species Act of 1973 21 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) currently prohibits the take 22 and import of species listed under that Act as en- 23 dangered species, it does not automatically extend 24 those protections to species listed as threatened spe- 25 cies. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Oct 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4804.IH H4804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4804 IH SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS REGARDING TAKING AND IMPORT- 1 ING OF ENDANGERED SPECIES AND THREAT- 2 ENED SPECIES TROPHIES. 3 (a) PROHIBITION OF TAKING OR IMPORTING.—Sec- 4 tion 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 5 1538) is amended by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(h) TROPHIES.—It is unlawful for any person sub- 7 ject to the jurisdiction of the United States— 8 ‘‘(1) to take for a trophy within the United 9 States or the territorial sea of the United States any 10 species of fish or wildlife listed under section 4 as 11 a threatened species; or 12 ‘‘(2) to import into the United States any tro- 13 phy of any species of fish or wildlife listed under sec- 14 tion 4 as a threatened species.’’. 15 (b) PROHIBITION OF PERMITS.—Section 10(a) of the 16 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)) is 17 amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The Sec- 19 retary may permit’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as other- 20 wise provided in this subsection, the Secretary may 21 permit’’; and 22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 23 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may not permit or otherwise 24 allow— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Oct 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4804.IH H4804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4804 IH ‘‘(A) taking for a trophy any species of fish or 1 wildlife listed under section 4; or 2 ‘‘(B) importing into the United States any tro- 3 phy of any species of fish or wildlife listed under sec- 4 tion 4, notwithstanding section 9(b).’’. 5 (c) ANTIQUES.—Section 10(h)(1) of the Endangered 6 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539(h)(1)) is amended 7 by striking ‘‘Sections 4(d), 9(a), and 9(c) do not apply’’ 8 and inserting ‘‘Sections 4(d), 9(a), 9(c), and 9(h)(2) do 9 not apply’’. 10 (d) DEFINITION.—Section 3 of the Endangered Spe- 11 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532) is amended— 12 (1) by redesignating paragraph (21) as para- 13 graph (22); and 14 (2) by inserting after paragraph (20) the fol- 15 lowing: 16 ‘‘(21) The term ‘trophy’ means a whole dead 17 animal, or a readily recognizable part or derivative 18 of an animal, that— 19 ‘‘(A) is raw, processed, or manufactured; 20 and 21 ‘‘(B) was obtained under a hunting license 22 or other authorization issued by any State, for- 23 eign government, or private landowner.’’. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Oct 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4804.IH H4804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS