Rhino Tiger

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RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION ACT OF 1994

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RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION ACT OF 1994
[Title II of Public Law 103–391, Approved Oct. 22, 1994, 108 Stat. 4094]

[As Amended Through P.L. 108–204, March 2, 2004]
AN ACT To assist in the conservation of rhinoceros and tigers by supporting and
providing financial resources for the conservation programs of nations whose activities directly or indirectly affect rhinoceros and tiger populations, and of the
CITES Secretariat.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ø16 U.S.C. 5301 note¿ SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994’’.
SEC. 2. ø16 U.S.C. 5301¿ FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:
(1) The world’s rhinoceros population is declining at an
alarming rate, a 90 percent decline since 1970.
(2) All 5 subspecies of tiger are currently threatened with
extinction in the wild, with approximately 5,000 to 6,000 tigers
remaining worldwide.
(3) All rhinoceros species have been listed on Appendix I
of CITES since 1977.
(4) All tiger subspecies have been listed on Appendix I of
CITES since 1987.
(5) The tiger and all rhinoceros species, except the southern subspecies of white rhinoceros, are listed as endangered
species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.).
(6) In 1987, the parties to CITES adopted a resolution that
urged all parties to establish a moratorium on the sale and
trade in rhinoceros products (other than legally taken trophies), to destroy government stockpiles of rhinoceros horn,
and to exert pressure on countries continuing to allow trade in
rhinoceros products.
(7) On September 7, 1993, under section 8 of the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978) the Secretary
certified that the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan were
engaged in trade of rhinoceros parts and tiger parts that diminished the effectiveness of an international conservation
program for that endangered species.
(8) On September 9, 1993, the Standing Committee of
CITES, in debating the continuing problem of trade in rhinoceros horn and tiger parts, adopted a resolution urging parties
to CITES to implement stricter domestic measures, up to and
including an immediate prohibition in trade in wildlife species.
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(9) On November 8, 1993, under section 8 of the Fisherman’s Protection 1 Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978), the President
announced that the United States would impose trade sanctions against China and Taiwan unless substantial progress
was made by March 1994 towards ending trade in rhinoceros
and tiger products.
(10) On April 11, 1994, under section 8 of the Fisherman’s
Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978), the President—
(A) directed that imports of wildlife specimens and
products from Taiwan be prohibited, in response to Taiwan’s failure to undertake sufficient actions to stop illegal
rhinoceros and tiger trade; and
(B) indicated that the certification of China would remain in effect and directed that additional monitoring of
China’s progress be undertaken.
SEC. 3. ø16 U.S.C. 5302¿ PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are the following:
(1) To assist in the conservation of rhinoceros and tigers
by supporting the conservation programs of nations whose activities directly or indirectly affect rhinoceros and tiger populations, and the CITES Secretariat.
(2) To provide financial resources for those programs.
(3) To prohibit the sale, importation, and exportation of
products intended for human consumption or application containing, or labeled or advertised as containing, any substance
derived from any species of rhinoceros or tiger.
SEC. 4. ø16 U.S.C. 5303¿ DEFINITIONS.

In this Act—
(1) ‘‘CITES’’ means the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, signed on
March 3, 1973, and its appendices;
(2) ‘‘conservation’’ means the use of all methods and procedures necessary to bring rhinoceros and tigers to the point at
which there are sufficient populations to ensure that those species do not become extinct, including all activities associated
with scientific resource management, such as research, census,
law enforcement, habitat protection, acquisition, and management, propagation, live trapping, and transportation;
(3) ‘‘Fund’’ means the the 1 account established by division
A, section 101(e), title I of Public Law 105–277 under the heading ‘‘MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUND’’;
(4) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior;
(5) ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Administrator of the Agency
for International Development; and
(6) ‘‘person’’ means—
(A) an individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, or other private entity;
1 So

in law. Probably should be ‘‘Protective’’.
in law. Section 6(a)(1) of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Reauthorization Act of
2001 (P.L. 107–112, 115 Stat. 2097) amended this section by striking ‘‘Rhinoceros and Tiger
Conservation Fund established under section 6(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘the account established by division A, section 101(e), title I of Public Law 105–277 under the heading ‘MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUND’ ’’. The amendment should probably have struck ‘‘the’’ before ‘‘Rhinoceros and Tiger’’.
1 So

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(B) an officer, employee, agent, department, or instrumentality of—
(i) the Federal Government;
(ii) any State, municipality, or political subdivision
of a State; or
(iii) any foreign government;
(C) a State, municipality, or political subdivision of a
State; or
(D) any other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States.
SEC. 5. ø16 U.S.C. 5304¿ RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, subject to the availability of

