NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9004C
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in
relation to public safety and big cats
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to protect animal caretakers, those inter-
acting with wild animals, bystanders and the animals themselves by
preventing direct contact between wild animals and members of the
public.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the environmental conservation law by adding a new
section 11-0538.
Section two sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In New York and throughout the United States, several roadside zoo
exhibitors and traveling menageries allow members of the public to hold,
take photos with, and otherwise interact with wild animals in roadside
zoos, fairgrounds, malls and other public areas. This activity severely
harms the welfare of the animals, endangers the public, and is a heavy
burden on law enforcement.
This activity also requires an ongoing supply of young animals. Infant
animals are prematurely separated from their mothers to be groomed for
human handling, often die due to constant handling and travel, and are
even subjected to abusive training and painful declawing or deranging
procedures in a futile attempt to make them safe for public contact once
they mature. After the animals grow too big for handling, they are held
on leashes with no protective barriers. Often they are dumped and sent
to substandard facilities.
There is no safe or humane result when direct contact with wild animals
is allowed. Other states, including Kansas; Mississippi, and Arizona,
have strengthened existing laws to address public contact issues.
This legislation is narrowly crafted to prohibit direct physical contact
between members of the public and captive Big Cats. This bill would not
impact exhibition of captive animals or restrict veterinary examination,
treatment and care, or transportation deemed necessary.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred and eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9004--C
IN ASSEMBLY
March 6, 2014
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, BENEDETTO, MILLMAN, COLTON -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee
with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
public safety and big cats
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
2 new section 11-0538 to read as follows:
3 § 11-0538. Direct contact between public and big cats prohibited.
4 1. As used in this section:
5 (a) "Big cat" shall mean any live species of lion (panthera leo),
6 tiger (panthera tigres), leopard (panthera pardus) (with the exception
7 of clouded leopards (neofelis nebulosa)), jaguar (panthera onca), moun-
8 tain lion, sometimes called cougar (felis concolar) or any hybrid of
9 such species.
10 (b) "Direct contact" means physical contact or proximity where phys-
11 ical contact is possible, including, but not limited to, allowing a
12 photograph to be taken without a permanent physical barrier designed to
13 prevent physical contact between the public and big cats.
14 (c) "Dealer" shall mean any person who, in commerce, for compensation
15 or profit, delivers for transportation, or transports, except as a
16 carrier, buys, sells, or negotiates the purchase or sale of any animals.
17 (d) "Exhibitor" shall mean any person (public or private) exhibiting
18 any animals, which were purchased in commerce or the intended distrib-
19 ution of which affects commerce, or will affect commerce, to the public
20 for compensation, as determined by the commissioner, and such term
21 includes carnivals, circuses, and zoos exhibiting such animals whether
22 operated for profit or not.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14190-09-4
A. 9004--C 2
1 2. It shall be unlawful for any person licensed or required to be
2 licensed as an exhibitor or dealer pursuant to the Animal Welfare Act, 7
3 USC 2132-2134, including agents or employees of such person, to knowing-
4 ly allow the public to have direct contact with a big cat.
5 3. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be
6 subject to a penalty of not more than five hundred dollars for the first
7 offense and not more than one thousand dollars for a second and subse-
8 quent offenses. Each instance of allowing direct contact of a big cat
9 with the public in violation of this section shall constitute a separate
10 offense.
11 4. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or restrict
12 veterinary examination, treatment or care of a big cat or transportation
13 of the animal for such purpose.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
15 it shall have become a law.
