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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 925 (as amended by Senate "B" and House “A”)*
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE IMPORT, SALE AND POSSESSION OF
AFRICAN ELEPHANTS, LIONS, LEOPARDS, BLACK
RHINOCEROS, WHITE RHINOCEROS AND GIRAFFES.
SUMMARY
This bill bans importing, possessing, selling, offering for sale, or
transporting in Connecticut a specimen (dead or alive) of any of six
types of African animals, which the bill collectively refers to as the “big
six African species,” unless covered by the bill’s exemptions. It applies
to certain elephants, lions, leopards, giraffes, and two rhinoceros
species.
The bill establishes a graduated penalty structure for violations,
ranging from no penalty for someone who, unaware and in good faith,
violates the ban, to a class D felony for someone with at least two prior
violations subject to penalty. Under the bill, a specimen and any other
property or item used in connection with a violation must be seized
and held. If there is a conviction or judgment restraining someone
from violating the ban, the specimen, property, or item must be
forfeited and destroyed (unless the specimen is alive).
The bill contains several exemptions, including for a specimen that
(1) federal law or a federal permit expressly allows for the possession
of (see BACKGROUND) or (2) is already legally in the state or
distributed to a beneficiary or heir as long as the owner or distributee
timely obtains a certificate of possession. The ban also does not apply
to fossils, ivory, or the following under certain conditions: circuses;
museums; educational, scientific, or zoological institutions; taxidermy
services; or motion picture, television, or digital media production
companies. The bill specifies that the ban does not prohibit
transporting through the state endangered or threatened species
subject to another state’s permit, which existing law allows. 2021SB-00925-R03-BA.DOCX
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*Senate Amendment “B” (1) replaces the underlying bill’s
graduated penalty structure (see Legislative History, below), making a
first offense a class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to
$2,000, up to a year in prison, or both, and a subsequent offense a class
D felony; (2) adds the exemptions for (a) lawfully possessing a
specimen under a federal law or permit, (b) taxidermy services, and (c)
tax exempt educational or scientific institutions for research purposes;
and (3) allows museums and institutions to transfer specimens to
certain tax-exempt entities.
*House Amendment “A” reinstates the graduated penalty structure
replaced by Senate Amendment “B.”
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2021
SCOPE OF BAN
Species Covered
The ban applies to any specimen of any of the following six species:
1. African elephant (loxodonta Africana),
2. African lion (panthera leo),
3. African leopard (panthera pardus pardus),
4. African giraffe (giraffa camelopardalis),
5. Black rhinoceros (diceros bicornis), and
6. White rhinoceros (ceratotherium simum cottoni).
A specimen generally includes any part, product, or offspring of the
species, whether dead or alive, including part of a manufactured or
food product (see Exemptions, below).
Exemptions
Federally Authorized Possession. The bill allows possessing a
specimen of one of the big six African species if a federal law or permit
expressly authorizes it (see BACKGROUND). 2021SB-00925-R03-BA.DOCX
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Fossils and Ivory. The bill’s ban does not apply to fossils or ivory.
Individuals, Museums, and Educational or Scientific
Institutions. The bill also exempts from the ban, if federal law does
not prohibit it, a specimen that is:
1. located or possessed in Connecticut before October 1, 2021, and
whose legal owner obtains a certificate of possession from the
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)
within the 180 days after that date;
2. distributed directly to a legal beneficiary of a trust or to a legal
heir who obtains a certificate of possession from DEEP within
180 days after receiving the specimen;
3. (a) to be used by a zoological institution for educational
purposes or (b) part of a collection of a museum or an
educational or scientific institution with a federal educational or
scientific tax exemption, as long as it is not subsequently sold,
offered for sale, traded, bartered, or distributed to another party
that is not a tax exempt museum or educational or scientific
institution; or
4. imported to Connecticut by a tax exempt educational or
scientific institution for research purposes.
For a transfer to a legal beneficiary or heir to be exempt, the
specimen must also have been located or possessed by the decedent
before October 1, 2021, and the beneficiary or heir may not then sell or
offer the specimen for sale, or trade, barter, or distribute it to someone
else.
Taxidermy Services. Unless prohibited by federal law, the bill
allows possessing a big six African species specimen in the state if it is
for performing taxidermy services. However, for the exemption to
apply, the specimen must be removed from the state within 14 days
after the services’ completion.
Zoos, Circuses, and Production Companies. The bill does not 2021SB-00925-R03-BA.DOCX
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apply to zoological institutions or circuses when they import,
transport, or possess live big six African species.
The bill also specifies that its ban does not apply to the exhibition,
purchase, transport, or use of these animals in a motion picture,
television, or digital media production if the involved production
company employs or contracts with a federally licensed dealer or
exhibitor or a federally registered carrier, intermediate handler, or
unlicensed exhibitor.
By law, these dealers and exhibitors must meet U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) standards for humanely handling, caring for,
treating, and transporting animals (7 U.S.C. § 2143). Carriers and
intermediate handlers must follow USDA requirements for accepting
animals for transport, such as documentation, transport conditions,
and delivery notification (9 C.F.R. § 3.136).
PENALTIES
Under the bill, a first offense is an infraction (see BACKGROUND),
unless the violator was unaware, in good faith, of the violation when
he or she committed it. In that case, there is no penalty (other than
forfeiting the specimen or related property or other item, see below).
For someone who previously did not commit an infraction because of
good faith unawareness, a second offense is an infraction.
The bill makes the first offense committed after an infraction a class
B misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months
in prison, or both. An offense committed after a class B misdemeanor is
a class D felony, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, up to five years
in prison, or both.
SEIZURE AND DESTRUCT ION
Beginning October 1, 2021, any law enforcement officer may enforce
the bill’s provisions, including executing warrants to search for and
seize a banned specimen.
The bill requires (1) seizing the specimen and any other property or
item used in connection with violating the ban and (2) holding them 2021SB-00925-R03-BA.DOCX
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pending any criminal proceeding. In the proceeding, the bill allows
secondary evidence, such as photographs, to be admissible as evidence
to the same extent as the banned specimen.
Under the bill, any specimen, property, or other item that is seized,
must be forfeited if there is a conviction or a judgment restraining
someone from violating the ban. The specimen (unless alive), property,
or item must also be destroyed.
BACKGROUND
Infractions
Infractions are punishable by fines, usually set by Superior Court
judges, of between $35 and $90, plus a $20 or $35 surcharge and an
additional fee based on the amount of the fine. There may be
additional charges depending on the type of infraction. With the
various additional charges, the total amount due can be over $300 but
often is less than $100.
An infraction is not a crime, and violators can pay the fine by mail
without making a court appearance
Federal and International Law on Animal Trade
The United States regulates the trade of the species covered by the
bill, except the African giraffe, through the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) and laws such as the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. § 1531
et seq.). Specifically, trade of the species requires permits at a
minimum.
CITES is an international treaty under which governments agree to
restrict international trade in certain plants and animals and products
derived from them. It provides a framework for countries to follow
when adopting legislation to implement the treaty. Trade in protected
species must be licensed and there are different levels of protection
based on a species’ endangered status. CITES currently has 183
members as parties to the treaty, including the United States.
Legislative History 2021SB-00925-R03-BA.DOCX
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The Senate referred the bill (File 216) to the Judiciary Committee
which reported a substitute (File 637) establishing a graduated penalty
structure, with a first offense an infraction or no penalty in the case of
good faith unawareness, rather than having any offense be a felony
punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, up to two years in prison, or
both.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Environment Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 24 Nay 8 (03/12/2021)
Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 32 Nay 6 (05/03/2021)