Captive Primate Safety Act - Misplaced Pages

Proposed US Federal legislation

The Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R. 8164; S.4206) is proposed United States legislation that modifies the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to treat nonhuman primates as prohibited wildlife species, allowing exemptions for zoos and research facilities. The bill would eliminate the use of primates in the domestic pet trade at a federal level. A December 2023 review found that the "U.S. ranked third out of 171 countries in the ease of purchasing a pet primate online, behind Indonesia and Vietnam." The bill, if passed, would raise U.S. standards to resemble those of the European Union, United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, and other countries where pet primates are strictly regulated.

In April 2024, the Captive Private Safety Act was introduced in Congress by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and U.S. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). In September 2024, Blumenthal held a press conference with Friends of Animals to promote the Act in the wake of the HBO series Chimp Crazy, which highlights disturbing examples of primate "pets".

The Captive Primate Safety Act was first introduced in 2005 and has been passed by the House of Representatives multiple times but, as of 2024, has not made it past both houses for a vote.

The legislation is endorsed by Animal Welfare Institute, Friends of Animals, Born Free USA, Humane Society of the United States, Animal Legal Defense Fund, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Four Paws USA, Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, American Society of Primatologists, Small and Rural Law Enforcement Executives Association, and National Sheriffs Association, among others.

History

The Captive Primate Safety Act was first introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Rep. Eddie Johnson on March 16, 2005. The bill was reintroduced by Rep. Mark Kirk in February 2009 following the widely publicized mauling of Charla Nash by a pet chimpanzee Travis. Rep. Rob Bishop argued against the bill during the floor debate, noting it would cost $4 million annually and do nothing directly to prevent chimpanzee attacks on humans; he also noted such attacks are relatively rare. Twenty states and the District of Columbia already had laws banning primates as pets. On 23 February 2009 the House voted 323 to 95 in favor of the bill. Several Republicans who opposed to the bill said that animal control was a "states issue, not a federal issue." Early versions of the bill exempted monkey helpers.

Congress	Short title	Bill number(s)	Date introduced	Sponsor(s)	# of cosponsors	Latest status
109th Congress	Captive Primate Safety Act	H.R. 1329	March 16, 2005	Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)	47	Died in committee
109th Congress	Captive Primate Safety Act of 2005	S. 1509	July 27, 2005	Jim Jeffords (I-VT)	6	Passed Senate (unanimous consent)
110th Congress	Captive Primate Safety Act	H.R. 2964	July 10, 2007	Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)	25	Passed House
110th Congress		S. 1498	May 24, 2007	Barbara Boxer (D-CA)	5	Died in committee
111th Congress		H.R. 80	January 6, 2009	Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)	27	Passed House
111th Congress		S. 462	February 24, 2009	Barbara Boxer (D-CA)	8	Died in committee
112th Congress		H.R. 4306	March 29, 2012	Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA)	9	Died in committee
112th Congress		S. 1324	July 5, 2011	Barbara Boxer (D-CA)	6	Died in committee
113th Congress		H.R. 2856	July 30, 2013	Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA)	152	Died in committee
113th Congress		S. 1463	August 1, 2013	Barbara Boxer (D-CA)	25	Died in committee
114th Congress		H.R. 2920	June 25, 2015	Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA)	75	Died in committee
116th Congress		H.R. 1776	March 14, 2019	Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)	66	Died in committee
116th Congress		S. 2562	September 26, 2019	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)	12	Died in committee
117th Congress		H.R. 3135	May 12, 2021	Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)	67	Referred to committee
117th Congress		S. 1588	May 12, 2021	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)	11	Referred to committee
118th Congress		H.R. 8164	April 30, 2024	Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3)	42	Referred to committee
118th Congress		S.4206	April 30, 2024	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)	6	Referred to committee

References

Seaboch, Melissa (March 1, 2024). "The pet primate trade in the U.S." Open Access Government. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
Vincent, Nijman (December 2023). "Global online trade in primates for pets". Environmental Development. 48 – via Science Direct.
"Wild Pets in the European Union" (PDF). ENDCAP. September 20, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
Ahmadi, Ali Abbas (February 27, 2024). "Primates: New rules make it harder to keep them as pets". BBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
"Blumenthal, Blumenauer, & Fitzpatrick Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Ban Private Possession of Primates". Richard Blumenthal. May 1, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
Sanchez, Sara (September 5, 2024). "Connecticut senator hoping 'Chimp Crazy' popularity will help pass primate legislation". Fox61. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
"Blumenthal, Blumenauer, & Fitzpatrick Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Ban Private Possession of Primates". Richard Blumenthal (US Senator, CT). May 1, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
"H.R.1329 - Captive Primate Safety Act". Congress.gov. September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
"Ben Smith's Blog: The Primate Act of '09". Politico.Com. 23 February 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
"Topic Galleries". Courant.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
^ Peter Urban, House approves primate pet ban Archived 2009-07-28 at the Wayback Machine, Connecticut Post, February 24, 2009. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
House tightens restrictions on chimps as pets Archived February 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, USA TODAY, February 24, 2009. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
"House responds to chimpanzee attack". The Billings Gazette. February 25, 2009. p. 2. Retrieved September 5, 2024.

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