,i  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ajjdi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of 
,,representatives  ,october #be1        
#bjbd,ms4 ,malliotakis introduced the   
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,natural ,resources   
,a ,,bill  ,to amend the ,african       
,elephant ,conservation ,act and ,asian 
,elephant ,conservation ,act to ban     
keeping elephants in captivity at       
zoological parks4  #a4 ,short title     
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,captivity of ,helpless ,elephants      
,reduction ,act of #bjbd or the ,,cher  
,act of #bjbd4  #b4 ,findings ,congress 
finds the following3 7#a7 ,elephants    
live in a matriarchal hierarchy where a 
lead female leads a large herd in the   
wild and migrates1 traveling hundreds of
 miles every year4 ,african and ,asian  
elephants have been demonstrated to     
possess1 amongst other things1          
intentional communication1 and learning1
 memory1 and categorization abilities4  
,an ,emory ,university experiment showed

 that a female elephant seemed to       
recognize herself in a mirror1 a result 
attributed to self-awareness only seen  
otherwise in humans1 dolphins1 and      
chimpanzees4  7#b7 ,captivity does not  
provide for the needs of normal elephant
 behavior and reproduction4 ,as a       
result1 captive elephants suffer both   
physical and emotional trauma including 
hernias1 arthritis1 mental degradation1 
and high calf mortality4 ,the average   
lifespan of a captive elephant is #ag   
years2 in the wild1 elephants can live  
for #ej years or more4  7#c7 ,it is     
estimated that the cost of caring for an
 elephant in captivity can be up to     
#ajj1jjj per year4 ,in #bjjd1 the       
,detroit ,zoo became the first major    
,american zoo to shut down its elephant 
exhibit on ethical grounds4 ,in #bjjf1  
the ,bronx ,zoo announced that it would 
close its exhibit once its three        
elephants died4 ,since the early #aiijs1
 more than #bb zoos had shut down their 
elephant exhibits or announced that they

 were phasing them out1 including those 
in ,seattle1 ,san ,francisco1 and       
,chicago4  7#d7 ,the ,united ,kingdom   
phased out all circuses featuring wild  
animal performances by #bjbj and        
announced its intention to ban the      
captivity of elephants in zoos and      
safari parks4 ,dozens of other countries
 around the world have similar          
prohibitions1 including ,austria1       
,greece1 ,israel1 ,mexico1 ,peru1 and   
,singapore4 ,india bans the keeping of  
elephants in circuses and zoos4  #c4    
,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act are
 the following3 7#a7 ,to ban the        
display1 husbandry1 and breeding of     
,african elephants in zoological parks  
in the ,united ,states and transfer     
existing ,african elephants in such     
parks to authorized sanctuaries4  7#b7  
,to ban the display1 husbandry1 and     
breeding of ,asian elephants in         
zoological parks in the ,united ,states 
and transfer existing ,asian elephants  
in such parks to authorized sanctuaries4

  #d4 ,increasing viability of species  
conservation through relocation  7a7    
,section #dbbc of the ,african ,elephant
 ,conservation ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4      
#dbja-dbdf7 is amended by adding at the 
end the following3  7#f7 to house       
and_/or manage ,african elephants in    
zoological and safari parks4 ,all       
,african elephants residing in          
zoological and safari parks before the  
enactment of this amendment shall be    
transferred to authorized wildlife      
sanctuaries4  4  7b7 ,section #dbfb of  
the ,asian ,elephant ,conservation ,act 
7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #dbfa-dbff7 is amended by
 adding at the end the following3  7#d7 
,to assist in the conservation of ,asian
 elephants by prohibiting zoological and
 safari parks from housing and managing 
,asian elephants and transferring any   
rhinoceros species residing in          
zoological and safari parks before the  
enactment of this amendment to          
authorized wildlife sanctuaries4  4