Bear Protection Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3518 To conserve global bear populations by prohibiting the importation, expor- tation, and interstate trade of bear viscera and bear viscera products, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. MCCAUL (for himself, Mr. LIEU, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Ms. KUSTER) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Nat- ural 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 bear viscera 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 ‘‘Bear Protection Act 4 of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3518 IH (1) all 8 extant species of bear—Asian black 1 bear, brown bear, polar bear, American black bear, 2 spectacled bear, giant panda, sun bear, and sloth 3 bear—are listed in appendix I or II of CITES; 4 (2) article XIV of CITES provides that Parties 5 to CITES may adopt stricter domestic measures re- 6 garding the conditions for the trade, taking, posses- 7 sion, or transport of species listed in appendix I or 8 II, and the Parties to CITES adopted a resolution 9 in 1997 (Conf. 10.8) urging the Parties to take im- 10 mediate action to demonstrably reduce the illegal 11 trade in bear parts; 12 (3) in Asia, thousands of bears are cruelly con- 13 fined in small cages to be milked for their bile, and 14 bear populations in Asia have declined significantly 15 in recent years as a result of habitat loss and poach- 16 ing driven by a strong demand for bear viscera for 17 use in traditional medicines and cosmetics; 18 (4) Federal and State undercover operations 19 have revealed that American bears have been 20 poached for their viscera; 21 (5) while most American black bear populations 22 are generally stable or increasing, commercial trade 23 could stimulate poaching and threaten certain popu- 24 lations if the demand for bear viscera increases; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3518 IH (6) prohibitions against the importation into 1 and exportation from the United States, as well as 2 prohibitions against the interstate trade, of bear 3 viscera and bear viscera products will assist in en- 4 suring that the United States does not contribute to 5 the decline of any bear population as a result of the 6 commercial trade in bear viscera. 7 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 8 The purpose of this Act is to ensure the long-term 9 viability of the 8 extant bear species by— 10 (1) prohibiting interstate and international 11 trade in bear viscera and bear viscera products; 12 (2) encouraging bilateral and multilateral ef- 13 forts to eliminate such trade; and 14 (3) ensuring that adequate Federal legislation 15 exists with respect to domestic trade in bear viscera 16 and bear viscera products. 17 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 18 In this Act: 19 (1) BEAR VISCERA.—The term ‘‘bear viscera’’ 20 means, with respect to a species of bear, body fluids 21 or internal organs— 22 (A) including the gallbladder and its con- 23 tents; and 24 (B) not including blood or brains. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3518 IH (2) BEAR VISCERA PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘bear 1 viscera product’’ means any item, product, or sub- 2 stance containing, or labeled or advertised as con- 3 taining, bear viscera. 4 (3) CITES.—The term ‘‘CITES’’ means the 5 Convention on International Trade in Endangered 6 Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (27 UST 1087; 7 TIAS 8249). 8 (4) IMPORT.—The term ‘‘import’’ means to 9 land on, bring into, or introduce into any place sub- 10 ject to the jurisdiction of the United States, whether 11 or not such landing, bringing, or introduction con- 12 stitutes an importation within the meaning of the 13 customs laws of the United States. 14 (5) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means— 15 (A) an individual, corporation, partnership, 16 trust, association, or other private entity; 17 (B) an officer, employee, agent, depart- 18 ment, or instrumentality of— 19 (i) the Federal Government; 20 (ii) a State, municipality, or political 21 subdivision of a State; or 22 (iii) a foreign government; and 23 (C) any other entity subject to the jurisdic- 24 tion of the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3518 IH (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of the Interior. 2 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 3 the several States, the District of Columbia, and 4 each territory and possession of the United States. 5 SEC. 5. PROHIBITED ACTS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 7 (b), it shall be unlawful for any person to— 8 (1) import into, or export from, the United 9 States bear viscera or any bear viscera product; or 10 (2) sell or barter, offer to sell or barter, pur- 11 chase, possess, transport, deliver, or receive, in inter- 12 state or foreign commerce, bear viscera or any bear 13 viscera product. 14 (b) EXCEPTION FOR WILDLIFE LAW ENFORCEMENT 15 PURPOSES.—A person described in section 4(5)(B) may 16 carry out an activity prohibited under subsection (a) if 17 such activity is— 18 (1) solely for the purpose of enforcing a law re- 19 lating to the protection of wildlife; and 20 (2) authorized by a valid permit issued under 21 appendix I or II of CITES, in any case in which 22 such a permit is required under CITES. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3518 IH SEC. 6. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT. 1 (a) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A person that knowingly 2 violates section 5(a) shall be fined under title 18, United 3 States Code, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both. 4 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 5 (1) AMOUNT.—A person that knowingly violates 6 section 5(a) may be assessed a civil penalty by the 7 Secretary of not more than $25,000 for each viola- 8 tion. 9 (2) MANNER OF ASSESSMENT AND COLLEC- 10 TION.—A civil penalty under this subsection shall be 11 assessed and collected in the manner in which a civil 12 penalty under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 13 is assessed and collected under section 11(a) of that 14 Act (16 U.S.C. 1540(a)). 15 (c) SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE.—Any bear viscera or 16 bear viscera product treated in a manner that violates sec- 17 tion 5(a), or any regulation issued pursuant thereto, shall 18 be subject to seizure and forfeiture to the United States. 19 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall, in consulta- 20 tion with the Secretary of the Treasury and the United 21 States Trade Representative, issue such regulations as are 22 necessary to carry out this Act. 23 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary, the Secretary of 24 the Treasury, and the Secretary of the department in 25 which the Coast Guard is operating shall enforce this Act 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3518 IH in the manner in which the Secretaries carry out enforce- 1 ment activities under section 11(e) of the Endangered 2 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1540(e)). 3 (f) USE OF SUMS RECEIVED.—Sums received as pen- 4 alties, fines, or forfeiture of property for any violation of 5 section 5(a), or any regulation issued pursuant thereto, 6 shall be used in accordance with section 6(d) of the Lacey 7 Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375(d)). 8 SEC. 7. DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING BEAR CONSERVATION 9 AND THE BEAR VISCERA TRADE. 10 In order to establish coordinated efforts to protect 11 bears, the Secretary shall continue discussions concerning 12 trade in bear viscera and bear viscera products with rep- 13 resentatives of countries that— 14 (1) are Parties to CITES; and 15 (2) are not Parties to CITES that are deter- 16 mined by the Secretary and the United States Trade 17 Representative to be leading importers, exporters, or 18 consumers of bear viscera or bear viscera products. 19 SEC. 8. CERTAIN RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED. 20 Except as provided in section 5, nothing in this Act 21 shall be construed to affect— 22 (1) the regulation by a State of a bear popu- 23 lation of that State; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3518 IH (2) the hunting of bears in a State that is in 1 a manner that is lawful under the laws and regula- 2 tions of that State; or 3 (3) the use of bear viscera or any bear viscera 4 product as part of a traditional Native American rit- 5 ual or ceremony. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB