Bear Protection Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3196 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 15, 2020 Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 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 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 Jan 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3196.IS S3196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3196 IS (1) all 8 extant species of bear—Asian black 1 bear, brown bear, polar bear, American black bear, 2 spectacled bear, giant panda, sun bear, and sloth 3 bear—are listed on appendix I or II of CITES; 4 (2) Article XIV of CITES provides that Parties 5 to CITES may adopt stricter domestic measures re- 6 garding the conditions for trade, taking, possession, 7 or transport of species listed on appendix I or II of 8 CITES, and the Parties to CITES adopted a resolu- 9 tion in 1997 (Conf. 10.8) urging the Parties to take 10 immediate action to demonstrably reduce the illegal 11 trade in bear parts; 12 (3) thousands of bears in Asia are cruelly con- 13 fined in small cages to be milked for their bile, and 14 the wild Asian bear population has declined signifi- 15 cantly in recent years as a result of habitat loss and 16 poaching due to a strong demand for bear viscera 17 used in traditional medicines and cosmetics; 18 (4) Federal and State undercover operations 19 have revealed that American bears have been 20 poached for their viscera; 21 (5) while most American black bear populations 22 are generally stable or increasing, commercial trade 23 could stimulate poaching and threaten certain popu- 24 lations if the demand for bear viscera increases; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 Jan 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3196.IS S3196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3196 IS (6) prohibitions against the importation into 1 the United States and exportation from the United 2 States, as well as prohibitions against the interstate 3 trade, of bear viscera and products containing, or la- 4 beled or advertised as containing, bear viscera will 5 assist in ensuring that the United States does not 6 contribute to the decline of any bear population as 7 a result of the commercial trade in bear viscera. 8 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 9 The purpose of this Act is to ensure the long-term 10 viability of the 8 bear species of the world by— 11 (1) prohibiting interstate and international 12 trade in bear viscera and products containing, or la- 13 beled or advertised as containing, bear viscera; 14 (2) encouraging bilateral and multilateral ef- 15 forts to eliminate that trade; and 16 (3) ensuring that adequate Federal legislation 17 exists with respect to domestic trade in bear viscera 18 and products containing, or labeled or advertised as 19 containing, bear viscera. 20 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act: 22 (1) BEAR VISCERA.—The term ‘‘bear viscera’’ 23 means the body fluids or internal organs, including 24 the gallbladder and the contents of the gallbladder, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 Jan 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3196.IS S3196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3196 IS but not including the blood or brains, of a species 1 of bear. 2 (2) CITES.—The term ‘‘CITES’’ means the 3 Convention on International Trade in Endangered 4 Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (27 UST 1087; 5 TIAS 8249). 6 (3) 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 (4) 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 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 24 the Secretary of the Interior. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 Jan 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3196.IS S3196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3196 IS (6) 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 (7) TRANSPORT.—The term ‘‘transport’’ 7 means— 8 (A) to move, convey, carry, or ship by any 9 means; and 10 (B) to deliver or receive for the purpose of 11 movement, conveyance, carriage, or shipment. 12 SEC. 5. PROHIBITED ACTS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 14 (b), it shall be unlawful for a person to knowingly— 15 (1) import into, or export from, the United 16 States bear viscera or any product, item, or sub- 17 stance containing, or labeled or advertised as con- 18 taining, bear viscera; or 19 (2) sell or barter, offer to sell or barter, pur- 20 chase, possess, transport, deliver, or receive, in inter- 21 state or foreign commerce, bear viscera or any prod- 22 uct, item, or substance containing, or labeled or ad- 23 vertised as containing, bear viscera. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 Jan 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3196.IS S3196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3196 IS (b) EXCEPTION FOR WILDLIFE LAW ENFORCEMENT 1 PURPOSES.—A person described in section 4(4)(B) may 2 import into, or export from, the United States, or trans- 3 port between States, bear viscera or any product, item, 4 or substance containing, or labeled or advertised as con- 5 taining, bear viscera if the importation, exportation, or 6 transportation— 7 (1) is solely for purposes of enforcing laws re- 8 lating to the protection of wildlife; and 9 (2) is authorized by a valid permit issued under 10 appendix I or II of CITES, in any case in which 11 such a permit is required under CITES. 12 SEC. 6. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT. 13 (a) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A person that violates 14 section 5 shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, 15 imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 16 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 17 (1) AMOUNT.—A person that violates section 5 18 may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of 19 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 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) may be as- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 Jan 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3196.IS S3196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3196 IS sessed and collected under section 11(a) of that Act 1 (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, or 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 20:35 Jan 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3196.IS S3196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3196 IS 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 CITES and representatives of countries that 5 are not party to CITES that are determined by the Sec- 6 retary and the United States Trade Representative to be 7 the leading importers, exporters, or consumers of bear 8 viscera, to seek to establish coordinated efforts with those 9 countries to protect bears. 10 SEC. 8. CERTAIN RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED. 11 Except as provided in section 5, nothing in this Act 12 affects— 13 (1) the regulation by any State of the bear pop- 14 ulation of that State; or 15 (2) the hunting of bears that is lawful under 16 applicable State laws (including regulations). 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 Jan 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3196.IS S3196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS