Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement Act of 2015”.
Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement Act of 2015
A BILL
To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to prohibit the taking, importation, and exportation of Orcas and Orca products for public display, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Prohibition on taking, importation, and exportation of Orcas and Orca products for public display
Prohibition on permits for taking or importation— Section 104(a) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374(a)) is amended by inserting “(1)” after “(a)”, and by adding at the end the following:
“(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no permit may be issued under this Act that authorizes the taking or importation of any marine mammal of the species Orcinus orca, or any marine mammal product that consists, or is composed in whole or in part, of such species, for the purpose of public display.”
Prohibition on exportation for public display— Section 102(a) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1372(a)) is amended by striking “and” after the semicolon at the end of paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (5) and inserting “; and”, and by adding at the end the following:
“(6) notwithstanding any other provision of law, to export any marine mammal of the species Orcinus orca, or any marine mammal product that consists, or is composed in whole or in part, of such species, for the purpose of public display.”
Sec. 3 Prohibition on breeding of Orcas
The Animal Welfare Act is amended by inserting after section 26 (7 U.S.C. 2156) the following new section:
“26A. Breeding of Orcas
“It shall be unlawful for any person to artificially inseminate or breed a marine mammal of the species Orcinus orca for exhibition purposes.”