appropriations and in consultation with the Administrator, shall
use amounts in the Fund to provide financial assistance for
projects for the conservation of rhinoceros and tigers.
(b) PROJECT PROPOSAL.—A country whose activities directly or
indirectly affect rhinoceros or tiger populations, the CITES Secretariat, or any other person may submit to the Secretary a project
proposal under this section. Each proposal shall—
(1) name the individual responsible for conducting the
project;
(2) state the purposes of the project succinctly;
(3) describe the qualifications of the individuals who will
conduct the project;
(4) estimate the funds and time required to complete the
project;
(5) provide evidence of support of the project by appropriate governmental entities of countries in which the project
will be conducted, if the Secretary determines that the support
is required for the success of the project; and
(6) provide any other information the Secretary considers
to be necessary for evaluating the eligibility of the project for
funding under this Act.
(c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—Within 30 days of receiving a final project proposal, the Secretary shall provide a copy of
the proposal to the Administrator. The Secretary shall review each
final project proposal to determine if it meets the criteria set forth
in subsection (d). Not later than 6 months after receiving a final
project proposal, and subject to the availability of funds, the Secretary, after consulting with the Administrator, shall approve or
disapprove the proposal and provide written notification to the person who submitted the proposal, to the Administrator, and to each
country within which the project is to be conducted.
(d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may approve a
project under this section if the project will enhance programs for
conservation of rhinoceros or tigers by assisting efforts to—
(1) implement conservation programs;
(2) enhance compliance with provisions of CITES and laws
of the United States or a foreign country that prohibit or regulate the taking or trade of rhinoceros or tigers or the use of rhinoceros or tiger habitat; or
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(3) develop sound scientific information on that species’
habitat condition and carrying capacity, total numbers and
population trends, or annual reproduction and mortality.
(e) PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY.—To the maximum extent practical, in determining whether to approve project proposals under
this section, the Secretary shall give consideration to projects
which will enhance sustainable conservation programs to ensure effective long-term conservation of rhinoceros and tigers.
(f) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each person that receives assistance
under this section for a project shall provide periodic reports, as
the Secretary considers necessary, to the Secretary and the Administrator. Each report shall include all information requested by the
Secretary, after consulting with the Administrator, for evaluating
the progress and success of the project.
SEC. 6. ø16 U.S.C. 5305¿ ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.

The Secretary may accept and use donations to provide assistance under section 5. Amounts received by the Secretary in the
form of donations shall be transferred to the Secretary of the
Treasury for deposit into the Fund.
SEC. 7. ø16 U.S.C. 5305a¿ PROHIBITION ON SALE, IMPORTATION, OR EXPORTATION OF PRODUCTS LABELED OR ADVERTISED AS
RHINOCEROS OR TIGER PRODUCTS.
(a) PROHIBITION.—A person shall not sell, import, or export, or

attempt to sell, import, or export, any product, item, or substance
intended for human consumption or application containing, or labeled or advertised as containing, any substance derived from any
species of rhinoceros or tiger.
(b) PENALTIES.—
(1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—A person engaged in business as
an importer, exporter, or distributor that knowingly violates
subsection (a) shall be fined under title 18, United States Code,
imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both.
(2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—A person that knowingly violates
subsection (a), and a person engaged in business as an importer, exporter, or distributor that violates subsection (a),
may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of not
more than $12,000 for each violation.
(B) MANNER OF ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION.—A civil
penalty under this paragraph shall be assessed, and may
be collected, in the manner in which a civil penalty under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 may be assessed and
collected under section 11(a) of that Act (16 U.S.C.
1540(a)).
(c) PRODUCTS, ITEMS, AND SUBSTANCES.—Any product, item, or
substance sold, imported, or exported, or attempted to be sold, imported, or exported, in violation of this section or any regulation
issued under this section shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture
to the United States.
(d) REGULATIONS.—After consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the
United States Trade Representative, the Secretary shall issue such
regulations as are appropriate to carry out this section.
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(e) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard
is operating shall enforce this section in the manner in which the
Secretaries carry out enforcement activities under section 11(e) of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1540(e)).
(f ) USE OF PENALTY AMOUNTS.—Amounts received as penalties, fines, or forfeiture of property under this section shall be
used in accordance with section 6(d) of the Lacey Act Amendments
of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375(d)).
SEC. 8. ø16 U.S.C. 5305b¿ EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date

of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall develop and implement
an educational outreach program in the United States for the conservation of rhinoceros and tiger species.
(b) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall publish in the Federal
Register guidelines for the program.
(c) CONTENTS.—Under the program, the Secretary shall publish and disseminate information regarding—
(1) laws protecting rhinoceros and tiger species, in particular laws prohibiting trade in products containing, or labeled or advertised as containing, their parts;
(2) use of traditional medicines that contain parts or products of rhinoceros and tiger species, health risks associated
with their use, and available alternatives to the medicines; and
(3) the status of rhinoceros and tiger species and the reasons for protecting the species.
SEC. 9. ø16 U.S.C. 5305c¿ ADVISORY GROUP.
(a) IN GENERAL.—To assist in carrying

out this Act, the Secretary may convene an advisory group consisting of individuals representing public and private organizations actively involved in the
conservation of rhinoceros and tiger species.
(b) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—
(1) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Group shall—
(A) ensure that each meeting of the advisory group is
open to the public; and
(B) provide, at each meeting, an opportunity for interested persons to present oral or written statements concerning items on the agenda.
(2) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide to the public
timely notice of each meeting of the advisory group.
(3) MINUTES.—Minutes of each meeting of the advisory
group shall be kept by the Secretary and shall be made available to the public.
(c) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not
apply to the advisory group.
SEC. 10. ø16 U.S.C. 5306¿ AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appropriated

to the
Fund $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,
2005, 2006, and 2007 to carry out this Act, to remain available
until expended.
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of amounts available each fiscal year to carry out this Act, the Secretary may expend not more
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than 3 percent or $80,000, whichever is greater, to pay the administrative expenses necessary to carry out this Act.

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