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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 20
January Session, 2019
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE IMPORT, SALE AND POSSESSION OF
AFRICAN ELEPHANTS, L IONS, LEOPARDS, BLACK RHIN OCEROS,
WHITE RHINOCEROS AND GIRAFFES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2019) (a) For purposes of this 1
section, "big six African species" means any specimen of any of the 2
following members of the animal kingdom: African elephant 3
(loxodonta africana), African lion (panthera leo), African leopard 4
(panthera pardus pardus), black rhinoceros (diceros bicornis), white 5
rhinoceros (ceratotherium simum cottoni) and African giraffe (giraffa 6
camelopardalis), including any part, product or offspring thereof, or 7
the dead body or parts thereof, except fossils, whether or not it is 8
included in a manufactured product or in a food product. 9
(b) No person shall import, possess, sell, offer for sale or transport in 10
this state any big six African species. 11
(c) Any law enforcement officer shall have authority to enforce the 12
provisions of this section and, whenever necessary, to execute any 13
warrant to search for and seize any big six African species imported, 14
possessed, sold, offered for sale or transported in violation of this 15
section. 16
(d) Unless such activity is otherwise prohibited by federal law, the 17 Substitute Bill No. 20
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provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall not apply if any of the 18
following conditions exist: (1) Such specimen of a big six African 19
species was located or possessed within the state prior to the effective 20
date of this section and the legal owner of such specimen obtained a 21
certificate of possession from the Commissioner of Energy and 22
Environmental Protection not later than one hundred eighty days after 23
the effective date of this section; (2) such specimen of a big six African 24
species is to be part of a temporary or permanent collection of a 25
museum that has a tax exemption from the federal Internal Revenue 26
Service as an educational or scientific institution, provided such 27
specimen is not subsequently sold, offered for sale, traded, bartered or 28
distributed to any other party; or (3) such specimen of a big six African 29
species is distributed directly to a legal beneficiary of a trust or to a 30
legal heir provided: (A) Such specimen was located or possessed by 31
the decedent prior to the effective date of this section, (B) such 32
beneficiary or heir does not subsequently sell, offer for sale, trade, 33
barter or distribute such specimen to any other person, and (C) such 34
beneficiary or heir obtains a certificate of possession from the 35
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection not later than 36
one hundred eighty days after receipt of such specimen. 37
(e) Any specimen of a big six African species and any other property 38
or item used in connection with a violation of the provisions of this 39
section shall be seized and held pending any criminal proceeding 40
pursuant to this section. In any criminal prosecution pursuant to this 41
section, secondary evidence, including, but not limited to, 42
photographs, shall be admissible against the defendant to the same 43
extent as such specimen would be admissible. 44
(f) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be 45
guilty of a felony and fined not more than ten thousand dollars and 46
imprisoned not more than two years, or both. 47
(g) Upon conviction of a person for violation of the provisions of 48
this section or upon the entry of a judgment restraining a defendant 49
from importing, possessing, selling, offering for sale or transporting 50 Substitute Bill No. 20
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any specimen of a big six African species on the grounds that such 51
activity is or would be a violation of the provisions of this section, any 52
specimen of a big six African species and any other property or item 53
that is seized and held pursuant to this section shall be forfeited and, 54
upon such forfeiture, destroyed, provided nothing in this subsection 55
shall be construed to require or authorize the destruction of a living 56
specimen of a big six African species. 57
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to the 58
importing, possessing, selling, offering for sale or transporting of ivory 59
in this state. 60
(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to the 61
importing, transporting or possessing of a live big six African species 62
by any zoological institution or circus. 63
(j) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to the 64
transportation, purchase, exhibition or use of any animal in a motion 65
picture, television or digital media production by a motion picture, 66
television or digital media production company that employs or 67
contracts with a dealer or exhibitor licensed pursuant to 7 USC 2133, as 68
amended from time to time, or with a carrier, intermediate handler or 69
unlicensed exhibitor registered under 7 USC 2136, as amended from 70
time to time, to conduct such transport, purchase, exhibition or use. 71
Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 26-311 of the general statutes is 72
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 73
October 1, 2019): 74
(d) Nothing in section 1 of this act or sections 26-303 to 26-312, 75
inclusive, or any regulations adopted pursuant to said sections shall 76
prohibit transportation through this state of any endangered or 77
threatened species in accordance with the terms of any permit issued 78
under the laws of another state provided the person in possession of 79
an endangered or threatened species can prove legal possession of the 80
species. 81 Substitute Bill No. 20
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 26-311(d)
ENV Joint Favorable Subst.
JUD Joint Favorable