[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8699 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8699
To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of
Transportation to develop an enforcement mechanism with respect to
certain provisions relating to the transport of animals, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 11, 2024
Ms. Titus (for herself, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cohen, and Mr.
Schiff) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of
Transportation to develop an enforcement mechanism with respect to
certain provisions relating to the transport of animals, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Humane Transport of Farmed Animals
Act''.
SEC. 2. TRANSPORT OF ANIMALS.
Section 80502 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (f); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) Enforcement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of Transportation, in
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall develop a
mechanism for conducting investigations or inspections, including the
inspection of any vehicle or vessel transporting animals or any written
or electronic records associated with such transport of animals, to
determine whether any rail carrier, express carrier, or common carrier,
a receiver, trustee, or lessee of one of such carriers, or an owner or
master of a vessel transporting animals has violated or is violating
this section.
``(e) Additional Authority.--To carry out subsection (d), the
Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Agriculture may
promulgate such rules and regulations, and issue such orders or
guidance, as are necessary.''.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON INTERSTATE MOVEMENT OF CERTAIN ANIMALS.
Section 10406 of the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8305)
is amended--
(1) by striking ``The Secretary may prohibit'' and
inserting the following:
``(a) In General.--The Secretary may prohibit''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Prohibition.--
``(1) In general.--No person shall move in interstate
commerce livestock that are unfit to travel.
``(2) Unfit defined.--
``(A) In general.--For purposes of paragraph (1),
the term `unfit to travel' means, with respect to the
movement of livestock, that such livestock are deemed
unfit to travel pursuant to Article 7.3.7(3), Chapter
7.3 of the World Organisation for Animal Health's
Terrestrial Animal Health Code, including successive
changes.
``(B) Inclusions.--Such term includes livestock
that--
``(i) are sick, injured, weak, disabled, or
fatigued;
``(ii) are unable to stand unaided or bear
weight on each leg;
``(iii) are blind in both eyes;
``(iv) cannot be moved without causing
additional suffering;
``(v) are newborn with a navel that has not
been fully healed;
``(vi) are pregnant and that would be in
the final 10 percent of their gestation period
at the planned time of unloading;
``(vii) have given birth within the
previous 48 hours and are traveling without
their offspring; or
``(viii) have a body condition that would
result in poor welfare because of the expected
climatic conditions.
``(3) Exception.--Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to limit the movement in interstate commerce of any
livestock for purposes of providing veterinary care to such
livestock.''.
<all>